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[[♪upbeat music♪] [Commercial Leadership Program (CLP)]]
[[Nicole Jones - GE Consumer & Industrial]]
[[C. Russell] You are listening to Jobs in Pods.]
[Welcome to Jobs in Pods, the only podcast where you can hear real employers]
[talk about their jobs and tell you what it's like to work there.]
[I'm your host, Chris Russell.]
[This jobcast will feature GE Consumer & Industrial's ]
[Commercial Leadership Program, or CLP.]
[It is an 18-month training program designed to develop commercial talent]
[Qualified candidates can expect a great deal of exposure and job experience]
[before rolling into a sales engineer position.]
[It includes formal classroom training in GE's state-of-the-art facilities,]
[mentoring from senior leadership, and career planning throughout the 18-month program.]
[Joining us today to discuss the role is Consumer & Industrial CLP program member]
[Hello, Nicole. Welcome to Jobs in Pods. >>[Jones] Hi, Chris. Nice to meet you.]
[[Russell] Okay, Nicole. Why did you choose to work at GE?]
[[Jones] When I was searching for a job out of college,]
[I wanted a company that I knew would have room for opportunity and growth]
[and could provide me with the necessary skills and the ability to learn]
[that I needed to be successful in my career.]
[And GE being a global business that it is has five different businesses,]
[and with all of the technology and effort that GE puts forth into its employees,]
[I had those opportunities at my hands.]
[GE is a leader in everything it does,]
[and no matter where you go, everyone has heard of GE in one shape or form.]
[In my opinion, GE is a game changer in a lot of markets]
[and with the breakthrough technologies that they're constantly producing.]
[So that was an important part in my decision]
[and also not to mention the benefits are great.]
[[Russell] Nicole, describe a typical day as a CLP. ]
[Tell us about some of the projects you're currently working on.]
[[Jones] Being a CLP for Consumer & Industrial,]
[one day I could be in the office entering orders, handling customer issues,]
[quoting a job from a one line or an engineering spec.]
[The next day I may be out in the field with an account manager]
[or sometimes even the DM doing a sales call.]
[Once in a while you'll get to go out and visit job sites,]
[where the end user, the electrical contractors, will be installing GE equipment.]
[Sometimes you might even be attending a distributor promotional event.]
[A lot of times--at least usually once a quarter--]
[I'll be in some sort of training, ranging anywhere from three days to one week.]
[So honestly, it's hard to say that you have a typical day as a CLP]
[because every day you're dealing with something new]
[and learning something different, which is great.]
[[Russell] Talk about the training that you receive. What is that like?]
[[Jones] As I mentioned on the previous question,]
[a lot of on-the-job training, which is spending time with your account managers,]
[your district manager, learning the sales techniques]
[and learning the market that you're going to be out in in 18 months to 24 months]
[depending on when you finish your program.]
[There is formal classroom training.]
[We do two product trainings at GE Center for Electrical Solutions in Nela Park.]
[We have sales and marketing training to help prepare you ]
[for your future as a sales engineer.]
[Some of those topics include Dollarization, 7 Habits, Selling Techniques at GE,]
[and How to Go to Market, which in the Electrical Distribution business,]
[going to market can be very complex.]
[We also do at least one factory visit, where you'll visit one of GE's manufacturing facilities]
[and actually get some hands-on training experience building some equipment.]
[This year it was actually at our plant in Mebane, North Carolina,]
[where they manufacture some of our Spectra panels,]
[motor control centers, and switchboards.]
[The amount of understanding you gain on how the products are built]
[and the process of engineering and order is invaluable at that factory visit.]
[[Russell] So if I were to ask you, what are the things that you really like about your job there?]
[[Jones] One thing I like about my job is my customers.]
[They make every day exciting, and something new is going on.]
[The networking opportunities--you meet so many great people in all parts of the country,]
[from your peers to upper management, whether it be attending the training]
[Various projects that we work on, everyone has to do a Six Sigma Green Belt project,]
[which is geared at improving a specific business metric.]
[You may be asked to help in some beta testing for an upcoming software release]
[that could be very important because it's probably a system that C&I employees use]
[day to day, not to mention at the same time you're helping your account managers]
[quote jobs so that when you roll off program, you'll be able to hit the ground running.]
[If you're involved in some of the corporate core initiative teams,]
[you could be working on various projects geared towards enhancing the CLP program.]
[One other thing I really like about my job is the balance between engineering and sales.]
[I'm very much a people person with a technical mind,]
[and sometimes when you have your standard engineering job,]
[you miss the communication skills that you're looking for.]
[And with the CLP program this is an awesome opportunity to use both.]
[[Russell] Okay. How would you describe the people that you work with there at GE?]
[[Jones] The people that I work with at GE I would have to say ]
[are some of the greatest people you'll ever meet.]
[A lot of people at GE share the same values, which is hardworking, dedicated,]
[and proud to be a GE employee.]
[The general attitude, whether you're in the manufacturing environment,]
[in the sales office, talking to upper management,]
[is upbeat and positive, which I think is really important.]
[And people are always willing to help you learn something new, which is also very important.]
[Nothing is more valuable than learning from somebody that has been there]
[and done what you're going through.]
[[Russell] Nicole, how would you say the CLP challenges you?]
[[Jones] One of the most challenging parts of the Commercial Leadership Program]
[because balancing the time between your actual job,]
[which is an inside sales role supporting customers,]
[account managers, and then you have to try to complete your training program requirements,]
[which is attend training sessions, participate in conference calls,]
[do a green belt project, be engaged in the Commercial Leadership Program.]
[Along with that is the fast-paced learning of products,]
[which requires you to use your technical aptitude,]
[also project management because you're managing jobs ]
[Customers are paying GE money to have these.]
[And also you're learning sales techniques from the account managers that you're supporting.]
[One of the other challenging things that I find is being the liaison]
[between the customer and the factories. ]
[That's tough because you're there to serve the customer and meet their requests,]
[but at the same time this is a business, and a business needs to make money.]
[[Russell] Last question for you, Nicole.]
[How does CLP help you in your career development or progression?]
[What can you say about that?]
[[Jones] Well, from day one as a CLP, you'll be given challenging assignments,]
[which gives you a lot of exposure to key customers and upper management.]
[Your networking capabilities on the CLP program are endless,]
[whether it be a CLP conference call with guest speakers ]
[from different parts of the business or attending a training class with your peers]
[All of these opportunities are great, but as with anything you do, ]
[your career development is what you make of it.]
[And I guess my take on it is the Commercial Leadership Program]
[provides me with the necessary tools and responsibilities that I need]
[to put my technical skills to use and learn the sales techniques to hit the ground running]
[as a successful sales engineer.]
[But if I don't use those and maximize that time on program,]
[then I'm only hurting myself in the end.]
[[Russell] All right. Well, there you go.]
[That will do it for this edition of Jobs in Pods.]
[Nicole, thank you very much for your time today. >>[Jones] Thanks, Chris.]
[[Russell] For more information on careers with GE, visit gecareers.com]
[And to hear more jobcasts like this, visit jobsinpods.com]
[Don't forget you can subscribe to our jobcasts on iTunes.]
[Just do a keyword search for "Jobs in Pods."]
[Thanks for listening, everyone.]
[[Jones] No matter where you go, everyone has heard of GE in one shape or form.]
[In my opinion, GE is a game changer in a lot of markets]
[and with the breakthrough technologies that they're constantly producing.]
