Business Operations Analyst Review

Overall my internship was a really positive experience, in the office and outside of it. By the end of my placement I had a broad knowledge of the business, as well as improving and gaining new skills. I have and will maintain many new relationships with interns and colleagues.

By the end of my placement I felt like an integral part of the operations team. In most cases, I felt like an equal as part of my team and the business, as an employee rather than just an intern. There were other cases that I felt like I was being treated more like a stereotypical intern, but I think this is to be expected at some point.

My task manager was very helpful in guiding me through my role and key responsibilities when I began my placement. Although in my specific circumstance I had to use my initiative to be effective in my role, this showed me that I had a wide support network throughout the team.

Initially I had a lot of free time to work fairly flexibly, as well as contribute to giveback and charity projects. However as I grew into my role and took on more responsibility, I had a regular routine which was quite intense but very rewarding.

My placement was one of two halves, in the first six months I had a lot of spare time to do ad-hoc work and giveback. However at the latter end I was given a lot of responsibility around sales reporting. Many colleagues commented on how this was a critical role, making it very rewarding.

I feel the organisational skills I have developed will help me to complete my degree to much better effect than if I had not completed a placement year. Furthermore, my networking and communication skills have improved greatly, where I believe this will support my next step in my career.

The atmosphere was professional however also quite fun. The interns in our team all sat on one area of desks so we could chat whilst also getting on with our work. Obviously in some cases is was more appropriate to focus, however everyone in our line of business was light hearted and would always be in a positive mood.

IBM has the benefit of being large enough to have its own foundation team, that organise and maintain the graduate and intern schemes. Whilst this is mostly necessary for recruitment and reviewing progress, you can utilise this network for further opportunities such as shadowing and giveback. I found that as my job role grew I found less time to be involved in this area, and prioritised working hard for the business.

IBM has a commitment for each employee to do 40 hours of personal development a year (THINK40), this can come in the shape of anything i.e. online slideshow, charity day, training workshops, lectures. At the start of my placement this gave me a broader knowledge of the organisation, and also more in-depth knowledge to my line of business and its offerings.

The feeling at the end of my placement was that the number of graduate positions was reducing, however if you had put the effort in with your role and also taken part in giveback, everyone had a chance to stay on with the company. A role with IBM is definitely appealing, given you can find a role that suits your needs.

There was a great social scene, especially in the South Bank office. You would find you would meet up with the interns you were inducted with, and then also have a social scene with any interns you worked with also. Socialising with colleagues definitely is possible, however it depends on the size of your team and their personalities.

London was always going to be expensive, especially rent. I would recommend finding a compromise between location and quality, Zone 3 would be ideal. Also, buy your oyster travelcard as a monthly or annual purchase, and get an 18+ Oyster! Although expensive, I found that I was still living better than I was as a student. Lots of interns lived along the trainline/underground from Waterloo to Wimbledon (Clapham, Earlsfield, Tooting etc) As London is so accessible its not the end of the world if you don't live near where everyone else is, with night tube this has helped dramatically.

There were a couple good bars that would be used by lots of people at the office, some offered discounts to IBMers! London has so many other bars and clubs that it's entirely down to your scene, club entry can be very expensive so you may find going to a bar or two can be equally as enjoyable. There are so many gigs/concerts in London too, keep an eye out on social media as you can see some great acts for reasonable prices.

IBM is good at offering you the opportunity to 'giveback' through charity work or education opportunities. I took part in several that where based in London and elsewhere, from mock interviews, assessment centres and school visits.