Social is the way to go!

Being social is the way to go…..interns at my sponsor company network regularly not just with each other but with Senior Leaders from within the company. This helps with building networks across the length and breadth of the company.

However, most individuals work in cross functional roles, requiring one to connect with different teams to get work done. This “cross functional” aspect of every job role helps one develop the network one needs to explore other opportunities further down into their career.

Interns from different schools also come together at carnivals and various MBA oriented networking meeting s specifically organized for MBAs to get to know each other. Besides this, the interns have formed special networking groups on Linked in, Facebook and other social networking sites. This encourages interaction long after one has moved on to other opportunities.

Typical days  start with most employees taking  a ride on the company’s shuttle to the office.  These busses are green and help lower environmental costs down.  I  found an interesting article in the NY times on the shuttle service. You can read it here.

Typical days are divided into working on business as usual work and ad hoc projects.

Business as usual work involves meeting  and interacting with ones manager and other team members on your routine work: this could be  developing analyses, research output, coding or developing reports for business.

Ad Hoc projects are more strategic,  short term in nature and more cross functional in orientation.  Meetings are regularly conducted via Google Hangouts or working lunches. This avoids the travel but saves time and allows the team to focus on critical tasks.

The days also include dining at one of the several cafes on campus, biking to a meeting at another business location and jogging on campus. Google’s work culture is legendary. I found an interesting article on the culture in the Time of India. You can read it here.

Alumni of several international and national schools work at Google and the cafes are also a nice place to interact with them and build your global network.

Time to go for now but be tuned for my next post on my observations on the tech industry as  a whole.

First few days at Dell!

Hi there readers!

Well, this has been a fun and adventurous ordeal. After a month of working for a local Ann Arbor startup as a first internship, I packed my bags and moved to Austin, Texas for my second internship with Dell. I also packed a cat. My cat was not happy about being packed, but it had no choice.

My first impression of Austin, Texas? It is hot. My second impression? Most fun city on the planet. It is chock full of bars, dance venues, and live music. It also features what must be the best people watching environment in Northern America.

So - having settled into my new apartment with my new roommate - I went to the first day of Dell: Orientation.

For those of you who have not been to a corporate orientation - here is what it looks like: About 50 new interns sitting in a room - watching inspirational videos about ethics and hearing talks about the corporate rulebook.

Corporations have big rule books.

After that we were given our badge, and were sent off to talk to our managers. I was given a laptop - a list of people to talk to, a pat on the shoulder, and a hearty "good luck". I am going to love it here.

The next day we had the first talk from the "executive" series : Dell's CMO gave us a presentation about the challenges the company faces, strategy, and more. It was really quite interesting, and despite the early morning hour I managed to stay up (Note to future students: School is easier than work. Trust me on this.); it was also a very humbling experience. It is the first time I have seen an executive of a billion dollar company discuss so frankly and candidly how the company was doing, what the management believes are its shortcomings and how they intend to fix them.

So - armed with a laptop in hand, a borrowed cubicle as my fortress, I set out to conquer my project. It seems like the first few weeks will mostly involve me setting appointments with a multitude of people and getting the lay of the land. Wish me luck.

First post from me!

Hi there, readers - which are - I am certain - legion. My name is Nir - a first year MBA at Ross. I am originally from Jerusalem, Israel - and for more than a decade have been a software engineer and IT manager at an Israeli startup, a large educational institute, and the Israeli Defense Forces. This summer I will be interning at Dell, in Austin, Texas. I also hope to be interning with a local startup here in Ann Arbor.

It's going to be a long - and - especially considering the location of the Dell internship - stifling hot summer. Kind of like being shoved into an oven while being sprayed with water. Try that once. It ain't fun.

My role at Dell will a Project Management internship - it's still unclear what my projects will be - but they will likely involve a cross-account look into their services practice.

What do I hope to gain from my internship? Certainly, a way to defray my tuition costs would be nice - but mostly I am looking to apply what I've learned during the first year of the MBA in an actual business setting. I'm excited about the prospect of discovering how an American corporation makes decision, and I hope to learn as much as I can from my experiences this summer!