Commercial Maager Review

Overall, my placement with IBM has been more valuable that I initially expected. I have enjoyed even the challenging aspects of the work, and can confidently say that IBM has helped me develop my skills for the future.

Working within the GTS, business unit at IBM. I was part of a localized client account. The team around me were immediately engaging, and are always willing to find time to help out in a whole variety of situations. I feel that throughout my placement, the IBM team appreciated the value of the work I carried out, and I felt like my opinions/ideas were always considered.

IBM provide both a day to day task manager, and a personal foundation manager. Both Manager's were very supportive, and as my placement progressed and I had proven to be a trusting employee, they would provide opportunities to become involved in a variety of area's of the business, helping with my professional development. The foundation team are also very supportive when it comes to personal matters outside of work.

At the start of my placement, I was given a healthy workload to allow me to steadily break into my new role. However this quickly accelerated, and as the months progressed I began to take on a large array of tasks. This was a positive aspect of the placement, as it allowed me to develop my skills at a faster rate, and gain respect of my team around me.

At IBM, if you are proactive and willing to put in the effort, you will be given responsibility's above and beyond what is expected as an intern. I personally was given high levels of responsibility - in the form of senior exposure to the client, and the management of key commercial issues/financial disputes.

I believe the skills I have gained whilst on my placement are invaluable, and I will be able to transfer these into my final year at university. I am very grateful and fortunate to have had this internship opportunity with IBM.

Day to day the atmosphere in the office provided a friendly yet professional environment. My experience was that everybody in the office, would be open for you to come over to their desk with any questions you may have, and they would always be happy to help.

The overall structure of the placement was set up to suit the personal development of the intern. With the support of my foundation manager it was easy to understand the objectives of my placement, with regular reviews on my progress.

IBM invest heavily into their young employees. This is clear to see on the internship - with a variety of opportunities to attend educational classes. Whilst on my placement I attended various development courses which helped me gain key knowledge in areas I previously had zero experience in.

At the end of your internship, IBM provide an intern - graduate scheme, which provides guidance into what job role may best be suited, if you were to return as a graduate. Therefore the Graduate roles at IBM are very appealing, and will be something that I will be pursuing.

Throughout the placement, you are invited to a foundation community, of which they hold frequent social events. Even though I was based outside of London - the team provided opportunities for the local interns to get together and have social evenings etc..

During my placement year I lived at home, hence my cost of living was very minimal. However I know that a lot of the interns who lived in rented accommodation in London experienced higher costs of living. However this is accounted for in the increased salary for London based interns.

Nightlife in Manchester is always vibrant. It was very accessible to get together with my fellow interns and have night outs to the clubs/bars which were only a few minutes walk away from the office I was working at.

As I have previously mentioned. At IBM there is a full foundation community for the interns. As part of this community, you will receive frequent opportunities to take part in offsite activities; such as volunteer opportunities at local schools. I myself took part in various career's fairs and also practice interviews at local high schools.