RFS Manager Review

I greatly enjoyed my role with IBM. I gained some great experiences that i was extremely grateful for and will prove vital for my career progression. I was lucky enough to work in an interesting client facing role, with innovative challenging customers which proved to be an exciting mix to be involved in.

With this role i was part of an excellent team, in which everyone was valued equally. I was relied on to provide and was welcomed to provide my input, opinions and guidance to for the greater good of the team. As a group, our team was established from scratch. We got on extremely well, as well as worked effectively together. This was one of the highlights in my internship, due to the camaraderie.

I was given great support my management and supervisors when working in my role. Due to the responsibilities i was lucky to hold, i was sometimes keen to check with my management before for example going back to clients, or going to the SLT, which my management where grateful for, although they believed in my decision making nonetheless.

My role in particular at times was extremely busy. Due to the situation of my role/account, i was thrust into an extremely high pressured, high focused account, which is not the normal. At my busiest i found myself in the office 8am-6/7pm, 4/5 days a week for a few weeks. This was only for a brief period of time, and did not bother me. However, I would much rather be busy than not to be.

The responsibility i was entrusted in was enormous. I was given such opportunities, which really allowed me develop me skills. For example, I hosted and chaired client meetings, on site, with the customer. I was responsible for providing slide decks. meetings minutes, reports for customer meetings which were at exec level. These types off opportunities were something i didn't think i would be taking on in my first role.

This skills that i developed during my time in IBM will assist my in my future career greatly. In particular, my client interactions and general corporate environment skills that i have learnt. These skills will be essential for progression in a future career in a similar working environment. As well as the above, i have learnt the key to auditing & accurately reporting, which is essential.

Over the course of my year placement, my role changed, as with it did my location of work, from an IBM site to the clients site. In IBMs site, i unfortunately worked alone, however, when on site, i worked with a full team of 40+ IBM'ers working on similar projects for the same client. This allowed for an excellent atmosphere in the office, as everyone working was facing a similar situation and environment to one another, meaning is was easily relatable.

The placement scheme is run very well at IBM. I had no issues over the year whatsoever, with anything to do with the way the internship scheme was run. They also put on business briefing calls and an excellent careers fair, at the end of the year, for when looking at graduate roles, which proved helpful.

With the placement role at IBM there is no guarantee of a graduate role with the firm. You have to apply back as per the process for a placement role, and participate in the usual, tests, assessment centres and interviews. They do however take on board your experience as a placement student, and I believe it is weighted in order for a better chance for those who have previously worked at IBM on your placement.

In my first role i worked quite remotely and unfortunately did not really see any social scene. However, once I changed role, i moved into a role where i worked with up to 10 graduates on site, which was provided a great social scene. In my team, i also got on extremely well with my managerial team and would socialise with them also, which was lovely.

As I was based in an office not far from my home, I did not move experience any difference in the cost of living. However, being based in the South East, living in Surrey and commuting to Hampshire & Berkshire, the cost of living wasn’t cheap, but did not affect me.

Most of the time working from client site, I rarely went out in the evenings, in the area that I worked due to traveling back that I usually had to do each day. However, in Reading and Maidenhead, there are some great pubs and restaurants, which are great for an evening drink.

I dont think there were particularly many activities to get involved in outside of work. This may be because though, i did not work with other placement students. I believe, being based in the larger offices, Southbank, that there are much more opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work.