Hiring our Heroes Spotlight: Jis

Jis T. | Senior Software Engineer, IT | California, USA

Originally Published: June 21, 2022

At Dell Technologies, we make it our mission to recruit the next generation of leaders and innovators to help us thrive in an ever-competitive market. To achieve that, we do our best to fill our ranks with team members that are diverse in background and thought.

Over the years, we’ve found that veterans are a key talent pool to tap into. The skills and experiences shared by veterans bring discipline, commitment and loyalty to their positions and their surrounding teams.

To help us find the best in veteran talent, Dell Technologies is a proud partner of the Hiring our Heroes Corporate Fellowship program. The HOH Fellows Programs are best-in-class workforce development programs that place highly skilled and educated transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and military caregivers with employers committed to hiring them.

Today, we’re featuring a HOH alumni: Jis T., Senior Software Engineer of IT at Dell. He’ll dive into his service trajectory and how that led him to leverage the corporate fellowship opportunity into full-time employment. Here’s Jis in his own words:

Jis, tell us a little bit about yourself – what should we know when it comes to knowing you?

I was born in Kerala, India. I’m the youngest of three and the only boy. Family is everything to me and I’m proud to say I just became an uncle this year! I have two doggies Oreo (Jack Russell) and Mocha (Jack Russell/Shih Tzu).

In 2003, my parents moved to New York and later relocated to Georgia in 2005. Georgia was eventually the home I grew up in until I moved to SoCal for my duty station. As of today, I’m currently finishing up my Bachelors in Computer Science.

Talk to us about your experience within the military – what branch did you serve in and any highlights of your time in service.

I served in the Marine Corps as a 2311 Ammo Tech. I didn’t have the most exciting enlistment as all my training exercises were stateside. When I was supposed to go on a deployment to Kuwait, I got selected to be an Ammo Chief for I MEF. The best memories I have include learning how to cooperate with new faces and finding ways to lead my team.

Were you aware of Dell as a potential career fit at the beginning of your career search?

Honestly, no! I never even thought about going into tech right out of the Marine Corps as I was still working on my Computer Science degree. I was initially searching for Project Manager roles when I saw an email regarding my current position here at Dell.

After I got an email back and had to the chance to talk to Lou (Program Consultant for Military Recruiting) and Michele (my current manager), it became clear that this is where I wanted to be.

You mentioned you knew then that Dell was the spot for you. What was that “light bulb” moment like for you?

I’d say a big part of it was when my manager mentioned Dell’s retention rate. She mentioned that the average team member stayed with the company for about 7 years on average. This is very uncommon in today’s work-culture, especially within tech. Once I onboarded, it became clear that Dell valued their workers and stressed work-life balance; which is something a lot of vets can attest to not having in the military!

Now that you brought it up, what does that work and life balance look like for you here at Dell? Has it been what you thought it would be?

It’s been amazing! Being able to work remote has allowed me to save so much time on the commute alone. Then there’s the whole thing about not having to leave my dogs alone for 8+ hours a day. I’m able to eat three meals a day at home unless I feel like grabbing something.

You get plenty of time off every year with PTO/federal holidays and vacation time. The teams at Dell are flexible and always looking out for each other.

To conclude, why would you recommend Dell to a fellow military service member who’s considering his/her career options?

At Dell, you are valued as a person; not just an employee. While getting your job done is important, the biggest focus is ensuring you’re at your best so that the job you perform is a reflection of your true self.

To learn about Military & Veterans at Dell, click here.