European Recruitment Marketing Co-ordinator Review

I immensely enjoyed my placement year here at IBM. It couldn't have been better from the team I worked within, the responsibilities I was given, to the wider opportunities available to me whilst in the business. It was such a great learning experience that I wouldn't change for the world.

I felt valued by my colleagues from the first day. They were very inviting and I was never treated as 'just an intern' which was one of my main worries but a real employee with real responsibilities in the organisation.

There is a huge support system here at IBM. The foundation community assigns you an EPM (Early Professional Manager) as soon as you start and this is a great means of support and separate from your day to day jobs which is nice. The manager and team that I had was also very supportive in both my work and private life. I think that because there is such a large number of interns at IBM, there is always someone you can relate to.

I always found work to complete daily but I would sometimes get occasional periods of quietness and busyness. Whenever I found myself overwhelmed with work there was always someone I could reach out to for support whether that was my task manager or wider team. Likewise when I was experiencing a more relaxed workload there was loads of wider IBM projects you can get involved in

I have been amazed at the amount of responsibility I have been given during my placement year and it really does go to show how much impact you can have in the workplace and makes it more rewarding to work at IBM.

A large number of my skills such as presenting, communicating and business knowledge have increased since beginning my placement. The real world application of marketing has taught me so much more about the field then I could ever have imagined and that will help me when continuing my studies further

I was situated in Southbank, London and the atmosphere was great. There was always something happening in the office and the team I had always made it a great place to work. Small things like a weekly cake rota to office banter really made it 10 times better. If I was to describe the atmosphere in a few words, I was use open and friendly as everyone you meet is so inviting and really takes the time to listen to you.

My overall placement was very well structured with several reviews 3, 6 and 9 months into the placement. There is also several communities and the foundation team make sure you are best set for once you leave too.

The company heavily invests in your development whilst on placement here. Whether it is numerous training sessions coding or chances to learn about wider areas of the business. I was also assigned a mentor and had monthly calls to set targets for my own growth this year.

We are all heavily encouraged to apply back into the organisation with career days held to promote all the schemes IBM has to offer. The company also encourages us all to look into business areas that may provide graduate jobs through shadowing of existing employees.

There is such a large intern, grad, apprentice and school leavers community with IBM which helped build such a great social scene here at IBM. Everyone is so familiar and you all bond together somewhat like how your school year did.

I worked within IBM's London offices so the price of living and socialising in London can be pretty expensive but there are plenty of cheaper alternative places to socalise at.

London nightlife has something that can appeal to everyone which is great. Whether its big clubs, bars, comedy nights or great food; London has it all.

There is so many opportunities to get involved in schemes outside of work and your daily job role. Giveback is a big incentive in IBM which is about giving back to the IBM community or the communities we work within.