Business Operations Assistant Review

My placement with IBM was both challenging and enjoyable. I was entrusted with numerous tasks and was given a large amount of exposure to senior managers. My placement was instrumental in developing personal skills and confidence.

I was lucky enough to be part of a small, tight-knit team. My colleagues within this team were extremely supportive. They also treated me as if I was a 'normal' employee and valued my input to any tasks that needed completing.

Each IBM placement student is assigned a task manager (who sets your day to day tasks) and an EPM - early professional manager (who takes up a pastoral role). Both my task manager and my EPM were thoroughly supportive of me throughout my placement year. I spoke to my task manager every day (regardless of if one of us was out of the office) and was given help/guidance from them when needed. I also met up with my EPM regularly.

IBM operates around quarters of the year. My daily tasks varied depending on what point in the quarter it was. On some days I would have plenty to and ended up staying late in the office; whilst on other days my work load was quite light. When going through less busy periods, IBM offers 'giveback' opportunities (e.g. helping to run assessment centres or attending university career fairs).

I was put into a very small team, hence I was entrusted with a lot of tasks and processes. My team were quite flexible in allowing me to take on as much or as little responsibility as I wanted.

The main skills I developed were around communication, team work and Excel. All three of these skills will be extremely beneficial in my final year of my degree and beyond. IBM also offer online training to all employees (you are expected to do a minimum of 40 hours per year) as well as face to face courses - although you will only be sent on these if they are critical to your role.

The office is extremely collaborative. There are work spaces specifically for groups and other areas designed for individuals to use. I was placed in the South Bank office which is where most interns are based. Consequently, there was a massive intern community and always an event to go to!

I found the initial processes to be quite slow - IBM is a large company so things take a bit longer than in small companies. Other than it being quite slow, I found the placement year to be well structured and organised. You are given a placement journal to complete as you move through the year and are reviewed every 3 months to ensure you are performing well.

Every employee has access to online training - of which you are expected to do a minimum of 40 hours per year. Other than that, they do offer face to face training but only if it is relevant to your job.

IBM offer a great path to interns who wish to return as graduates. There are a number of schemes, which are all well structured and offer a great starting salary.

If you are placed in South Bank (as I was) there is a huge intern community. There are always events to go to and chances to meet other interns.

I worked in London, thus the cost of living and socialising was quite high. However, IBM offer a higher salary to those working in London to cover the extra cost of living.

I very rarely went out whilst on placement as London is quite expensive. However, there are plenty of bars and clubs to go to.

There are loads of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. You can join sports teams, attend events and get involved in 'giveback' activities (e.g. attending university career fairs).