Project Manager Support Review

I have really enjoyed my time at IBM. I have learnt endless amounts and really improved my key competency’s as well as develop skills in maintaining client relationships and commercial acumen.

The people at IBM are so supportive and really the reason why I was able to thrive in my placement role, they equipped me with the knowledge for me to be able to achieve the most in my year. From the first few months I felt valued and welcomed into the team.

The foundation managers are great, The two day induction was a great starting point to meet the managers who will support you through the placement and get to know the foundation team. My task manager has acted as a great support unit and allowed me to take on as much as I was willing too, he really pushed me and this helped me get the most out of my placement by gaining maximum client exposure and taking on lots of responsibility in tasks.

My day job was challenging at times but it also had its quieter times. I found it worked well as some weeks I would have a full diary with little spare time but then there would be times where I could spend days doing givebacks and think 40 (online learning development) It was a great balance.

The first 6 months I spent time learning about our tools and technology training and I did a month of Project Manager training, IBM really support you training wise and will put you onto training sessions that are key to your job and sometimes you can attend training just as an interest if you have time. I was given lots of responsibility and lots of tasks with deadlines. I enjoyed this pressure. In my last 6 months I was running my own project with a senior Project manager supporting me, this was a great chance to demonstrate all I knew and build client relationships.

I received lots of training and had time to develop my skills massively, some of the better skills training I attended were the Pick N Mix sessions where you choose 3 skills you want to improve. The presenting effectively session is an important one for all interns as you have presentations through out your placement in front of foundation management.

My Office is based in the City of London. Everyone was friendly and the environment was nice with agile work stations, electric desks, sofa areas and communal desk areas. I enjoyed being based in my office as we had a proper kitchen facilities (Kettle, Fridges, Microwave, Free Coffee for 6 months!), you were able to book meeting room on a days notice and also as a smaller office become familiar and friendly with lots of people. After working out of south bank for a project I realised how many more benefits there were from working in a smaller office. As an office we did regular socials after work, including bowling, dinners and also pub quiz's.

Overall the organisation of the foundation internships is good, You are provided with inductions to your role and also given the chance to take any training to help you develop you in your role. I was the first intern in the PM team so it took learning on both sides to find my role and work out the best way for me to be utilised etc. It took around a month at the beginning for my manager and team to get used to working through things with me and training me on all aspects of my role. It was a good learning curve as I could decide what I wanted to be involved in within my role – I was able to experience as much as I was willing to try!

IBM are very invested in your training and development as an intern and graduate. I had 3 weeks Project Manager training with PMs that joined my team at the same time, I also took part in any training I was interested in like consulting workshops, assessment theory workshops etc. The opportunities are there you just need to be proactive to find them and ask about attending them. IBM have initiatives such as THINK 40 witch is a program for each employee to gain 40 hours of self-development every year.

As an IBM intern you are offered support and a head start when applying back to IBM as a Grad. You complete a separate application form and submit earlier than non IBM applicants. They don’t priorities IBM interns however after a year at IBM you have the level of learning and IBM knowledge that could help make you stand out more in the application process.

There is a great social side to being an IBM Intern, This year we had an Intern Christmas boat party and a summer drinks party in a high end bar in the city (these events are not planned by IBM) Each location seems to have a good social scene with events like these also chances to be part of clubs etc and to play sport. Being London based every Thursday there are drinks held in bars along the Southbank where all the interns regularly attend. It’s always a great chance to catch up with people you met at your induction but also meet interns you didn’t know.

Living in London is not cheap however it is worth it for the nightlife and social side of the job. As a IBM Grad it seems like it is a lot more affordable and you can the most of having a good salary in London.

London = Nightlife Its great there are places you can go for cheap (ish) nights and places where you can spend loads. Its up to you and there is a lot of choice. Ive always lived in London so I don't know any different.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in outside work, It just depends what you are looking for.