Business Operations Analyst - Server UKI Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement as it equipped me with the knowledge and understanding of the IT business first hand. It was a great time for networking and making life-lomng contacts, which will inevitably benefit me in the future when searching for jobs after University. I enjoyed the fact that there were a lot of opportunities to get involved in projects that weren't necessarily linked with my role, giving me many chances to meet new people and extend my network.

The feedback system within the company meant that I could request feedback from any of my colleagues and keep an up to date log of where my strengths were, and what I should work on. The feedback that I received throughout the year made me feel valued, whether it was positive or constructive as it showed me that my colleagues cared about my future and success.

Everyone in the company is always willing to help. There are slack channels available where you can ask any question and someone would always get back to you. My task manager was always willing to have meetings with me to help me understand what I could do moving forwards to get the most out of my placement, and work towards my full potential.

I started off much less busy than I was towards the end of my placement. I saw opportunities to get involved in various projects as the year progressed. Additionally, I found ways to optimise my roles and incerase efficiency within my role. Inevitably, this used up more of my time, increasing my business.

I was responsible for creating reports which contained all of the latest sales information within my department. I consolidated all of the data against various other sources, and the presented this to the VP. The VP then took this to the GM office weekly to have a review of the brand. This gave me a strong sense of responsibility.

The main skills that I have improved from my placement are organisation, presentation and communicaiton skills. These skills are all highly relevant to my degree. My improved organisation will help me to prepare better for exams and deadlines. There are some presentation elements to my degree - so my presentation skills will help here. My communication skills for general networking and meeting new people will also ensure that I do well at University.

On Mondays and Fridays, there was not much of an atmosphere at all, as people were working remotely on client site or from home. However, Tuesday to Thursday was much busier. Also, there was always a strong atmosphere towards the end of quarters when there was an increase in pressure to close deals.

Very well organised. There was a clear structure the whole time for what was expected at certain milestones within the placement. This gave all placement students a great sense of reassurance. There were reviews every 3 months with our foundation managers to go through progression and targets. There was also a good intern to grad process.

There were a lot of resources for skills and training available to employees which provided endless resources for learning. There was also a lot of mandatory education to keep all employees up to date with the latest trends in the industry. There could have been better structure and guidance on the resources available.

Appealing, but it seems that the roles are slightly limited to consultancy roles. There are others available, but the bulk of graduate roles are consultancy. There are so many parts of IBM that it seems like an appealing company to develop my career in. You can easily change the direction of your career within the organisation which is appealing.

There were always after work drinks on Thursdays at local venues at the London Office. There was a Christmas boat party, and a summer party which interns from offices across the UK attended. There was also a strong intern community at the Winchester, Portsmouth and Warwick offices. There were also team drinks within different parts of the organisation.

London is very expensive in terms of food and drink. Rent is also extortionate.

The area of London (Waterloo) has excellent transport links to other areas of London, so a good nightlife is easily accessible. There is also a lot of pubs and bars locally which are always busy on all days of the week. The people are generally friendly in the surrounding areas as well.

In my role, not really. I did hear of other interns going for activities/team building though.