Dell interns aren’t likely to be found fetching coffee or making copies. While caffeine may help the working world go around, at its core, Dell’s internship program hones in on meaningful work experiences aimed at pushing interns out of their academic comfort zone and into the world of problem solving. As a result, Dell interns are positioned for bright career options.
Megan Evangelista (above), a former intern who now works on the University Relations team, stresses the importance of project work with each business leader before they are able to create intern positions.
“University Relations works very hard to make sure that interns have exciting and engaging programs and projects,” she said. “We ask project managers to make sure that interns have important work, that they’re not handling mundane tasks all day. Interns must contribute to the greater good and to the company.”
Beyond the Classroom
Calvin Mack (below), who interned in the Commercial Field Marketing Group in Round Rock, Texas, felt his internship complemented his academic work in number of ways, most significantly providing him with experiences that just aren’t available in a classroom setting.
“I think in business school, professors give students these problems, but then a lot of times you can kind of tell what the answer should be,” he said. “With this project that I’m working on for Dell, there’s no real right or wrong answer. The ambiguity is giving me an experience that I can’t necessarily get at school.”
Let’s Make a Deal
During summer 2016, the Dell-EMC deal closed, creating experiences not typical for interns. Jake Correira (below), who interned in human resources at EMC in Hopkinton, Mass, and Rose Glendinning, who interned in human resources at Dell in Round Rock, Texas, were both engaged in the integration during their internships.
“I worked on some of the organizational design for the Dell integration,” Correira said. “It surprised me to be assigned work of that magnitude, but I was also very happy that I had the opportunity to work on something so significant.”
Glendinning’s assignment pushed her out of her comfort zone and into a world of ambiguity. She worked on streamlining different work streams on both the Dell and EMC side so that everyone was on the same page come day one of the integration.
“I coordinated training for processes, tools and procedures so the HR business partners had the right information for their business units,” she said. “We provided a full picture of what’s to come the next few months and the next fiscal year.”
Correira noted how transparent the experience was, not only within human resources, but for all interns. He was also part of the group checking in on how employees felt about the deal, what questions they had and how human resources could facilitate positive change.
“We sent out a question every week to gauge employees’ opinions on the integration,” he said. “We were able use the feedback to implement a program called the Dell Ambassador program.”
Ensuring all business units were on the same page for the day the deal closed was a huge undertaking for Glendinning and her team, but it was thrilling to participate in creation of the biggest tech company in the world.
“Providing answers on compensation, talent acquisition, global mobility and immigration eases minds for both the Dell and EMC sides,” she said “It’s pretty exciting to be part of that.”
Connecting the Dots to a Bright Future
Meryl Cheney (below) completed her first internship with EMC in 2015 in Franklin, Mass. The meaningful work experiences were a key driver in attracting her back for a second internship in 2016. As an inventory control intern, she saw exactly how sales orders are connected to product manufacturing.
“I see all the different parts that go into our products, both written orders and on the manufacturing floor,” Cheney said. “I was trained to give tours of our manufacturing floor, so I got to see how the products are put together. It was really cool to see how everything works.”
Cheney is thankful for her experiences while looking toward her future career.
“I’m just starting out and I’ve already learned so much here,” she said. “I can only imagine how much more I’m going to learn as I continue to grow in this business. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Dell looks for the best and brightest to join their team. Find out more about our available internship opportunities.
