For our students who have a general interest in business, but are less focused on the industry or a particular job function, these programs may be for you. They are typically private sector programs, span industry and sometimes even extend into the think tank space or public sector, such as the Council on Foreign Relations' Young Professional Program or the US Government's Pathways Program. Most though, exist in the private sector and are used to recruit young, talented recent graduates into a firm's management pipeline. Employees typically spend a short period of time (3-6 months) in a division of the firm, such as marketing, operations, finance, or talent management, and rotate through several. Often employees are assigned a mentor and attend cohort-training with other peers in the program. Toward the end of the full rotation period, employees along with their managers, select a permanent placement.
Below, I've included a few links to pique your interest. I've also included a link to a full list of programs. For some links, you may need to do a little more digging to find the correct link because websites continue to evolve throughout each academic year. For example, Mastercard's link has expired, but I was able to search their website for jobs that are considered part of their leadership program. Some firms also host summer rotation programs, such as the NFL.
Another tip, in any job search engine/job board, search by the keywords "management rotation" or "leadership rotation" to source these programs. Check out my search results on indeed by plugging in "junior rotational analyst." (If you're reading this blog in May, rather than in November, likely the yield will not be as high.) Of course this strategy is not the Holy Grail of the job search, but one more tool for your toolkit. The ECO recommends a full complement of resources including TWP (Talking with People - networking) to learn more about any job you find interesting and to broaden your search if you are getting stuck.
Below are selected Leadership Rotation Programs recruiting now:
- Council on Foreign Relations - https://www.ypfp.org/
- GE Financial Management Development Program - Healthcare Track https://jobs.gecareers.com/healthcare/global/en/fmdp
- GEICO Management Development Program - https://careers.geico.com/us/en/c/leadership-jobs
- https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/leadership-developmen...
- Texas Instruments Rotation Program - https://careers.ti.com/students/ (scroll down when you reach the page)
- Unilever - Future Leaders Programme - https://www.unilever.com/careers/early-hires/
- Vanguard - https://www.vanguardjobs.com/students-and-recent-graduates/
- Visa - https://usa.visa.com/careers/university-recruiting.html#Rotational_progr...
Check out more programs here: https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/leadership-development-rotational-programs
Although the list of employers at the link above are categorized by industry, jobs across function exist with each firm. This means that you could work for a tech firm, but hold a finance position; or, you could work for a finance firm and hold a tech position. Please make an appointment with me to discuss your internship or job search in more detail.