PMO Review

IBM gave you the opportunity to try anything you wanted. I was extemely lucky to be based in Preston as I was given a busy full time role but also when there was anything I wanted to get involved in I was able to with the support of my task manager.

Most of the colleagues I met made my placement. I was rarely made to feel like I was less qualified than other more senior members of staff. There was the odd person who didn't value you but they were very rare to come across. Overall my colleagues were kind and supportive and very eager to help you boost your career

I was given a lot of support by my task manager and other people I worked with. I didn't get as much guidance as I hoped from my personal manager but my task manager was very proactive and helped me wherever I needed it so I never felt unsupported even if it wasn't coming from the correct source

I was fairly busy every day busy every day but obviously there are slow days. In slow days I got to do extra learning and look for extra work. If you weren't proactive then you you could have the odd slow day but in my experience it didn't last

I was given a lot of responsibility in my placement. I was often asked to provide things that went to the client. I organised the financials on the project I joined and helped write the contract and get them approved. I was also asked to join bids so I could lead pricing

I have improved my excel and public speaking skills which will benefit my degree. All the other skills I gained probably won't benefit my degree but will definitely assist me in future jobs as I have Agile knowledge and project management knowledge that will come in usefull in later life

The atmosphere in both of my offices was great. At my base location you knew most the people in the office and social events were often organised. In my other location everyone always got to know you and people would ofter get lunch together and go for dinner after work

My placement was set up well before I joined and in the first month but when I joined my role kept changing which didn't cause great ease. This change ended up being the best thing for me and my career but it didn't feel very organised at the start changing my role. Also when I joined I didn't get paid for nearly 2 months which made me struggle slightly for a month

There was the opportunity to do a lot of internal online training. You also get the opportunity to attend events that may improve your development. If you have capacity you can also shadow anyone who is willing to give you the time. There is also occasionally some classroom train you can attend

Future prospects are very appealing. As an intern you get to see all the work Grads and higher get the opportunity to do and talking to colleagues you hear about all the opportunities for work and training they have been given. You apply back for an area of business rather than a specific role which allows for a lot of opportunities to develop

Most of the interns were quite sociable and we has lunch together a lot and occasionally went out but there was the odd one who didn't want to socialise. A lot of my other colleagues were very sociable and we often did cinema trip, dinners out and after work drinks

Preston was quite cheap to live in with monthly rent for a 1 bed around £500 a month and below. Preston was quite cheap to socialise in. Bars, cinemas, eating out and activities like bowling didn't seem to expensive in comparison to other places. Edinburgh was more expensive but if you picked the places more carefully you could have a reasonably cheap evening out.

I personally didn't really go out in Preston but Edinburgh was nice. The bars were nice and so were the clubs. There was a wide range so you could go for something expensive and posh or cheap and okay. There were nice bars with games like pool an darts. When working London and Manchester there was a good nightlife too.

There were often things going on in the evening. In nicer weather things like walks up Arthur's seat were organised. Our cluster is also doing the three peak which was easy to get involved in.