UKI SW CSI & Scotland Sales Operations Assistant Review

I feel like I have gained valuable work experience whilst on my placement, being thrown into the real life of work and having to learn on the job being self sufficient when it comes to tasks which are skills I will carry through to future jobs.

I feel like my colleagues appreciate the work that I do and value me as a person and what I am able to do

Both my management and supervisor have been great throughout the year showing tremendous support and guidance when needed to ensure I got the most out of my placement year

At the beginning of the year I had very little to do however, since Christmas in my last 6 months I have been particular busy most of the time. I am always keen for more to do and get involved in more projects and activities when opportunities arise, so have therefore increased my work load

It's true what they say when you first apply for placements - they give you a full time working role for the year. I was given a lot of responsibility, the work that I produce matters and is used in meetings and discussions across my area of the company that I work in, it's hard work but feels great to know that your work truly makes a difference.

The skills I have developed on my placement, will probably not be skills that will assist me in my degree going back to uni, however they are life long skills that I will use beyond my degree in future jobs and when looking for jobs as I now have the experience of what it is like to work in a corporate environment.

The office area that I worked in was particularly quiet, with not many people around. This could be due to the fact that the way the world is going nowadays is towards remote working and here at IBM that is something that is possible for us to do. However, there were 30 of us interns here, so meant that due to the small amount of us we all became quite close and built good relationships with one another so the atmosphere in that respect was good.

The overall placement was well organised due to having a Foundation base who look after all of us interns - they organised a two day induction at the beginning to settle us in and have been there to support us throughout the entirety of our placement

Here at IBM, there are opportunities out there to gain more training and development, but there is an overall mentality that if you want something you have to go out and get it yourself. Therefore it is really down to us to better ourselves.

The future prospects with IBM really do depend on what you want to do for a career in the future. The graduate scheme only offers certain roles in particular areas, If you are looking for general business roles, sales, or technical roles, IBM has very appealing employment prospects for those, however if you're looking for marketing, legal or human resources for example there is not an option on the graduate scheme for those, so IBM would not be appealing to those looking for these particular roles.

Yes, we have had an intern christmas party and end of year party for all interns as well as smaller activities amongst placement students taking place so therefore there is a good social scene.

Due to living on the outskirts of London, if we were to socialise after work we have to go into London to do so and therefore the cost of this is quite pricey. I do not live around the area I work so I am not too sure on the cost of living.

In the specific area we worked it was pretty dead, however, going into London which isn't far the nightlife is much better.

Yes, there were intern organised opportunities as well as opportunities organised by the Foundation team for us to take part in.