Financial and Operations Analyst Review

I have really enjoyed my placement year with IBM, it gave me a great insight into the working world and what it's like to work for such a big company as IBM. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved with different things and your placement is really what you make it.

My colleagues were great and showed me a lot of respect and were also on hand to help if I needed anything especially at the beginning of my placement as they know that you will be new to everything. There are also a lot of other interns like you who you can also talk to as they will be in the same position.

My manager was great at supporting me, she really wanted to see me develop throughout the year and spotted what my skill were and what needed developing. I also had support from my tutor who I do not work with directly so it's a great way of talking to someone if you need help who you don't see everyday.

I was very busy at the start as I was learning about the tasks and the business as a whole, but as I began to get familiar with my role and tasks I had more free time, this meant I could take on more tasks. At one point I was extremely busy everyday but let my manager know I was struggling to balance everything so she would help me manage everything.

Within my team I was given a lot of responsibility and trusted with a lot of things. My manager did not see me as an intern and so she gave me tasks which my more experienced colleagues had previously done and allowed me to be involved in meetings and work on the audit which we had.

I have received a lot of skills training from IBM, they regularly held skills days or workshops to help develop your skills, you also learn how to manage certain situations that you can't learn at university, so you can use that experience to apply to further job roles and also as examples to interview questions. I also feel like when I go back to university and learn about certain theories, I will be able to think back and apply them to my experiences working.

The atmosphere in my office is a very friendly one. Everyone was easy to get along with and very welcoming, from the first week I went on social events with other interns and graduates, and normally your manager may get the whole team together at lunch so you can get to know each other in a more relaxed environment. There are also lots of things to get involved with where you can meet new people outside your team.

From my experience, the overall placement was very well organised, you have a 2 day induction before you start which will introduce to the business as a whole and get you set up with your laptop and anything you will need for your placement. You will tend to have a handover which will be a crossover with the placement student you are taking over so you are not just left to it.

There were days set up by IBM where you could go to workshops and talks to help develop your skills. There are also a lot of things available online to help develop your skills. IBM really push having 40 hours of to develop your understanding of their key growth imperatives.

For myself, I have not really explored the different opportunities in IBM as I think this year has showed me the area I am working in I do not want to work in for the rest of my life. Although I would not necessarily change the experiences I have had as they have been very valuable and I have developed skills nevertheless.

There is a great social scene amongst fellow placement students, if in London you tend to go for drinks on a Thursday with other interns to get to know each other. Your team may also do something social so you can all get to know each other better. As you begin to make friends you start to create your own social events such as a Christmas party.

Living in London is not cheap, but I think that is expected. However you do get a higher wage living in London so this will help out. There is also a lot more to do in London and if you have not lived in London before it's a great opportunity to do so while you are still young!

Again you are in London, there is so much to do here that you will not have time to do everything. You will come towards the end of your placement thinking you have hardly seen all of London. There is so much to do you have just got to make the most of it and grab any opportunities that arise.

I feel like I am repeating myself but there is so much to do here, there are a lot of sports teams which you can get involved with, you can also do 'Giveback' where you can help out on lots of things and giveback to the community.