HR Business Development Coordinator Review

I found the start of my placement hard due to moving away from University and Home, but with time I began to settle more and more. I enjoyed my placement, it was a great opportunity to transition into the work environment and learn a lot of new skills and gain a large amount of knowledge. The balance between the office environment as well as travelling to meet clients and employees was an aspect of the job which I really enjoyed.

I felt very valued within my team throughout my placement. I was able to assist my colleagues with new collaborative tools which they soon saw the benefit of. I also felt valued as the team started to come to me directly in order to assist them with their work, as they knew I was able to complete the work they required.

The support that was given to us throughout the placement was very encouraging. Not only did I have a monthly meeting with my task manager, I also had an Early Professional Manager (EPM) who was able to give me support in relation to my progress while at IBM. I also had a mentor from within the HR department, who I would meet with relatively regularly.

My workload widely varied due to being busy at the time when employees transfer through a deal. Therefore, if we weren’t busy it was a good opportunity to get involved in different things such as online learning or seeing if there was any way we were able to help the team. In contrast, there were also times when you wouldn't stop throughout the day.

In my role, there was a lot of responsibility given to me in ensuring that employees were ready to transfer to IBM. This often involved contact with clients as well as travelling across the UK to employees. In addition to this, I was able to take on different projects alongside my day role which was my responsibility in order to manage.

I have developed a large amount of skills during my placement such as presentation skills, communicating in a professional manner as well as organisation/prioritisation. Therefore, these key skills will hopefully assist my future studies. In addition, I learnt a lot about the technology industry which is something that I knew very little about before my placement, but is so important in the modern world.

Due to Portsmouth being the base location for HR, it was nice to be in the office due to the community feel. The only day which was rather quiet in the office was Fridays as most people would work from home.

The internship has a clear structure, in term of your progress reviews as well as a support structure. My Task Manager as well as you Early Career Manager (EPM) all encouraged me to get involved with different projects and giveback outside of your role. This meant I felt supported and knew how my progress was going to be measured.

The company had a really positive attitude towards the development of their Interns and there were several events throughout the year aimed at developing career related skills of the Interns as well as technical knowledge. The job itself has improved my skills, such as Excel, organisational skills as well as my attention to detail, all of which I hope will become useful in my last year at University.

IBM offer a graduate scheme where you are able to apply back before you leave from your placement. Therefore, I will be applying back into IBM.

There were a large number of Interns based at the Portsmouth office and therefore we would all meet on occasions such as a Christmas meal as well as and end of year meal. We would also meet for lunch and during the summer we would socialise outside on benches and ping pong tables.

Due to living on my own during my placement, I would say the cost of living was relatively high. However, this was a conscious decision for me to live on my own, and I know that those who lived with other interns found the cost of living a lot less.

Due to having a University in Portsmouth, there are cheap nights to go on in town. However, I didn’t tend to go out to clubs. Instead I often opted to make the most of the independent bars and restaurants, of which there are many, in Portsmouth.

IBM offer the opportunity to go on discounted trips which were relatively local to the area. As well as this, the interns would organise their own events. IBM are often looking for people to help with Giveback, where you are able to help IBM in career fairs, Interview days with school children etc. They were accessible, but just had to be organised around your day role.