Intern Spotlight: Erik Hanzlick
Name: Erik Hanzlick
Major/Minor: Management Science, International Business, UCSD Extensions Business Intelligence
Class: Alpha Delta
Position: Corporate IT Project Management
Company: Qualcomm
Location: San Diego, CA
Describe your internship in one sentence.
Just how everyone describes an internship, its full of learning, networking, and socializing with other interns to get to know more about your interests, strengths, and weaknesses.
What does your day-to-day look like?
The day-to-day usually includes weekly/bi-weekly meetings for project groups that I am a part of, along with preparing reports. Other times I'll have informational meetings with others (lunch or otherwise) to get to learn more about a department or a specific role. There are also lots of different intern/company events going on here and there. Finally, I work on my own initiatives with my spare time.
What is your favorite part of the company culture?
People are incredibly responsible and intelligent, which means that they rarely fail to deliver on time and excellent work. In addition to that, many are more than willing to help others outside of their normal responsibilities, despite being incredibly busy with their own tasks. Finally, the company prides itself on communication, which is a skill that is universal throughout the company.
Erik Hanzlick with Qualcomm CEO, Steven Mollenkopf.
How has Delta Sigma Pi prepared you for your internship?
Delta Sigma Pi helped me understand what it takes to build professional relationships necessary for succeeding in a corporate environment. Although the informational interviews are less common among other interns, the skills I learned and the habits I build definitely give me an edge when it comes to networking internally.
What is the most valuable takeaway you’ve gained from your internship?
Don't stress out too much about the role. There aren't incredibly high expectations with an intern, even for masters and PhD candidates. With that being said, follow the philosophy of "under promise, over deliver." The internship overall is about learning about the company, learning about the role, and building lasting relationships. Take advantage of all the opportunities (and free swag) that you can while you're there!
What is the technical experience needed for this position?
I didn't need any technical experience, but for the interview definitely explore project management software (Visio, MS project), and know the industry/what the company does/sells extremely well.
How has your experience in Consulting helped you in your internship?
Consulting is known for building problem solving skills, as well as interpersonal skills. Use this to your advantage to market yourself into almost any role. Consultants transition smoothly into management, strategy, and executive roles throughout the lifetime of their career.
Do you have any advice for people who want to get into the field of Project Management?
Project management in tech companies is a new approach to recruitment (it’s quite scarce and highly competitive). The key expectations my recruiters had for this role was someone who was curious, engaging, and professional. Show your willingness (and ability) to learn the subject (through academic work or otherwise), and you'll have a much better shot at landing the position. Note, project management internships don't always translate into full time project management, so look at this role as a leadership and industry-knowledge building position.
