Business Operations Analyst Review

The placement has been an incredible opportunity to build a professional network, work with some really nice people, and develop crucial skills and competencies that will benefit me as i go on. The team i worked for looked after and supported me throughout the placement from a professional and personal perceptive, it was great to be part of that kind of working environment

Being an intern, there is a common concern on whether your opinions are actually valued and taken in to account because of the 'intern' title. In IBM the hierarchy structure breaks down in the open work environment and it's easy to voice opinions in discussions which may include senior members of the company as well

There was an immense amount of professional and personal support from my team whenever it was needed. Whether i needed help while going through the daily tasks or just wanted to have a one to one session to go through an idea or pick their brain about a question, it's really easy to reach out and get some advice and direction from anyone especially your manager and they try their best to help you.

It depends on how much work i chose to take on at a particular point in time, there was times when i was really busy, working weekends as well and some times it felt like days were simply repeating and i got a chance to build my knowledge and earn badges through the companies resources which also improve my CV and skills.

I was given a fairly large amount of responsibilities throughout the placement, from leading events to owning my daily responsibilities, conducting internal meetings, education session to better the team etc. It depends on how much you want to involve yourself with certain projects, you are also able to engage with intern-led communities within IBM for which you have a significant responsibility for.

Throughout the placement, i have picked up on a much broader understanding on business theories, principles etc and all the engagements which i put myself in the middle of really build on my existing skill set and helped develop new skills which will benefit me in the future, with my degree and career.

I was based in the Edinburgh office, which was mostly quiet, however on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the whole team came up to Edinburgh from their base locations and the office was always booming with conversations, jokes, meetings etc. It was a really friendly atmosphere and open workspace so there are no barriers to communication between each other

It is a really well organized placement, there is a set way for assessments, and review meetings with your managers, it was initially slow to start with because there was no handover process for me and finding a place to stay was really difficult because there was no help from the company

The company has an internal Your Learning website which you are able to spend as much time on it as you want. The minimum amount that every employee is meant to spend on developing themselves is at least 40 hours per year. There's courses are certified badges that you can earn through this portal which look great on the CV and give you a good understanding on the topic.

It's incredible what a graduate can achieve, there was a chance to network with the graduates of the company and understand their journey and their roles. It's clear if you are willing to put the work in, there's really high places you could go to in the company in a very short period of time.

There was a good social scenes between colleagues, we met for drinks, and Christmas dinners were also organized by the team and location in addition to this, the team also participates in charity events once a year, which the intern organizes. I was the only placement student in my location so there was a poor social interaction with other placement students from my side.

I was based in Edinburgh and the cost of living is fairly highly, however if you are able to find housing at reasonable cost it's pretty decent and easy to get around with the public transport. Drink and food prices are not too expensive but depends on where you go.

Being the only placement student in my location, i didn't experience much of a nightlife, only when the team had socials, when i got to host clients for an event and during the Christmas celebrations.

It depends on how much you want to do outside of work, i was heavily involved with extra curricular activities, such as gym, football, boxing, camping, hiking, running etc. If you can manage your time well there are endless opportunities for you to get involved in. If you are located in a place like London, even more probably because there are many interns there.