Commerical Analyst Review

I have hugely my placement at IBM. My role keeps me entertained from day and it leads to challenges in the workplace which always leads to a sense of accomplishment when overcome. Everyone based in the North Harbour office where I work contributes to make the office a fun place to work and are always up for a chat and offer very useful career guidance. The interns have a real sense of community and togetherness. Sometimes the work can be tedious/a bit quiet however at these times it is easy enough to keep yourself entertained/busy.

All the work I do is usefull to someone and everyone is very grateful it is done, especially when prompt. Every now and then you do come across someone who doesn't come across as appreciatively however this is very rarely the case.

At IBM you are given a line manager and an EPM. The line manager is very useful in guiding you in how to do your job and knowledge in the roles you may like to go into. My line manager really helped me settle in and seems to know the company inside out meaning any question I have in my role/about IBM she is able to answer and nothing is ever too much trouble. My EPM helped me out with career guidance and networking, putting me in contact with other IBMers who are in a role I might be potentially interested in in the future. Both Managers are extremely supportive and have given me great advice for the future.

At the start of the year the workload to me seemed massive as it is a completely differenct concept to university and it took me a while to get to grips with the new role. As the year went on processes got faster as I was more knowledgeable in what I do, and as this happened I was given new responsibilities to keep myself busy. The workload is definitely. manageable however every now and then I find myself with not much to do, giving me plenty of time to do some shadowing/education

While the work I do is important for the business it is very much end of the line crossing the t's and dotting the i's, while this is understandable due to it being my first role like this it wold have been nice. to get an opportunity to be part of decision making at some point to gain some exposure to that.

Halfway through my placement my EPM got me to write down all the skills I have gained this year and made me realise the skills I have gained are mostly not specific to the company but to myself, which will no doubt benefit me in the future.

The office was almost always extremely fun to work in with everyone being friendly and chatting. Every now and then it does get a bit quiet especially on friday's.

Very well set up placement. From day one I knew what to expect and the responsibilities I had to the company.

While the company provides the tools to get in contact with other professionals you were very much left to your own device. There was little training offered outside your job role.

There are few roles in the graduate scheme I would be interested in, despite being a great company to work for.

The social scene at North Harbour has been one of the highlights of the year. The other interns are always up for doing something outside of work and there is always some sort of plan in the pipeline.

Portsmouth has very good places to go for a cheap trip however you do have to suss them out which can take a while.

Portsmouth is not the largest city however there is a university so night out can be lively during term time. Once the students go it does die down considerably. There is also not much variation in venue.

There were plenty opportunities however you had to look for them yourself. Alot of them are also based at the other end of the county.