UKI CbD Induction and Recruitment Analyst Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement, I have been given more responsibility than I expected and have been stretched. I have been given the opportunity to attend events and workshops that have changed the way that I think and sparked new interests. I have really grown my network and had a great experience learning alongside people that were once in my shoes.

My task manager has been incredible. I am fully valued by her and other members of the team during my placement. We use a tool such as ACE feedback which is a good way for people to express their appreciation. This tools has helped me feel valued when helping others or producing a piece of work that someone is happy with.

I have been fully supported throughout my placement by my task manager and colleagues. When I first started there were loads of people on hand to help out if ever I was unsure of what I was doing to help guide and support my development. My manager is also there if ever I just need to talk or am struggling with anything.

I am constantly busy, in the department that I work in there is always something to be done whether it is my role, helping others where I can, making improvements to the process or doing some additional training. I wanted to make the most of my placement and learn as much as I could to increase my skills!

I had a lot of responsibility - more than I expected to have. One of the members of my team fell ill shortly after I joined which caused me to learn my role much quicker than I otherwise would have done. This has enabled me to take on more and make improvements to my role to ensure that my clients have the best possible experience.

The skills and training I have received are very transferable. My ability in excel has improved tremendously which will be incredibly helpful for my quantitative methods module in final year. Also invaluable skills such as communication, ability to present, teamwork have been developed which has improved the way I work with people for the better. Also new skills such as agile learning and design thinking are now crucial to the way I like to work.

The general atmosphere in the office is very relaxed. It is a hot desk policy where I sit so there are always new faces. However, I tend to sit in a similar area every day which I like. As interns we always have drinks on a Thursday night which is a good way to meet new people/chat up with the friends you have made on placement.

The organisation of the placement scheme is very well thought out. As there are around 200 interns a year that join IBM there is a wealth of opportunities, support and training available to get involved with. For example, we have a 2 day induction whereby we immediately start building our network and really get an understanding of how the organisation is run.

There is soooo much training! At IBM, there is online badges in almost anything that you want to learn more about from tech to becoming an LGBT+ ambassador. I have learnt so much. Also my task manager has been brilliant in allowing me to take some time out of my role to invest my interest in other things that are going on in the business such as attending an agile workshop for a client.

I started IBM not having a set career path, or even knowing what I wanted to do after university. Since being here, I have absolutely loved my placement year. Working for the graduate programme has enabled me to get a rich insight into the life of a grad and what to expect if I was to come back and join the grad scheme as a consultant. This experience has really opened my eyes to the future employment prospects within the organisation, and a future that now know I want to have. Therefore I will be applying back to the CbD Graduate programme.

Yes! As mentioned earlier, due to the vast amount of interns and graduates in IBM there are endless social opportunities whether it is going out for lunch with a group of friends or drinks after work. Around christmas time the interns organised a boat party along the Thames for all interns/school leavers etc which was a brilliant night!

Working in London can be expensive, for me personally I live in Kent and travel to central London every day which is incredibly expensive. However, that is the choice that I have made. There is a bar that we go to which do a good happy hour and additional hours for IBMers which is fab! However, there are the normal reasonable chain restaurants available.

Southbank is a great location - there is always something going on to please everyone. Due to travel being so accessible via the tube there is a wealth of bars, restaurants and clubs at your finger tips!

There are loads of opportunities! At IBM we have 'giveback' whereby there are millions of things to get involved in. For example, you could be helping at a careers fair back at your university or getting involved in a hackathon. If there is something that you are interested in that isn't yet a thing, it is so easy to set up!