Business Placement Review

The placement is very exciting for the first 3 months when everything is new and you are learning about the business. Once you have settled in the work as an intern can become very repetitive however. If you do not proactively seek out new opportunities for yourself you can end up doing the same tasks week in week out.

I have felt valued by my direct manager who I speak with everyday. When working closely with colleagues I would say that as an intern you are always valued. You can feel less valued when you are working with people less closely as sometimes you can be taken less seriously once some regular employees find out you are an intern.

Support and guidance have been given to me from day one of the placement. My direct manager has mentored me throughout my placement and always helped me identify new opportunities to develop on my professional skills. This is something that IBM management is very good at doing for younger employees.

Workload was always achievable within the time constraints given. Most of the time you are either busy or very quiet. Often when you are quiet it is up to you to look for more work and be proactive. One of the negative things about the internship is if you are not proactive you can end up being quiet alot of the time.

Responsibility is something that you are very much given from the start. You are treated by your direct manager as any other employee. Often you need to earn the respect of the employee in order to gain more responsibility. You are also required to work independently and trusted to get on with things. You can also work from home on occasion if needed.

The skills developed on this workplace will undeniably assist with my future. The professional skills acquired whilst on placement at IBM will help with my future studies and career. I have been exposed to many senior staff members during my time within the company. This has given me an insight into how they work and managed their teams

The office is a typical office you'd expect for London. Everyone gets on with their own work and their are meeting rooms for when a group or team needs to come together. Alot of people work from home so the office can sometimes be quiet. There is usually someone from your team always in however

The placement is quite well organised, you have a review at 3 months, 6 months and at 12 months which allows you to create milestones. You can always reach out to your EPM (Early Professional Manager) for any support you need. There is often education and events ran by foundation which is the area who look after all the interns and graduates.

You can do online training courses but little else

Quite appealing if you know which area of the business you want to go into.

Yes there is always something to do.

Very expensive but its London

Very good, central London

Depended on whether you were proactive about finding them.