GBS UKI People Operations Team Review

The role itself may seem tedious to some people, however there was always some importance behind it which added value to the company so I did not mind. As well as our day-to-day duties, we were encouraged to step outside our role and shadow other areas of the business of do ‘give back’. I also had another role, which was representing IBM’s campus Lead for Leeds University, which I was able to do at the same time of my role.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues and was never treated like an intern. From day one you are working with people from all sectors of the business, from grads to execs from all over the world. My position allowed me to communicate with everyone within the GBS part of the company. I was able to change and amend processes, which added value to the company. As well as this people, would come to me for advise over certain processes within the company that I knew better than them. Everyone was really friendly and would always be willing to help if asked.

There was much guidance given by my task manager and EPM (Early Professional Manager). One of the great things with IBM is that you will be given both. Your EPM helps with you career development and checks that your task manager is giving you enough work and training you. They also help to suggest areas of development or people you can shadow. Your task manager helps with your day-to-day jobs. Mine was brilliant, giving us knowledge transfer every day for the first 3 months and then every Monday morning following that. I was constantly learning new skills that I could use both in and outside of IBM.

At the beginning of my placement my workload was extremely high as I was taking twice the time to complete a task, as I was new to the job. However we were given much knowledge transfer and the previous years interns were always there to help. Once I had got the hang of processes, I was able to complete each task much quicker, this allowed me to spend any extra time on IBM learning modules, or doing ‘give back’ opportunities, such as career fairs or mentoring university students.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement year as I helped over 3500 practitioners in the UK GBS part of the business. I was given responsibility with different processes and how these should be amended to make improvements in both effectiveness and time. At any one time, I could have been working on 2 or 3 different tasks by myself or as part of the team.

I learnt a variety of skills both through my role and through IBM learning. My manager set me up with excel skills, teaching us things such as mail merge and vlookup which has proved to be invaluable in the workplace. As well as this IBM set up some ‘pick’n’mix’ modules where we learnt different business skills such as how to present effectively, which will help me throughout my University and future career.

The general atmosphere was great. Sometimes on Fridays it was quiet as most people worked from home, however my role did not permit me to do this. IBM South Bank is a really big office, so originally it can seem quite daunting, however all IBMers are extremely friendly and always happy to help. I couldn't of imagined being in another office.

The placement was set up really well. We had reviews at 3, 6 and 9 months which kept track of our time as a placement student. As well as this there were always opportunities to develop new skills such as the 'pick'n'mix' modules. They were designed especially for interns, with modules such as 'presenting effectively' or in regards to our 'personal brand' They also had a careers day, which taught us about applying back to IBM and all the different sectors in the company, although this was brilliant, I personally felt it should have been done earlier on in the year.

As said above there were many opportunities for personal development. My task manager arranged knowledge transfer sessions at least once a week where we had other interns teaching us skills. As well as this we asked for extra help with excel skills and she sought out someone to help us with these which was extremely useful. IBM also has lots of online learning activities and encourages us to complete 'Think 40' hours - which is 40 hours of e-learning each year to help our development.

I am definitely thinking about coming back. There are so many different roles to choose from such as sales, consulting, HR - each with their own benefits. I am currently in the processes of choosing which would be right for me. There is a high percentage of people who return from the internship placement, however this depends on how you perform for the year, along with your final application. The key is to make sure you stand out amongst the rest, so I will have to wait and see!

I really enjoyed my time at IBM, not only the work life but socially. I was lucky enough to be based in the SouthBank office, with over 100 interns so there were many social events. As well as this I was one of the larger intern teams, working with 5 other members so it was extremely sociable. There was a ball at Christmas, organized by the interns and at least once a month we would go to the local bars.

Personally I commuted from just outside of London to keep my living costs down, but I know people who were able to live in London with help from student loans etc. Socialising is expensive in London, however you just have to budget. I found my biggest expense to be transport each day – costing up to £20 a day.

The nightlife on SouthBank is not brilliant. There are a couple of bars around the area which are subsidised with your IBM employee card, most people will go to these after work. However across the river there is Covent Garden which has a wider variety of bars and pubs. You are also very close to bank via the Waterloo and City line, so if you wanted to go more central, this is quite easy. Most interns in our year went to a student bar over the other side of the river as it was very cheap.

Yes, as previously mentioned there were give back opportunities, so you could visit Universities or schools and give speeches or go to career fairs. As well as this, there were many social activities. I believe there were also sports teams, however I was not a member of any of these.