Talent Acquisition Coordniator - Graduates and Apprentices Review

My placement has be brilliant from start to finish. Having responsibility from day one, it has been challenging but in the end very rewarding. I have been lucky enough to work with four other interns this year which has been great, always creating a fun working environment. The placement has been extremely enjoyable.

It is understood that my role is extremely busy and often stressful. My colleagues and managers have been very understanding and supportive of me throughout this year and recognised me for all my efforts. I was recognised at a HR community meeting which was a small gesture from my colleagues but meant a lot to me.

My role is very self sufficient, I manage my own time and tasks that need to be complete and an responsible for those tasks. Sometimes the workload was too heavy for me to cope and I had to ask for help, which I found difficult to do, however when I did ask for help I was supported by my managers who stepped in and gave some guidance on how to improve workload.

I would say I was extremely busy on a daily basis. Every morning I write my to do list and if at the end of the day everything was ticked off, it was a rare day! I always had work to do, if anything too much, and if ever I had some down time, there is plenty of badge learning for me to get on with.

A lot! I was responsible for both the Graduate and Apprentice schemes for the UK. This involves pushing candidates through the pipeline, replying to candidate queries and running Assessment Centres which are often 12 hour long days and I was the only HR representative on the day responsible for the coordination of the event.

I developed many skills this year such as communication skills, leadership skills, team work ability, presentation skills and many more. I have learned a lot about myself and how I work best, what I enjoy and don't. We have plenty of training with 40 mandatory hours per year to be completed. The skills and lessons I have developed and learned this year will carry me forward back into my degree and into my career.

The atmosphere in my office has been great from start to finish. Having worked in an office with four other interns, everyday is a laugh, and when work can get stressful, we have had a very supportive network. Our office always has something going on in it and is an entertaining but also productive place.

IBM has an award winning Early Professional Programme that has been running for many years. It is well set up and organised with a clear purpose and responsibility from day one. When I joined the team I had a sufficient hand over with the previous intern and was provided with a laptop, work phone and AMEX credit card. My emails and access were already organised before my arrival making joining the team a successful transition.

How much time is invested in you is down to the individual. The company is so big with such vast opportunities. We have a mandatory requirement of 40 hours learning per year and many different calls, badges and workshops you can enrol on to train and develop further both in your role and as a person.

IBM has an award winning Graduate Scheme having just won Graduate Employer of the year at the Target Job award ceremony for the second year running. There are so many different graduate opportunities within IBM with a great smooth Intern to Grad process. IBM highly encourages interns to apply back as graduates.

Yes. There was 180 interns on my years intake and about 80 interns at my base location in Hursley. We often did nights out, payday meals and events throughout the year. There was a brilliant Intern Christmas Boat party on the Thames which was great fun, and I truly believe I have made some long term friendships on this Placement.

I decided to work from home during my work placement. Being that my role is split inbetween SouthBank and Hursley, my home in Surrey was a commutable distance from both. IBM funded my train commute to London for Assessment Centres and I funded the fuel costs of driving to Winchester. This was cheaper for me and has given me the opportunity to save and travel in summer after my placement.

Winchester is great for bars and dinners out whereas Southampton was great for the night out. Across the year we did many nights out and had great fun. We also have done nights out and social events in London as there is so much to do and its nice going for drinks after work.

Yes. IBM has opportunities such as Giveback which gives employees to work on Projects and have days away from their day jobs and giveback time in different ways to either the company or community. There was also always events on in Hursley that you have the opportunity to sign up to.