PMO Analyst Review

My placement with IBM was extremely rewarding for my professional and personal growth. Although I was working in a challenging and at times, isolated role and experienced many challenging periods during the year, this was more beneficial as I was able to reassess what I was capable of achieving on my own.

I worked on a fast-paced and high-profile programme for a public sector client which often meant I was working alongside project managers with very high workloads. Despite this, I was always made to feel part of the team and thanked for my contributions to the programme on a regular basis.

I was provided with excellent support through both My foundation scheme manager and my direct line manager. My foundation manager was a Top Talent coach and able to provide excellent advice in how to approach stress whilst my Line Manager always made herself available to talk through any issues I was having day-to-day.

I struggled with a significant workload during my placement year. Working in a team of two for the majority of the 12 months, I often found myself working long hours to ensure that the team did not fall behind or become snowed under by the lists of tasks to complete. Much of this may have been self-induced stress, but nevertheless I didn't often feel a lot was expected of me given my position as an intern.

I was given a very high level of responsibility during my placement. It is quite rare for interns to be placed on site with clients especially within the public sector. I was tasked with liaising with client teams on a daily basis, including the client programme director and trusted to operate with a great deal of autonomy after proving my work was of a high quality.

I have no doubt that I will be returning to university as a very different person to the one that arrived last year. I have grown hugely in confidence as well as developing a good set of soft skills that I can carry into future employment. The constant need to meet short-term deadlines will no doubt be of use in my final year of university.

I worked in an office that was shared by all suppliers and the client of the programme. The atmosphere of the office was very professional and often high octane. As a flagship account for IBM Public Sector there were many senior figures based out of the office which allowed for excellent exposure.

IBM's placement scheme is very well organised, guiding you through the year in stages and challenging you to reflect on your experience as you go. There are regularly events catered solely for interns and the foundation managers are brilliant at providing guidance throughout. The only criticism I would have is that those based on a client site tend to not have the same group experience as those based at an IBM office where there is a much larger community.

IBM offers a broad range of opportunities when applying back as a graduate and allows you the chance to mould your career into whatever you choose. The placement scheme also allows you to build a large group of contacts that will be extremely valuable to you when coming back to the organisation as a graduate.

I worked in the Borough of Croydon and as a result was largely paying London prices which are expensive. I luckily was able to live with family friends close by for the year but can see that I may have struggled financially if I had needed to find a place for myself.

There was a weekly five a side league on the project I worked on as well as drinks events held in the first week of each month. There are many opportunities for most interns, organised by foundation but as I was not based out of an IBM location did not have the same experience as most.