CIU Business Operations Support Review
by IBM
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
2.2
-
The Company
2.5
-
The Culture
2.5
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
My time at IBM was very much enjoyed and opened my eyes to the 'real world'. I was able to experience various opportunities not only within my role but outside too. I was given a great deal of responsibility and heavily relied on by my colleagues.
I did feel valued by my colleagues and manager as they relied upon me heavily with regards to certain tasks that I had taken full ownership for.
My manager is an extremely busy person with regards to her role and even though she was able to help me if I really needed, I did not feel I was given as much guidance as other interns who were visited on a weekly basis by their manager in the office.
Extremely busy- I would often stay late in order to get all my tasks completed!
I was given a large amount of responsibility during my placement with regards to certain financial aspects. However, I was also carrying out tasks that were very menial such as call scheduling etc.
The skills developed such as better time-management and communication skills will greatly aid me in my degree studies when I have to enter final year and handle various deadlines and learn to prioritize these. Training wise I was not exposed to much training though.
The Company
Due to Warwick being a 'stop- off' destination office there were not many employees in the office. There was a small intern community which made the experience more enjoyable but otherwise it was very quiet.
I believe that the work placement was set up smoothly with a clear process even if it did take a bit of time.
The opportunities were available for personal training and development if wanted however none were specific to my role and few were funded by the company.
Working from home
Within my sector the future employment prospects are not as attractive compared with other units that allow for more client facing opportunities. However, IBM is such a large and varied company that future prospects are very appealing.
The Culture
There was a good social scene among placement students but that was self-organized as opposed to the company organizing anything.
Fairly reasonable
The area of Warwick was not appealing for nightlife however neighboring town Leamington Spa was livelier and Birmingham was a short journey by train away if needed.
Not particularly compared to other locations
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
West Midlands
May 2017
