My Extraordinary Intern Experience at Dell Technologies

It’s important, as you work towards your internship goals, to remind yourself to enjoy the process of learning along the way.

My experience with Dell Technologies to date has been nothing short of extraordinary. In the midst of what has been a time of great uncertainty for many people, I commenced my internship within an organisation that too was experiencing unprecedented change. The day I received the call from TA to inform me that my internship was going ahead was a day of mixed emotion for me. I felt overjoyed at the thought that this amazing opportunity was still being afforded to me, but on the other hand I was worried about what working from home would be like and feared being disconnected from both my team and the organisation as a whole. However, within the first couple of weeks, all of my fears had been reconciled and I soon realised that I most definitely had nothing to worry about. I joined the Cork Campus Project Management Office (PMO), a small team of busy individuals who conduct site wide operations in Cork. The team took me under their wing and had a jam-packed itinerary detailing a wide array of projects for me to get involved with upon my arrival. The extensive onboarding process also set everyone up for success from the very beginning. In my short three months with the company I have gained a wealth of experience in a remote working environment, learned a lot from different team members and received some excellent advice. This blog is designed to echo some of the advice I received as well as detailing my own observations and experience as an intern here at Dell Technologies. I hope that you gain something from it and enjoy my account of my experience to date.

As mentioned above, the onboarding program put in place for new hires is second to none. The dedicated Dell Ireland Intern Team had to improvise and adapt to a virtual model for delivering their program, which was no small feat and something I am extremely grateful for. While I must admit my disappointment with not getting to travel to Limerick and stay overnight for the initial induction days as planned, the shift to the virtual model really showed how valued we are as interns, and Dell Technologies’ commitment to us. They have continued to support us in both our daily roles and career development, facilitating ongoing, excellent workshops on ‘Building Your Brand’, ‘Overcoming Imposter Syndrome’ and ‘Performance Image Exposure (PIE)’, as well as facilitating trainings on essential tools for the job such as MS Teams, Outlook, Zoom and OneDrive.

In my time here I have also been introduced to the idea of ‘1v1 Meetings’ by the Intern Team, where you request a meeting with someone within the organisation who works in an area that interested you, in order to gain a greater insight into their role and to network with that individual. While I was hired within a certain business unit to perform a certain role, I have been constantly encouraged and supported by my leaders to research areas I have an interest in and to take proactive steps to build relationships and a reputation for myself in that area. From these 1v1 meetings, one TA leader gifted me the following advice that I've taken onboard and I believe is worth echoing;

The ‘Three R’s’ At Dell;

Relationships are like currency within the company and they form the base of everything that happens daily. The culture code places emphasis on Winning Together, and this filters right down through the organisation with teamwork. Relationships lead to influence, and I’ve always been very mindful of that while interning here. I and my team take every opportunity for me to meet and work with new people, as it has allowed me to build a network within the organisation. It’s important to create time to identify gaps in your network and aim to develop on them. I personally believe that when I've been trying to make the greatest impact possible with the company during my short time here, the first place I've focused on is the relationships I'm building with other team members.

Your Reputation is another important factor. When trying to make a impactful, lasting impression with your colleagues it’s important that you build a positive reputation. This for me meant being as honest as possible, ensuring I met deadlines and conducting my daily duties to the best of my abilities. I've always tried my best to honour my commitments and take responsibility for my shortcomings.

Research makes up the final piece of the cake and may be one that you would overlook. It's important to explore the world of work and your place in it. It’s always good to be informed as to what’s going on in the world around you as well as within the organisation you’re a part of. Examining the internal and external environments can help to inform your decision making. It can allow for more informed conversations within the workplace, increased political awareness and shows that you’ve gone the extra mile in researching a given area. You can never know enough, and I’ve been inspired by my leaders to never lose my appetite to learn new things.

