EMEA PartnerWorld, Partner Growth Incentive and Events Communications Coordinator Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement with IBM. I worked in communications and events for a global team. I was given real responsibility from day 1,whilst being given the freedom to get what I want to gain from the year. They are very focused on your personal development as well as how you perform in your role and there is a lot of support in ensuring that you are making the most of your time there. IBM employ hundreds of interns, graduates, gap year students and apprentices so there is a great social life outside of work and I have made friends for life. I would definitely recommend working for IBM on your placement year, it is a great name to have on your CV as well.

I felt very valued by my team at IBM. I work in a global team so a lot of the people I work with I never met in person, which can take some getting used to to start with but everyone is so friendly and helpful at IBM that you quickly get to know them. I sit with a great team in the office made up of 5 other interns, it is a really good and fun environment to work in. During my year I felt that my role was a making a difference and I wasn't just doing jobs for the sake of it which is really important whilst on placement. If at any stage I felt that I wasn't being challenged enough I would voice it with my manager and we would work together to make sure I was doing things that mattered and that were useful both to myself and to the company.

My managers at IBM were extremely supportive of my throughout my year. As well as your task manager you get an Early Professionals Manager (EPM) whose role it is to support you outside your job role. If you have any issue with your job or your task manager you can turn to your EPM for guidance. They are also very supportive in helping you progress and experience the areas of the business you are interested in. So, if you don't love your role you get the chance and the freedom to explore other parts of IBM. You have monthly catch ups with your EPM to assess your progress and check that you are happy with what you are doing. Once I was about half way through my year I was getting more efficient at my job and had more time on my hands and my task managers actively encourages me to take up other roles and get involved in things outside my daily tasks. It is a great environment to work in.

This really varies throughout the year. I started off very busy, learning new skills and processes takes a lot of time. Once I began to get better at my job then it quietened down a bit. However, the great thing about IBM is that there is always something to get involved in and so if I was quiet I would sign up to help out at an event or take on an extra role to make sure I was getting as many experiences as possible, meeting new people and keeping busy,

I felt like I was given responsibility from the start. My managers were very flexible about what I did within my role and once I explained that I wanted to be challenged and I wanted work that I could see was making a difference to the business, that's what they gave me. I was given the freedom to do tasks the way I thought best, rather than being micro managed on every job I had to do. I also got involved in a lot of extra initiatives which gave me even more responsibility and experiences.

This placement year has taught me a huge range of skills and experiences and I have really developed as a person. It has been such a great insight into what it is like to work for a global company and has definitely better prepared me for my final year of university and for my future endeavors when I graduate. I am using many examples from my experiences this year for some of my assignments in my final year and I know that the insight I have got this year will certainly help me when I am applying for graduate schemes.

It is a professional environment but because there are so many interns it is very social and fun place to work.

It is a very well organised scheme. They hire hundreds of placement students every year so it is a very structured scheme with a lot of support.

They are very keen on personal development. There are so many opportunities for training which are all easily accessible for students during their time there. As I mentioned your EPM is there to help you achieve your goals for the year and will actively encourage you to attend events, workshops and training sessions.

I am definitely going to apply back to the Graduate scheme at IBM and if you are an intern they encourage and advise you on this process. They are very keen on their interns coming back as Graduates and future employment.

They hire hundreds of students and graduates and so there is a great social scene. Lots of the interns live together which is great fun. However I didn't live with other interns and still enjoyed a really great social scene with the other interns. I was based at the Bedfont office where there is less to do but at Southbank everyone goes for drinks nearby the office after work and the interns tend to organise parties at Christmas etc.

I live and work in London so it is very pricey but with the pay it is more than affordable!!

Working in London so the nightlife is great!

Yes, they have a lot of clubs and communities including Football teams, netball teams etc.