Marketing Specialist Review

I really enjoyed working for IBM, the biggest positive of working with a company of it's scale was the endless opportunities to get involved in. Not only are you able to learn the skills involved in your role, there are education opportunities, skill development sessions and giveback opportunities- which really helps keep you busy and gives you chance to tailor your placement year to develop the skills you need in your future career.

Within IBM there are multiple tools where you can ask for and receive feedback. This was a fantastic way to monitor your own performance and feel valued by your colleagues. This tool was often used as a sign of good work and recognition, which really helped me to stay motivated.

At IBM I believe you're expected to be quite proactive. I'm personally not an individual who needs step by step guidance through tasks so I found my experience at IBM was really positive. There is constant support offered by your management if you need it, however I felt there was a lot of trust between my manager and I, so they can happily leave you to get the job done.

My first six months of my role was very busy, this may be due to becoming familiar with the company. Once I began to feel settled in my role I had more spare time, but this is a perfect opportunity to sign up to the many opportunities provided at IBM- it's good to be proactive and fill your time to ensure you get the most of your placement year.

Throughout my 12 months I owned two projects, I distributed work among colleagues to progress and I felt I had a lot of responsibility early on in my placement. There's a lot of opportunity to make your own decisions and to have an input, I really enjoyed this aspect of my placement year.

I believe I developed some very valuable skills. The ability to work effectively as a team through different forms, f2f, over the phone, via Smartcloud, Skype etc. From that developing communication skills, being able to speak to anyone from any country at any level, also brings a lot of confidence. Being able to maintain being proactive and manage your time is a key skill I will take with me when managing my timetable in my final year of university.

Due to IBM having a 'work from home' culture, the atmosphere in the office can sometimes be quiet- especially on a Friday. However, in the busier periods, I found a lot of my opportunities came from sitting with and meeting new people around the office. It was an excellent way to get involved in exciting projects that matched my interests.

The placement was organised effectively. It was clear in my hand over what day to day tasks must be carried out, and I was aware of the business structure so I knew who I was reporting to, and who was in my team. Large structure changes to the business did mean that in my last three months there were big changes to my role which did have an affect on the end of my placement.

I attended a few internal education programmes such as an excel workshop which was ran by an IBM graduate. There are a lot of training and development schemes such as learn a language, which is a great way to develop your skills outside of your role. For me, my role was in client referencing and a colleague of mine invited me to an external workshop on the subject. IBM paid for me to travel to and to attend this event as part of my education.

Within IBM there are a lot of opportunities. That's the positive of working in a large company. There are multiple graduate roles within the organisation and IBM invest into your education such as sales school for those wanting to go into sales. There are similar education systems for those in marketing.

A big highlight for me was working a long side a large group of interns. Starting a placement can be a bit daunting and it definitely helps to make new friends and go through the experience with people in the same position as you. There was a large social scene at IBM, with regular socials. IBM also offers support at the beginning of your placement to help you find others working for the company which you can flat share with, which I find really beneficial.

I paid £700 a month before bills to live in Clapham Common, this was a 35 minute door to door commute. Bills cost me around £50 a month. I commuted via the tube, which was a £86 a month unlimited use zone 1-2 card- which was ideal for travelling on the weekends too. Unfortunately living in London is expensive to live and socialise, however it was a fantastic place to work/live and a very good experience.

At South Bank, there are a lot of bars and places to eat which is ideal after working. With the Thursday going out culture at IBM, it was a great way to meet up with friends after work. There are clubs across the river which we often went to and used for our Christmas parties and socials.

At IBM there is a giveback portal which held hundred of opportunities to get involved with things outside of work. For example, I went back to Bournemouth University to run a practice AC for those thinking to apply to IBM which was very rewarding. There are also many volunteering opportunities, for example you can work with children in schools and set up workshops for kids education at the office.