UKI Enterprise Segment Portfolio Marketing Specialist Review

Overall I have enjoyed my placement year at IBM. Admittedly, I have had ups and downs along the way but I think the whole experience has been extremely worthwhile and I wouldn't change it. I expected to absolutely love the year, which don't get me wrong, I have, but not without bumps along the road. I think this is due to the large nature of the company, and with it being my first corporate experience it can be difficult to understand all of the processes and ways in which the firm works. I feel very fortunate in the role I have been given. Although I have a heavy workload in comparison to many other interns, I have found this beneficial as I have learned how to prioritise, manage my time effectively and balance a work/social life. My role allows me to speak to a range of colleagues including marketing, sales and management IBMers, giving me a good overview of the Enterprise & Commercial side of IBM. My placement year has really opened up my eyes to life in the corporate world, and although I am not 100% sure I want to have that life in the future, it has been a fantastic experience to learn about my wants and ambitions.

The majority of my colleagues and team members I feel overwhelmed with how appreciative they are. Both through feedback and general conversations, I know that my colleagues value my work and that motivates me more than anything else. I found it great that a range of different people found my work valuable, including my marketing team and also sales teams across Enterprise & Commercial accounts. I found it great to see how my work was effective people in a positive manner, and often found that my work has been replicated in other IMTs across Europe. I have found that most of the time I have had significant recognition for the work I have done, which I believe to be very important for the workplace.

I feel that I was given a lot of responsibility and freedom to learn things myself whilst on placement, which I have enjoyed doing because it is very rewarding to learn things yourself through initiative and problem solving. I have found that my colleagues within my team and in the community of interns have been fantastic in sharing their knowledge and helping me learn new skills, whether that be learning how to edit a video or do a simple action on Excel. The great thing about IBM is the opportunity to go out of office, shadow people and get experience in other areas aside from your day-to-day role. This is invaluable and I feel that this is great support for learning and understanding more about what you want out of your career.

As previously mentioned, I had a very heavy workload during my placement year. This involved early mornings and late evenings, but I would rather have lots to do than be sat twiddling my thumbs! I noticed myself becoming much more efficient throughout the year with my workload, but as this happened I found more responsibilities coming my way, adding to the workload. I think it's great that I had so many different projects to work on and lots of different people requesting that I do work for them. I think the heavy workload has given me a realistic glimpse of what it would be like to work in a big corporation in the future.

I have been fortunate enough to be given lots of responsibility during my placement year, including organising events and team meetings, managing communities and communications for a team of over 200 people. I am grateful for this because it has meant that I could edit and improve processes appropriately. This is something I enjoyed doing because this is where people really noticed the work I was doing. It has helped me manage my time well and think about how to communicate with different people effectively.

I think have a year in industry will give me credibility when I return back to university because I will be able to add in real life examples into my work, based on my corporate experience. I have developed excellent communication skills which will help me in my role as President of the uni tennis team next year, and will also help me in my future career, whether that is in IBM or not. I have become very skilled at filming and editing videos which will help me at uni by making my work more interactive and interesting, and will come in handy in future jobs as many companies strive to become more digital.

I think the overall the atmosphere in the office is very corporate and traditional for a large business. I have enjoyed the atmosphere because where I sit there is a more informal ambiance, where I sit with sales interns and sit closely to sales and management teams. These teams are close-knit and get on very well, hence the atmosphere has been fun to be in and I have built up some good relationships with people that I haven't necessarily done work with, but we have crossed paths because of where we sit in the office. I have made some great contacts from my positioning in the office and I know that this has made my year much more enjoyable.

I think the placement year was very well set up overall. It is very structured, organised and fairly well communicated throughout the year. I think that the support for students is excellent, although you have to work for it (it's not given on a plate), it is fantastic support that is invaluable and allows you to really make the most of your placement year. IBM ensure that there are plenty of events, societies, communities and opportunities for young professionals to get involved in. This makes you feel part of a big company and can help you understand more about yourself and your ambitions. I think that we should have had more time to apply back for the graduate scheme, and perhaps have it drilled into us the importance of collecting feedback and speaking to graduates from the very beginning, rather than rushing at the end of placement to get all of this in place. I also think careers academy could be a little earlier in the year. But apart from that, a very well ran scheme from start to finish.

My managers were kind enough to let me invest my time in shadowing and helping out at extra events that did not fall under my day to day role. This was invaluable because it gave me insights into other areas of the business. I think for placement year you are limited to what training you can do, because IBM are aware that you are only here for a work, whereas as a grad much more money is invested into you especially if you're in sales as you can go to sales school etc... which isn't an option in placement year. I think IBM could invest in more external workshops for interns to attend to help broaden our horizons and keep us motivated to learn more about ourselves, IBM and our career.

There is a large variety of graduate roles in IBM that I see as appealing. Although they do not offer any marketing graduate jobs, I see this as an advantage in a way because it would make me go out of my comfort zone and perhaps enter into the world of sales... which I would never thought I would go for but after this year I realise it will be a good option that excites me. The graduate network is fantastic, the salary is highly attractive and the extra flexibility and responsibility that graduates seem to get looks great. I think it is very attractive that IBM offer graduates lots of training, particularly in sales. It is great to see them investing in young professionals, and I would love to come back to learn more about sales.

The social scene at IBM has been great among young professionals. With lots of apprentices, interns and graduates there is a fantastic community spirit, and always so many people that you can turn to who are willing to give advice and support. This has made my time at IBM very enjoyable because I feel at home, and can relate and aspire to many of the graduates.

Cost of living was very difficult to manage living in central London, due to being based in South Bank. I managed quite well throughout the year through being very careful with money, the main struggle was at the start of the year before any money came through. Rent was by far my largest expense, along with travel. Of course, living in London is great because there is so much to do all of the time, and it has been a great experience for me to come from the North to experience life in the big city!

The nightlife is very different to what I am used to. It is much more expensive and a completely different style. It seems to be more popular to go to a bar or for a meal rather than going out clubbing in London (probably due to expense, strict rules etc.), and I prefer this atmosphere! There is a lot of social activities to choose from, including non-drinking activities which is great because it is more inclusive and much cheaper.

I joined lots of different communities whilst at work at IBM, including the blogging team and The Nest community for young professionals. These communities revolved around getting people together outside of work, which is great because it allows you to build friendships in the workplace, that I know will last beyond my placement year.