Much of the inspiration I’ve received from leaders within Dell Technologies has come from the Leader Connect Series which is hosted by both the Ireland Intern Team and the North America University Relations Team. I aspire to becoming an influential leader in the future and so to hear leaders, locally and internationally, from the company share their experience has been invaluable and has really shifted my learning focus. I continue to increase my emotional intelligence as advised by my local leader, placing particular emphasis on areas such as empathy and self-awareness. It was refreshing to hear Mr. Brian Reeves, our Chief Diversity Officer, talk to interns about his experiences in life to date and how Dell Technologies continues to move towards a more inclusive and diverse workplace. I was also privileged to attend a Q&A session with Mr. Michael Dell, who spoke about the unique environment in which we began our internships and the future of the workplace – offering advice on both a personal and professional level. Had you asked me at the beginning of the internship if I believed I would have been afforded the opportunity to engage with these men (amongst many others such as President’s Howard Elias and Doug Schmitt), I would have said it was a near impossibility.

As I mentioned at the beginning, my experience to date has been nothing short of extraordinary and I’ve had my many preconceptions prior to starting with Dell Technologies proven incorrect time and time again.

At the beginning of my internship I made a ‘Never Say No Promise’ to myself. The idea behind the promise was that if anybody asked me to do anything over the course of the six months that I would always say yes regardless of how uncomfortable it made me feel (except when they asked to clean the outside of the windows on the 4th floor of Citygate, I had to draw the line somewhere!!). But seriously, every task is an opportunity for you to grow and develop in your role, and often times it is when we remove ourselves from our comfort zones that we experience real learning. I would encourage everybody to seek for a continuous challenge in your role or projects. As mentioned at the beginning, my fears of being disconnected and undervalued by my team were very quickly reconciled. By the end of my first week, supports had been put in place by my team and I had already received my first project to manage and was running my own calls. This responsibility (though I will admit was quite daunting at the beginning) has been imperative to my learning on the job and my growth as a project manager.

There are also multiple extra-curricular Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s) and clubs to get involved with to help you grow and develop, and you’re highly encouraged to do so. I joined the Toastmasters Club with the intention of increasing my confidence with public speaking. I’ve also been involved with the ERG, ‘GenNext’, who are accelerating the growth and impact of young and early career professionals at Dell Technologies. By engaging in extra-curricular activities, you get to network with individuals from other business areas who have a similar interest or a common goal with you. Part of my role with the PMO involves event organisation for our CSR initiatives. While in-person events were not possible during my internship, my team and I have shifted our focus now to virtual fundraising initiatives. I’ve been involved in brainstorming sessions to help organisations such as Barnardos and Special Olympics Ireland raise much needed funds. We have some exciting events in the pipeline, and to have my ideas and opinions acknowledged and taken on board has been great.

We’ve been told time and time again not to underestimate your ability to make an impact on the organisation as an intern. I've learned that your ideas and insights are unique, and coming from university it’s important to leverage what you’ve learned and bring it with you into the workplace. Be courageous enough to share your insights but in a gentle way. Put yourself out there and be curios enough to ask stupid questions. Being the new guy in the organisation is quite daunting, particularly when you understand the significant learning curve you’re about to undertake. You may feel like you’re up against the clock to get as informed and knowledgeable as quickly as possible. It’s important to remind yourself to enjoy the process of learning along the way as you work towards your goals.

My parting thoughts would be to enjoy the experience and to get involved as much as possible. Listen actively and leverage your team. Stay close to them and you can’t go too far wrong. We win together and share each other’s success and it’s one of the main things I’ve learned so far at Dell Technologies. Be a team player, and as mentioned above aim to be as honest, transparent and trustworthy as possible. I’ve tried to use my time here to discover my strengths, talents and things I want to improve. Communicate these to your manager and I’m sure, like me, you’ll receive great support. Plan your learning and career development and utilise the Dell Learning Studio accordingly. As someone who is working towards a career in project management, I found tools such as MS Project and Power BI relevant to my role and have been increasing my knowledge there. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my remote working experience to date, and I hope that it comes across in my blog. To be afforded the opportunity to undertake my internship in the current climate has been fantastic and something I'm very grateful for. I believe the future of the workplace as we know it is being revolutionised, and so to have a six month remote working experience will be a huge advantage to us all in the future.

A lot of my enjoyment has come from working within the PMO, so a big shout out to them for their support. My experience is unique to me and so I recommend you check out all the other excellent blogs from my fellow interns who offer their individual insights from across the organisation as well.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew McCormack – Cork Campus Project Management Office Intern 2020.

(Incoming Fourth Year Commerce Student, UCC).