Foundation Finance Administrator Review

I have learnt a lot and have become much more mature during my placement year. Getting experience in a real life business is invaluable and has definitely set me up nicely to do well in my final year at university. With IBM, there is a big intern community- which makes the experience even greater as there is always something to do, and people to relax with once work is over.

Due to the nature of the job role I was in, I worked very closely with other members of my team, most of who were interns. Work was shared between us all when it was possible to help, and my colleagues trusted me to produce work for them- and were appreciative of the work I could provide.

There is the opportunity to reach out to pretty much anyone should you need to. The experience that I had was that if you needed direction (perhaps to get involved in something you were interested in) then there would always be a structure in place to find the right people. Also, whilst guidance was given, it was not pushed down your throat- they trust you to do your own learning, and figure things out for yourself where necessary.

The nature of my job role, in finance, meant that I was particularly busy towards month end, and would sometimes mean spending extra hours in the office to accommodate for getting financial reports done in time. However, in my case my manager was accommodating and I could get these hours back across the rest of the month. It is a busy role, however I find that makes it a lot more interesting and you learn a lot more- time flies by a lot quicker when you are busy. People with perhaps less busy roles still made themselves busy by taking on additional work outside the normal scope of their job role.

Right from the start, I was expected to provide work which my manager would use for their meetings. I was given guidance on how to do this at the start, but towards the end of my placement I am now trusted to provide accurate work without being overseen through the steps. Every piece of work that I provided was not done as an irrelevant task- tasks are not given to you in a made up scenario- it is real work that is used throughout the business.

Going in to a financial job role, I had little experience with excel before I came to IBM. I have learnt on the job, and now feel very proficient in setting up complex spreadsheets which can reduce the time taken to produce certain tasks. This will be very helpful in my final year at university. There is also the option to undertake addition online training (in pretty much any area you can think of!) where you can be given certifications that aren't just specific to the company- all for free!

The atmosphere in my office was enjoyable. I was with 3 other interns on the same team as me and we bonded well. This meant that the atmosphere was light-hearted and there was a good work ethic between all of those on my team. When it was time to work, we all got our heads down- but having someone next to you that you enjoy working with makes it a much more enjoyable experience.

All job roles are given for a reason and there is a reason why that manager is hiring you- you are there to perform a certain function. This meant that there was a good set-up in terms of always providing me with specific tasks that needed to be completed. Also, once you have accepted your offer, the induction process is efficient and very helpful right from the off.

You are expected to take make the most of developing by looking for opportunities that you are interested in. This meant I undertook online training that was suggested to me by managers, and also did some online training that looked interesting to me. Perhaps there could be the opportunity for interns to be provided with the opportunity to attend external education classes.

IBM is constantly updating itself and changing to suit the new technological age. This means that there is a need for interns to fill certain roles, should they wish to come back as a graduate. There is a tough selection process, but there is a solid support structure in place if you do want to come back and you are pushed to make the most of your time.

I thought when my base location was in Winchester that there would be very few people who wanted to go to pubs/party like I was used to back in university. In my case, this was untrue- there is a strong intern community in my work base location who are always wanting to do something be that go clubbing on the weekends, go to the cinema, play golf e.c.t... It does depend of course who is there of course, but the likelihood is you will find people who like doing the same things as you.

The cost of living in Winchester was higher than I was used to (being usually up in Manchester). However there are a few cheap pubs (spoons in particular) and nice restaurants that are worth going to. Also, you have a wage whilst you are working at IBM, so you are likely to have more money to live with than you do at university.

The nightlife in Winchester is relatively expensive and there are only a few clubs. It tends to be cheaper on student nights in the week (not surprising) if you want to go clubbing. There is a decent selection of pubs around Winchester. Also, you are only a train journey away from Southampton which has many more decent clubs, so it isn't awful.

This is up to you. I got involved in a few extra activities such as a local rugby club. As in most places, there is always something to do if you are interested enough. I know people that have joined 5-a-side football teams, or got involved in wine tasting. There isn't a lack of things to do if you are interested enough.