European Recruitment – Attraction, Employer Branding & Marketing Co-ordinator Review

I really enjoyed my placement, my role was very varied, I had a lot of responsibility and learnt a lot. The people I worked with were all friendly and everybody is willing to help. My team were based across Europe so I didn't meet a lot of the people I worked with, but I still felt I built up great relationships with them.

At no point in my year did I feel like I was treated like an intern. Members of my team treated me like a full time employee and a lot of the people I spoke with would have never known. I was always thanked for my work and the work I was doing wasn't menial or boring and had real impact on the business.

I spoke almost daily to my task manager as they were based in a different country, they were fantastic I couldn't of asked for better support! Generally, I was always offered guidance and support by colleagues if I wasn't sure on things. Because my task manager was remotely located I felt sometimes I was lacking information on less role specific tasks including things like booking holiday etc. There was an e-mail address I could contact for queries like this but sometimes it would take a few days to get a reply.

My role was very busy we supported all the European countries which meant I was always very busy. The work was varied and I honestly don't think I had two weeks the same since I started. I got involved in lots of extra projects which sometimes got a bit overwhelming but this was my own fault.

A lot! My managers were very supportive of me using my initiative to make decisions all the time. I signed off on print runs and had direct input into projects. I had access to 16 IBM social channels and the option to experiment with content. If I was ever unsure I would reach out to my managers. I think the amount of responsibility you are given depends on how much you can handle.

I learnt a lot of skills and built up experience in industry leading platforms including Adobe and specialist social media software. I was involved in a number of European and global projects involving IBMers across the business and the skills I took away from these will be infinitely transferrable. You are given access to a massive learning repository so you can learn about anything from project management to teaching yourself Javascript.

I was based in Portsmouth where there isn't that many interns. Everyone was friendly enough but there wasn't much of going out for drinks after work etc. South Bank was much better for this as there is a bigger intern and grad community and everything is much more accessible.

Very well, when you come into the business you are assigned an Early Professional Manager who helps you with your personal development amongst other things. You have regular reviews and the opportunity to get feedback. My role was based within HR and I was assigned a mentor. There was always the opportunity to get involved in extra activities outside your role.

There is a lot of emphasis on self-learning and you are encouraged to undertake 40 hours of learning during your placement. There is a massive repository of courses where you can learn almost anything and some of them will earn you digital badges which are externally recognised. There was always lunch and learn sessions going on which you could attend. I never attended any 'paid for' training but I know other interns who got external certifications paid for by the business.

Very appealing, I really want to come back into the business as a graduate Consultant. I would be very happy to come back as I've really enjoyed my time here on placement. The people are fantastic and my team were awesome! There is a set process for returning if you are placement student.

There was a small community of interns at Portsmouth, the social scene could have been better. There was an organised Christmas party where we hired a boat on the Thames but not much else in the way of organised social events. If you were working out of South Bank people would regularly go out for drinks after work with colleagues as it was more accessible than in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth is a student city it's a bit more expensive than places I have visited up north like Liverpool but there is a good variety of bars and clubs for good nights out.

It's a student city there is a good amount of pubs and clubs in Portsmouth some of which are better than others. As it's a student city there is always student nights if you want to have a cheaper night out. Albert or Palmerston road are good options if you prefer smaller clubs and bars.

There was a good amount of opportunities to get involved in activities outside your role. IBM has something called giveback where you can give some of your time to helping another IBMers this could be anything from helping out at an assessment centre to attending a careers fair and representing IBM to prospective students.