Undergrad Trying to Break Into Tech With No CS Background? Start Here.
The job guide to land softly in Silicon Valley & beyond.
College students have recently been asking me about post-graduate opportunities at tech companies for people without engineering backgrounds.
When I was a senior in college, I went through a similar process. During my search, it quickly became clear to me that most medium and large tech companies didn’t have jobs for new graduates beyond engineering roles.
In my process, I was especially grateful to Jeff Bussgang, who put together a list of ‘winning startups’ on his blog two years ago after giving me advice on which tech companies’ internships to pursue. Inspired by Jeff, I’ve listed below the new grad programs in tech for non-engineers I’ve heard about. This list focuses on programs, not standalone job listings. This list isn’t comprehensive, but I plan to update it as I see suggestions.
Cross-Functional Rotational Programs
Rotational programs have become very popular in the past five years. I’ve heard Microsoft’s new graduate rotational programs sparked this trend. A few days ago, a New York Times article highlighted new research that uncovers a relationship between breadth of experience in various functions and likelihood of becoming an executive. If application deadlines weren’t looming, I’d research this history further before publishing this piece. This list includes rotational programs that allow participants to rotate across numerous functions.
Below this list is another list of programs that are more narrow in focus:
LinkedIn: Strategy & Analytics — Business Leadership Program
Based in the Bay Area and known colloquially as ‘S and A,’ this program has begun accepting applications for students graduating in the Class of 2017. It involves four six-month rotations including Corporate Development (M&A), Business Operations & Strategy, Sales Operations & Strategy, Product Strategy, Product Finance, Sales Finance, and Investor Relations.
Box: Rotational Associate Program (RAP)
This program at Box, the enterprise cloud software company, has smaller cohorts than other rotational programs. Its application, which asks for a cover letter, has opened and will close on October 7, 2016. RAP involves an initial eight-month rotation followed by two six-month rotations. Rotations include time in Product, Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, Business Operations, or Business Development.
Visa: New Graduate Development Program (NGDP) — Business Associate
This program, which begins in the Bay Area but offers opportunities in other locations too, consists of four six-month rotations across divisions like Product, Marketing & Communications, Sales, Strategy, Processing, and Corporate Relations.
TASER: Leadership Development Program
This rotational program run by TASER is based out of Scottsdale, AZ. Rotations last four to six months and include Marketing, Finance, Sales, Operations, R&D, HR, Account Management, Software Development, or cross-functional projects.
Other New Graduate Programs
This list includes programs that focus on one area (e.g., product management, human resources). Some of these programs are rotational.
LinkedIn: Global Sales — Business Leadership Program
This option has a North America program and a Europe program. The North America program, which appears to be accepting applications currently is based in the Bay Area, includes a two-week “Business Bootcamp” and two rotations: a two-month rotation in Global Customer Operations and a two- to three-month rotation in Talent Acquisition.
HubSpot: Leadership Rotational Program
HubSpot, which is an inbound marketing and sales platform, recruits a small cohort each year for this program. Beginning with a rotation in Technical Support and followed by two in Marketing, the Leadership Rotational Program involves three eight-month rotations. While I believe it is based out of the company’s Cambridge HQ, the program includes international opportunities for participants at HubSpot offices in Dublin, Sydney, Singapore, and Tokyo, according to the website. The program is currently accepting applications.
Facebook: Rotational Product Manager Program (RPM)
This program is similar to Associate Product Manager (APM) programs at other tech companies, but unlike many of those companies, Facebook does not require an engineering background to apply. The program’s site profiles one RPM who studied English and finance in college and explicitly states some recent college graduates join the program. Facebook RPMs do three rotations as part of the 18-month program.
(Note: for those with engineering degrees interested in APM programs, Dropbox is no longer doing its Dropbox Rotation Program (DRP) this year but is recruiting for engineering graduates for product management.)
Facebook: Associate Product Marketing Manager, University Grad
Started in the past few years, Facebook’s Associate Product Marketing Manager (APMM) program is similar to Google’s APMM program (which doesn’t seem to have an application for the Class of 2017). Applications are currently being accepted, and if applying directly online, you’ll need to submit a resume and a writing sample in response to, “ What is the thing you are most proud of building?”
Workday: Functional Product Manager — New College Graduate
This APM program at Workday, the enterprise software company, offers the opportunity to work on its products for areas like Payroll, Time Tracking, Student Applications, Financials, Human Capital Management. The application is now open.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers: KPCB Product Fellows Program
Applications open January 1, 2017, for KPCB’s Product Fellows Program, which involves a one-year fellowship as a product manager at one of KPCB’s portfolio companies. Companies that have hosted a Product Fellow include Uber, Square, Zynga, DocuSign, One Kings Lane, Kinsa, AppDynamics, and Drawbridge. In the past, KPCB has shared advice on how to apply successfully.
Microsoft: MACH Program
I never quite figured out what iterations of this program exist or how to apply to this program because the Microsoft careers site was circuitous and confusing to navigate. From what I understand, participants rotate within divisions like Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Sales. The applications for this year don’t seem to be online yet.
Cisco: Leaders in Finance & Technology (LIFT)
This financial analyst program at Cisco has positions available in San Jose, CA, and Research Triangle Park, NC. LIFT consists of four six-month rotations in finance and accounting. Applications are now open.
Visa: Human Resources Development Program — Business Associate
Four nine-month rotations make up this program, which offers exposure to Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Total Rewards (compensation and benefits), and HR Consulting. The program is accepting applications currently.
All the non-engineer tech job searchers: I hope this list helps — good luck with the job search process! Please let me know if there are any programs you think I should add to this list — let’s help out the college seniors out there!
Disclaimer: I have not participated in any of these programs beyond the interview process for some of them, so I can’t endorse them or speak directly to their quality.
