Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? What about when you graduated? Dell’s career development programs for students offer a way to experience different parts of the company with different projects and facilitate networking and mentoring opportunities with leaders across the organization.
Over the next few months, we’re featuring stories from participants in different development programs around the world to give you a look at what starting a career at Dell can look like. First, we’ll hear from Lai Zhang, a Marketing Development Program participant who joined Dell after receiving her MBA.
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Originally from a marketing background in China’s technology industry, I pursued an MBA in the hope of joining a tech company in a global role. I was initially attracted to Dell because of my previous work-related experience and also because of its unique culture. The spirit of entrepreneurship and the courage to go out of the comfort zone coincide with my own career and personal growth path.
I applied for and was selected for a marketing internship where I learned about the importance of networking and made some great connections at the company. I applied for the Marketing Development Program in November by submitting an application online early in the process, and was interviewed within a month. I was lucky enough to be offered a position after the MBA recruitment process. Most of my fellow interns from Dell who received full-time offers also returned.
I’ve found that Dell genuinely cares about their current and soon-to-be employees and gives us the flexibility to handle work-and-life balance issues. One of the ways I have been supported is with flexible working options. Dell allowed me to delay my start date to accommodate my children’s school schedule and make our move from Indiana to Texas. There are not too many companies who will wait that long to onboard an employee and provide relocation assistance.
Coincidentally, one of the closest networking relationships I developed during my previous internship turned out to be my manager in my full-time job! As we had already developed a relationship built on mutual trust, I was given more autonomy early on in my role and can carry out daily tasks more effectively. What also impresses me about Dell is the annual Tell Dell survey where team members are asked about aspects of Dell’s culture. The management team doesn’t just talk about the areas that need improvement, but really addresses them down to the ground level.
Even though I’m only three months into my time with Dell’s Marketing Development Program, I have already enjoyed so many benefits, as well as career and personal development opportunities at Dell.
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Lai Zhang joined Dell in August 2015 as the lead for commercial channel campaign metrics and dashboard development and management. She also plays critical role in distribution marketing.
Lai graduated from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University as MBA in May 2015. Prior to MBA, Lai was the Branding and Marketing Strategy Manager in Intel China.