Technical specialist Review

It was really a great experience that gave me the opportunity to develop my communication and organisation skills. Even if the company is now developing and innovating throughout the different areas, it is still valuable and really important as it made history and still does amazing things. Unfortunately there is a lot of competitors in regard of the some of the services offered, however I’m pretty sure that all the money invested to innovate the company will bring revenues in the future. I recommend this placement to anyone looking to gain experience by working with skilled managers towards mutual goals.

IBM is like a big family and most of the people I talked to within the company are giving mutual respect and you can have a chat about everything, as they are pretty easy going which make you feel in a better environment. During my placement year I always felt valuable by most of the IBMers.

There was always a good level of support by your managers, especially your early professional managers which are helping you out in terms of foundation or if you have any kind of problem with your workload, accommodation etc.. However there were times when you had to learn technical knowledge yourself and search for them to understand more.

There was a fair work balance, even if there are some busy periods where you will have to work more, there will be other periods where you will have more free time for yourself to learn more about the company and the business you sit within. It is really up to yourself how you balance your workload as IBM will give you the opportunity to manage the workload yourself.

The amount of responsibility varied throughout my placement. There were highs and lows, sometimes I had tasks which required a high level of responsibility, however most of my placement the responsibly given was not that high. I just believe its because of the placement as I saw graduates having more responsibly than us on placement.

Unfortunately my degree is not really related to my role at IBM, for this reason it wont really help me with my degree or studies. However my placement experience definitely helped me to develop my overall skill and boost my confidence. This is essential even when applying for another job. Also, I gain a broader understanding of business as my studies are pretty technical.

I always worked between different different offices, and I preferred on office particularly as there was the opportunity to take a break and play pool with your colleagues. However the offices were pretty formal and it wasn't really a fun environment from my point of view. There were some moments where we sat together and have a chat but at the end of the day we were going to the office to work.

In terms of organisation, there was a solid placement scheme, for this reason it was pretty well organised. The deadlines were set and you had the opportunity to meet your supervisor just by booking an appointment. Also there were reviews every three months where you had the opportunity to speak out and tell your supervisor if there were any problems during your placement.

Unfortunately I was a bit disappointed under the training aspect as I have just been given the opportunity to go to two education days which one was not really what I was interested in. There was an opportunity to train yourself online using a training platform however there was a lack of face to face training which could have helped me develop more and helped the company too.

It seems that only a small percentage of the placement students get a graduate job, most of them will have to apply to other companies as it is not easy to compete with that amount of students to get a graduate position. At this time I dont know anything about coming back as a graduate as it seems pretty hard even if you did a good job. I just hope there will be an opportunity. You can apply back, however they wont give you a reply soon, so it will be better to apply to other companies too.

Yes it was pretty decent.

It was good as in the city center so there were many people to meet and socialise with.

The nightlife in the area was amazing as I was located in the city center, so there were lots of clubs and pubs where me and my colleagues enjoyed going to during weekends.

There were a couple of opportunities where you can volunteer outside of work to do career fairs or to help students to apply, however not really social activities apart from the Christmas dinner.