L2 Support - Tools and Workload Manager Review

I enjoyed my placement year very much! I had the opportunity of meeting great people, network with many business people and start new friendships with other interns. The work environment is relaxed and flexible. It was a good placement year and a nice start in the business, that, unfortunately, has passed by too quick.

I do have a large team across the UK and Europe. I have interacted with people I have never met this year, as they are based in different locations. I had the pleasant surprise to find out that my team is in very good relationships with the Romanian team, fact that showed me the diversity of the work environment.

I was supervised by more than one people. The EPM (Early Professional Manager) is more like a university tutor that helps you if you have any problems, from mental health to not having too much workload. She assessed my Quarterly Reviews and gave me regular feedback. My Task Manager is the one that gives me daily tasks and helps me build on my technical and soft skills.

My Job required paying attention to many details, meaning that I was quite busy. In a nutshell, I was monitoring the Cases that IBM's customers would raise and I had to update both the client and the engineers of any communications. Based on the importance of the Case the time frame was essential.

I was the one responsible for making sure the customer gets the required updates in due time, without any major delays. Overall, my main role I performed during my placement was to help IBM build on its client-centric culture, supporting the loyalty of the relationships with our customers and keeping the NPS (Net Promoter Score) on the right track. However, I would have liked to handle more important tasks.

Another task I do is to alert engineers of updates, assign new Cases and reassign existing ones where necessary. I was directly responsible of ensuring the customers’ request were handled within the 2-hour timeframe. This allowed me to show my communication skills have improved during the placement year at IBM, simply because my job required to contact the engineers to meet the Metrics. As a UWE Campus Team Leader I shared My IBM Journey to an audience of 90 students, that helped me gain more confidence in myself and it significantly improved my presentation skills, because according to the feedback, my speech was clear, understandable, creative and ongoing, and that I had the qualities of an effective speaker.

The atmosphere was relaxed and very friendly. I do enjoy working in a quiet environment and my office was in a silent area, which helped me concentrate better. The cafeteria downstairs was always welcoming with good food and there are always breakout areas where you can relax for a bit. Because there were many placement students in the Southbank office, I couldn't make many friends. Quality over quantity, isn't it?

The Foundation is in charge of the placement students and they were always making sure we are given opportunities such as volunteering activities and networking events.

As placement students, we were able to apply for the Graduate Scheme earlier. The Foundation will try to sort our interviews before starting the final year of university.

I created better friendship with my working team than the other fellow placement students

Transport in London is expensive, as well as the rent. However, you can live a decent life and have fun at the same time if you know how to prioritise. It worked very well for me!

There are many many clubs/pubs/restaurants in London for all the tastes. During lunch break, you can grab a snack or have a proper 2-course menu at a local venue at a good price!

Yes!!! Volunteering activities, Career Fairs, Insight sessions, University talks, mock interviews, Mentoring younger students