STG Business Operations - Mainframe, GBS Alliances and Growth Engines Support, Europe IOT Review

My work placement was a challenge and wasn't what I was expecting but it's given me a real insight into the working world and has been an unforgettable experience. Not only this but I have developed many useful skills which I can apply in the future and I've also had the opportunity to partake in other activities outside the work place, for example mentoring.

I switched roles half way through my placement year. With my first role I did not feel as valued by my colleagues; it was a tough sales environment which proved to be stressful and harsh. Within my second role, I have received more positive feedback, given more responsibility and feel more valued by my colleagues.

With both roles I've undertaken I feel I haven't received much guidance or support. With my second role it has been difficult as neither of my managers have been based in the office and if I've ever encountered a problem I didn't feel I had the support or guidance to help me overcome this. This proved stressful at times as it led to a few mistakes and I couldn't always get in contact with my team.

My schedule within both roles could really fluctuate, some days I could be non-stop busy while other days would be a lot more quieter but this was good as then I didn't get too stressed and it gave me time to undertake giveback opportunities or to complete University work.

I was given a lot of responsibility within my second role, especially with my manager being based in Madrid. I was given personal ownership of a few tasks and kept a timetable of when certain tasks needed to be completed. I enjoyed having the responsibility but I feel that if I had more guidance and support I could've taken on more responsibilities.

The roles I've had at IBM have not been associated with what I'm studying at University but in spite of this I have developed a number of skills which will help me in my final year of University and beyond that. For example, I have developed my presentational skills, within the year I've had to do a number of presentations, I always hated doing presentations and got incredibly nervous now I've learned to control my nerves while presenting. The placement year has really helped me develop and figure out what I want to do after University.

In my first role the atmosphere could get stressful as it was a sales environment but there was also a big team around me which could make it a fun atmosphere. In my second role I was more independent and didn't have a big team around me; the environment was more relaxed but a little dull.

The foundation team within IBM was great and provided lots of support and opportunities for all placement students. The induction run by foundation was also really good and very well organised. Within my day to day roles it would be my manager who was in charge of me and what work I did.

As mentioned in the question before the foundation team at IBM invests a lot into the interns and runs a number of events and opportunities for Interns to develop skills and acquire more knowledge. An example of this would be an opportunity the foundation team ran called Pick 'n' Mix Modules, interns were given the chance to attend a number of learning modules to develop an array of skills, there were presentation skills modules and many more.

IBM graduate schemes are very appealing with a variety of different roles to choose from and some of the roles include a rotational scheme where you get to switch roles every 6 months within the grad scheme. I won't be applying back to IBM though as I'm looking at working in Finance/Accountancy and at the moment there are not any graduate roles in these sectors.

There was an okay social scene among placement students but due to the high number of students there were not many events for all students to meet up. Also as students started to get more busy within their teams the social scene died down. I went out with colleagues a couple of times but not often.

I worked in South Bank within central London and also lived in central London. The cost of living here was high as was the cost of socialising, due to this I didn't go out in London as much.

As I worked and lived in London there are a variety of clubs, bars and restaurants to go to with easy access as they are usually just a tube ride away. There are a lot of places to go too and good nightlife but London is also expensive so as mentioned before I didn't go out a lot due to the expense.

IBM provides lots of opportunities for placement students to take part in extra curricular activities and within your placement they encourage you to do giveback and have created a database where students can sign up to different giveback activities including helping out at an assessment centre. I also take part in a mentoring program run by IBM and am currently mentoring a year 10 student helping with their GCSE studies.