Reporting Finance Analyst Review

Whilst there have been many ups and downs throughout the year, I have enjoyed my placement with IBM. The year has helped me continue to build on my skills and has given me a clearer idea of what I want to do with my career when I leave university. When I go back to university I know I will be ready for my final year.

Whilst at the beginning of the year it was hard to judge whether I was valued by my colleagues, through feedback I now know that they do appreciate all the work I have done. However I did get along well with my manager and the two other managers in my team. I know other interns were in a similar position and felt the same way.

Unfortunately all of my team worked from home so this meant that there was only two of us in the office – me and another intern. Whilst we did get along really well, we didn’t get to have the proper relationship that other interns have had with their managers and teams. Even though I knew this going into the role it was really difficult to adjust to throughout the year. However that isn’t to say that this happens in every role it is very unique. I know there are other interns who have had a great relationship with their team. We also have a second manager, our Early Professionals Manager) who looks out for our personal development which is really useful for extra support.

During my placement every day was different. My role is based on weekly, monthly and quarterly tasks which I had to complete on certain days and at certain times. Often in between tasks I’d have a bit of down time which I would fill with Giveback and other IBM events. I also managed to find extra work through other teams in my office and through my EPM (Early Professionals Manager).

My role involves a lot of confidential data so I did feel that I had a lot of responsibility. it was important for me at all times to be careful with my work and check that only certain members of my team were able to see it. As an intern your work is valued and therefore your work is treated very seriously.

I think I’ve developed a lot of skills over the year, which should help me in my future career. Most importantly I think is that I came into the role really nervous and worried about whether I’d do a good job. Now I’m a lot more confident in my abilities when it comes to my role.

I was based at North Harbour in Portsmouth which was quite quiet as most of the employees had moved out to work from home or to other locations. So at times the office was very quiet with a maximum of 15 people in one department. So often this could be quite lonely but thankfully I had another intern in my team who I sat with. When the department is busy though, everyone is very friendly even though everyone sits with their own team.

Overall the placement is well run. However there were areas that could use some improvement. For example, I think there should be a few more informal reviews. On the whole though I find the process went quite smoothly. In a way you get out of the placement what you put into it.

There is a lot of opportunity to gain more skills and learn other parts of the business. IBM provides an online system which has thousands of courses you can join and learn from. I wanted to know more about marketing and business management as I do a finance based course at the moment. There are also lots of events available through the year which you can attend if you want to.

IBM does offer a really great graduate scheme in several different business lines. Over the year you’ll be able to find out more from current graduates. You’re also able to apply when you’re still an intern at the end of the year. The only issue for me is if I want to pursue an accounting qualification there is a finance grad scheme but you have to do CIMA, you can’t do ACCA.

I lived in Southsea which is in central Portsmouth where all the uni students live. Most of the time during our placement we had a kind of university experience which was really good. At the location I was based at there were about 40-50 interns who all got along really well. Quite a few of us lived together in houses whilst some lived at home with their parents.

Portsmouth is considerably cheap to live in. Depending on the kind of living accommodation you’re in (living at home/with other interns) and what you normally spend at uni, it is kind of similar pricing to living as a student. Having more money helps although you do get a little too used to the lifestyle of having so much money! There is also a big Asda and a Lidl in Southsea.

We all went out pretty much every weekend and whilst Portsmouth is a small city, there was still plenty of places to go out. Portsmouth has about 4 clubs and we have al quickly found our favourites. Also in Southsea there are quite a few bars on the main strip which are really fun to go to. There is also Gunwharf Quays which is a kind of shopping/restaurant mall type place with a club in the middle.

In terms of the interns organising events, there are a few fun day trips and activities you can take part in outside of IBM. Over the past year we’ve had day and evening trips to various close cities like Southampton and Brighton and we’ve been to Flip Out and an adult playzone. Also some of the interns organised group sports teams for netball and football.