GTS IS Delivery Operation Specialist Review

It is a highly enjoyable placement that I have been through, lots of different events, people, tasks that I have met and would definately not regret doing it. In fact, despite sometimes they come with hard work, they are always great experience to have outside of study to explore and learn from.

As I am working for a big international corporate, interns are separated into different business units. Me as a part of the Global Technology Service team for delivery functions, I am the only intern of the team and it really means that a lot of ad hoc tasks will land on me irregularly. Besides, I have been taking on a few small- medium size projects on costs & resource. So overall I feel like I am indeed valued by colleagues, and I am glad that they have faith and trust in me to do things right at right times.

The Foundation (which manages young professionals e.g. interns, graduates, apprentices, high school students etc) encourages us to network in various events & virtual communities for different purposes. It is base on your will and action to reach out for help and support if needed. In addition, the system for intern is that we all have our task manager (for daily tasks, usually a lead of your team), as well as an Early Professional Manager (for personal/ HR/ future perspective situations). In addition you will have your 'buddy' as your first point of contact with your peers. Gradually you will meet a lot more people throughout the year when fulfilling business needs as well as attending voluntary Give Back events. In general a really supportive in a way that do not constrain you from doing what you want.

I would give a 6 out of 10- again because of the flexibility that you get whilst at work. You may not be able to choose what things your task manager asks you to do, however outside of your job role you are welcome to join any sorts of events, mainly technology or education based.

I was not given a lot at first- but when a couple of key tasks that you are maintaining starting to build up, there are more work to do and more decisions to made while completing those tasks. So I would say a 6 out of 10 as well, since I feel like I could have achieved more if I have given myself more confidence and convince others that I am able to handle the tasks. Not saying that I am not given much responsibility, but I do feel like I am able to achieve more than what I have achieved.

The IBM Placement has developed me as a whole. Not only by the job that I have done, but shaped my professionalism and confidence in general. The people that I met, things I have done and skills that I have gained/ reinforced has helped to shape my mindset more towards a business practitioner. In my final year, I am going to have a lot of coursework, presentations and essays. And in IBM, there are a lot of real life situations that can be applied back to the knowledge/framework/ theories that we have learnt. And in the future, it has definitely intrigued my mind of staying in the IT/ retail industry base on the knowledge that I have expended and the interest that I have developed throughout the year.

As I have said before, the vibes in here is very positive in terms of helping out whenever you feel needed. The system of feedback rewards IBMers from helping others in order to gain recognition and as a reference when finding jobs within IBM. Although for me personally, it can sometime get a bit crazy when there are big events going on/ quarter & year end etc where the office can be really busy and intense.

The flow of year has been good- the design is very flexible and really depends on you nature of job roles. I would say it is very well organised, the purpose, aim and objectives of the year for students are very clear and easy to understand. In terms of the application process- it can be a bit slow, but understandable as it gets a lot of applications to deal with every year. The flexibility of roles and the scheme is pretty much fluid, as long as there are good communication between you and the EPM(Early professional manager) and your task manager, you are able to do the job roles that is different from what you are assigned to.

In order to familiarise myself of the team/ dynamics of environment, I have had 2 immediate travels to different IBM sites (Portsmouth and Warwick) which is all at IBM's expense; variety of online programs about IT knowledge and IBM expertise etc. A lot of Give Back events can also be reimbursed, although I almost chose events that are based in London everytime.

Graduates schemes are open to interns before they do open externally. So we have advantages on getting reviewed by IBM HR/ talent team ahead of others. For the IBM Grad schemes, they offer a verity of roles that you can learn a lot from. Different business units (e.g. Cloud, Analytics, Global Technology/ Business Services) have different schemes for their grads- so a lot of choices that you can pick 2 from for your application.

Yes for sure. In general interns get to know each other during the 2 day induction (which I sadly missed). And within the team there are drink. social nights depends on the occasions and 'vibes' of the team of colleagues that you work with. However we are scattered in different parts of IBM and sometimes it might require extra effort to meet up, but as long as you are willing to connect to others, you will eventually find your way to make friends with peers/ colleagues.

I work in IBM Southbank, which is very central in London. Hence the cost of living won't be cheap as you can imagine. However, IBM does have their own canteen in their Southbank office and the food there is relatively cheaper than the eateries nearby. Absolutely a great place for bars and pubs if you fancy drinking after work- we are in the central afterall! I live in zone 2/3 but the rent still weights a heavy proportion of my salary- so it is not very cost effective to drink/ eat near IBM I would say. But occasionally would be a really good bonding experience with your work mates.

As I mentioned above - we are just one bridge away from Soho. Almost the most vibrant nightlife you can get in London! So yes, the answer is absolutely amazing (if you have that cash, which won't last very long:) in less than 5 minute walk to Waterloo station there are already 2 relatively cheap pubs/ bars (with IBMer's discout!), and also a couple along the southbank as well. All in all, you will never NOT being able to find a place to drink/ have a great night out!

I have mentioned a lot of give back/ learning/ online course opportunities which IBM provides on almost daily basis, regardless your role. So as long as you are interested, you can join in any of the events team/ communities that they advertise to all young professionals and beyond. You will gain a lot from those events, as well as filling up your time outside of your job role as well!