Just because you’re nearing the end of your college career and the time has come for you to search for your first full-time job, it doesn’t mean you have to box yourself into one role for the next few years. In fact, there are paid programs out there that are designed to expose bright, young talent to different departments within a company and help them determine where they might thrive — otherwise known as rotational programs.
Rotational programs come in all shapes and sizes, with different parameters for how many departments you might explore, how much time you’ll spend in each one, and what kind of professional development or mentorship you might receive along the way. But the common theme is that these programs allow you to try out different hats and learn where your passions lie. To help you determine what rotational program might be a good fit for you, we’ve put together a list of strong programs that are guaranteed to help kickstart your career.
Belden
Belden is a global leader in the telecommunications/manufacturing industry — and knows the value of supporting the newest entrants to the workforce. In fact, Belden’s three-year Early Career Leadership Program is helping to develop the next generation of business leaders across many areas, including Finance & Accounting, HR, Engineering, Sales & Marketing, and more. Through varying rotational programs, Belden offers recent graduates access to senior mentorship, strong peer networks, intense training, community-supporting activities, and leadership development opportunities. Learn more about their early career rotational programs here.
Commercial Metals Company
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) is a leader in the construction reinforcement and ground stabilization industries, operating recycling centers, fabrication plants, manufacturing facilities, steel mills and offices across the US. CMC turns non-useful scrap metal into new, sustainable steel products for buildings, roads, and bridges across the country. Its 2022 CMC Rotational Development CORE Program enables early-career candidates to learn what it takes to make the steel that builds America. Rotating through various functions CMC steel mills, fabrication facilities and recycling yards, you will gain deep insight into how each department contributes to CMC’s success while building your network and professional development skills. Learn more about the company’s rotational programs here.
Eaton Corporation
Eaton Corporation is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving our quality of life and protecting the environment. Eaton offers a variety of early talent development programs across various business areas — including engineering & technology, operations, human resources, engineering services, supply chain, finance & accounting, and technical sales. Each program provides its early-career program participants with career-building resources including accelerated and customized development experiences, leadership training, personal coaching, and various networking opportunities with senior leaders. These programs are focused on developing the next generation of Eaton who can create and implement innovative solutions with a positive environmental impact. Learn more about Eaton’s various development programs here.
GSK
GSK is a global biopharma company with a special purpose – to unite science, tech and talent to get ahead of disease together. Through its various, two- to three-year Future Leaders Programs recent grads interested in both STEM and business opportunities in the biopharmaceutical industry can gain valuable experience and skills while working to positively impact the health of billions of people. With opportunities in multiple business areas, there’s bound to be a perfect fit for every interested grad. Learn more about the Future Leaders Program here.
Legrand
Legrand is a leader in the electrical and digital building infrastructure space, specializing in lighting, building control systems, and audio-visual products, among other areas. Associates in the Operations Leadership Development Program learn to develop, implement and maintain manufacturing and leadership processes for products. This three-year program is designed to give young professionals on-the-job skills in all aspects of operations through 3 rotations. ODLP associates learn everything from supervisory management and controlling specific productivity and manufacturing processes, to finance and lean implementation. Read more about this program here.
McMaster-Carr
McMaster-Carr is an innovative industrial supplier looking to change the buyer experience — and has ample opportunities to support and nurture the next generation of talent. The company’s Management Development opportunity is the perfect place for early-career professionals to build strong people and project management skills by understanding how to lead teams across the business, develop leaders, challenge business assumptions, and design and implement new solutions. As a Management Development Trainee, you’ll gain exposure to different business areas, such as Product Development, Publishing, Finance, Marketing, Distribution Operations, and Sales. And by your second year, you might find yourself coaching and training your own customer service team, leading initiatives while collaborating across the company, and implementing ideas to improve employee and customer experiences. Learn more about McMaster-Carr’s management development opportunity here.
Moody’s Corporation
Moody’s Corporation, a financial services company, wants to help computer science and software engineering grads kickstart great careers in the industry. Through Moody’s Analytics Technology Rotation (MATR) Program, new grads can participate in four, six-month rotations to hone their skills in software development, big data, cloud computing, and machine learning while working on some of the most complex technical challenges faced by the financial services industry today. Learn more about the MATR Program here.
Paylocity
Paylocity, the all-in-one software platform that gives HR pros a way to easily manage daily tasks in payroll, benefits, talent, and workforce management, has an exciting opportunity for early career professionals that ranks highly across new graduates. Throughout the company’s Readiness for Innovation and Service Excellence (RISE) program, recent grads will immerse themselves in the world of Paylocity through exposure to our Client Services Department —operations, customer success, account management — while developing their problem solving, troubleshooting, and customer engaging skills to prepare for a career in Executive Account Management and Technical Support Specialist destination roles. Learn more about Paylocity’s highly-ranked early career programs here.
Polaris
Polaris is a global leader in powersports that continues to drive its industry forward. Their development programs consist of three to four rotations in varying areas of their business and geographies ranging from six to twelve months at a time. These experiences offer extensive opportunities to network while developing key professional skills necessary to successfully navigate your career path. At Polaris, they recognize that diversity and inclusion are essential to accomplishing their mission of enabling outdoor adventure. As a result, their development programs create valuable opportunities for early-career talent who may not have the access or resources to take part in similar experiences elsewhere. Learn more about Polaris’ development programs here.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific, a world leader in serving science, is enabling its customers to make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer — and wants fresh talent to help them stay at the forefront of scientific discovery. That’s why the company offers two-year Undergraduate Leadership Development Programs for those who recently graduated or are preparing to graduate and want to launch a successful career at a company making a large social impact. These rotational programs equip candidates interested in a variety of fields with the skills, knowledge, and mentorship to succeed in leadership roles within Thermo Fisher Scientific. Learn more about the rotational program and the functional areas of the business here.
Trimble
Trimble is a world leader transforming the way the world works by delivering products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds. Its core technologies in positioning, modeling, connectivity, and data analytics enable customers to improve productivity, quality, safety and sustainability. Trimble has a reputable and rigorous Rotational Development Program, for recent or recently graduated individuals designed to launch Associates into their professional career. Associates spend 2-years rotating through four unique experiences, gaining hands-on experience with hardware and software solutions in business areas such as agriculture, civil engineering, geospatial, infrastructure, operations, or data management (the finance track rotates annually through 3 experiences). Each experience provides vast opportunities for Associates to grow their skills, as well as deepen their network and gain valuable exposure to multiple areas of Trimble. Learn more about Trimble’s Rotational Development Program here.
Regardless of your degree or interests, there are plenty of high-quality rotational programs for you to explore to help launch your career. Those listed here are just a handful of programs that provide an excellent way to gain experience, learn new skills, and network with vetted professionals who are experts in their craft. So if you’re interested in jumpstarting your career, highly consider what a rotational program can do for you.
