Patrick Cronin
Working at GE Capital has been a fantastic educational experience. For my internship, I am leading a non-exempt competitive market pay project for the Retail Finance business. The project will ultimately allow us to determine whether or not we are paying a competitive rate for our 4000 U.S. non-exempt employees in our 12 local operating markets, given the presence of competitors and the different conditions facing each local market. As well as research and analysis, the project has allowed me to give presentations and hold discussions with human resource managers and senior leadership. I've used these opportunities to network, and I am establishing a name for myself within the organization.
My supervisor has been an invaluable educational resource over the course of the internship. He was formerly an adjunct professor of compensation for graduate classes at Drexel University, in addition to more than 20 years in compensation consulting, so he has a strong ability to explain both the theoretical and practical implications of compensation analysis. Furthermore, I have been taught a lot about compensation from the head of compensation for Retail Finance, and another HR professional who is a 30 year GE veteran on the compensation team. My internship experience has been thoroughly enriched by the insight I've been given through my team members.
Probably the toughest and most rewarding part of my project is that much of the work is self-guided. At each stage in the project, I am given a broad picture of what we are trying to achieve, a number of specific deliverable items that I am responsible for giving to my supervisors, and an educational context for the work that we are doing. From there on, it is my responsibility to approach the completion of the goals of the project as I see fit. These stages usually last about a week, and I generally meet with one of my supervisors at least once a day to discuss the methods I have adopted and to receive their feedback. The self-guided nature of the work has made almost everything that I am doing a challenge, as I must develop or research established methods to complete my work. However, after this experience, I would not want to work any other way. I love the freedom to direct myself, the challenge self-direction presents, and the reward of accomplishing projects by my own merit and thought processes.
I am truly enjoying Professor Bacharach's class. We've only had two classes so far, but I have already expanded my knowledge of leadership. Professor Bacharach is a great guy and is very funny and knowledgeable. I look forward to what the class will have in store for us. Furthermore, it is also nice to get into New York City every week.
I’ve structured the graded portion of my internship to be made up of four papers. I will be handing in my first assignment to my advisor, Dean Joe Grasso shortly. Dean Grasso is a tremendous mentor. He has given me so much valuable insight into my personal development and into life at GE. I am really glad that I chose him as my faculty supervisor for the internship.
Life in Stamford has been quiet overall. Because of how close I am to New Jersey, I have alternated weekends either going home to my parents' house or going to visit my friends who are in college in New Jersey. It has been great to spend so much extra time with my family and friends from back home, as I would normally not see them for most of the semester that I am at Cornell. A few weeks ago, I met Joanna Siu and Stephanie Metzler, former ILR Credit interns, for lunch in Stamford. They are both working for GE Capital in Norwalk, and they found out that I am at GE through my supervisor. Joanna reached out and we were able to connect. It was nice to talk to other GE Credit Interns about their experience and their decision to stay with GE.
Currently, I'm in the application process for the Financial Management Program at GE Capital. The program is two years long and consists of four rotational assignments in different geographic locations. Everyone in my office has been helping me apply to the program, and I feel that my Credit Internship will really help me stand out against other candidates.
- Patrick Cronin, BSILR'12