Business Operations Assistant Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my work placement. There was never a dull moment and everyone was very friendly. I was also able to be part of massive projects which I had the pleasure of seeing develop over the course of the year. I also played a role in many different parts of the business, which prevented boredom and ensured maximum enjoyment.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues. Towards the second half of my placement I was placed in roles of high responsibility, which allowed me to feel like the work I was doing was important and made me feel valued. Without me many of the projects I was involved in wouldn't have run as smoothly.

I was given every possible piece of support and guidance from my manager(s). If I had any questions, complaints or comments they would all be open to assist me. As an intern you're not meant to understand everything from day one, and my managers were perfect in nurturing me into my current role.

This one really depended on the day. I never had any daily or weekly tasks (had one monthly task), and so some days I wouldn't have as much as others whereas some I'd have to make sure I properly planned everything to fit all my work in. My managers were very accepting about workload too, and so never bogged me under with too much work, and recommended useful things to do when I had some spare time.

Level of responsibility grew throughout my placement, as to be expected. Towards the climax of my role I was placed in a position of a lot of responsibility, however I wasn't just thrown in at the deep end - I was slowly lowered in if you will. The responsibility slowly grew with each completed task, as I moved on further into the bigger picture of the project.

A lot of the competencies I have learned and perfected this year such as time management and motivation will be imperative in my third year of university as I receive an even bigger workload than I've had before. A lot of the technical skills I've learned, such as advanced Excel and other computer functions, as well as the vast amount of knowledge I've gained over the last year will be excellent experience for a graduate role in a similar job to this year.

In my office a lot of people worked from home, which meant it was only full about once or twice a week. When everyone was in though it was great - a really diverse bunch of individuals of both genders, all ages and all races. I loved being surrounded by a lot of knowledgeable people - most of whom were experts in their respective fields. The atmosphere definitely made work more exciting and relaxed, allowing me to complete tasks to the best of my ability.

The work placement was set up really well. With a large company like IBM who have hundreds of interns each year it's easy to "get lost" in the system and just become a spare part, however the Foundation Community at IBM really make you feel valued and ensure you get the most out of your year. There are plenty of things for you to get involved with inside and outside of the workplace.

IBM invested quite a bit into me. Courses were always available for me to take as well as there being thousands of online learning activities for me to participate in. I think having a more structured personal training scheme would be more beneficial, however they have to leave it open for the individual to ensure they aren't wasting their time on things they have no will to learn, unless its essential for their role.

From this year's experience I can gladly say I will be applying back to IBM for a graduate role. The relaxed nature of the business really appeals to me, allowing me to work at my own rate (within reason of course!) and there being plenty of different choices and routes to go through to work my way up.

There was at the start of the year. Unfortunately my office was closing at the end of my placement, and I was heavily involved in the move, whilst other interns weren't. This led to many of them moving to different offices, causing our social scene to die down. However I've heard from other interns that the bigger offices have great social lives.

I was lucky enough to live at home for my placement so I can't comment too much on cost of living, however for socialising it did cost a lot. This is for the Farnborough area, as Farnborough is very close to Surrey which is really expensive to live and socialise. I've been up to Southbank to socialise occasionally and as to be expected that was expensive due to it being in London.

Nightlife in Farnborough is non existent. We'd have to travel over to Guildford for a night out. However on a few occasions I've been up to London and that nightlife, as expected, is buzzing. Portsmouth has a great nightlife too, however the Hursley/Winchester area is varied - a few decent places but not much in the way of options.

Unfortunately in the Farnborough office there wasn't many activities outside of the office. I know in the larger offices there are great things to get involved in outside the office. I hoped to move down to Hursley around April-May time so I would be able to get involved in some cool stuff outside the office however our move was delayed until the end of June (2 weeks before the end of my placement).