Junior Project Manager Review

I loved my time at IBM and I highly recommend it as one of the best placement schemes out there! The intake of placement students is huge so you feel like you're all in in together and the support system that they have in place is one you cannot fault. You are made to feel welcome and supported from day 1.

I felt very valued by my colleagues and from day 1 you feel like an important part of IBM. I was given meaningful jobs with lots of responsibility that were also client facing. I was given the opportunity to get involved ina ll areas that IBM had to offer to experience it all and I worked closely with my manager to get what I wanted out of my time at IBM.

I was given lots of support by my manager. My task manager definitely helped me get settled in the beginning and gave me many tasks with opportunities to build my network and skills. There was also a lot of support from my placement manager within IBM as they had regular check-ins and updates to check your progress and that everything was going well and the way you wanted it to which I think was really well done and very important

As expected business has its times of very busy and very quiet so sometimes I was busy with my predominant role all day and on a full time rpoject for 8 weeks. However, in quieter times the wider IBM gives you the opportunity to get involved in other areas and with giveback so that even during quieter times in your day to day role you had other things to keep you occupied - another great way they enabled you to grow your network.

I was given a lot of responsibility not only to work with clients and be responsible for an entire aspect of a deliverable for a project but also responsible for keeping myself busy and making sure that I was being as efficicent and accurate as possible especially in reporting. My task manager also gave me the opportunity to take responsibility for setting my own goals and fulfilling them and supported me in doing so.

I would say the jobs I was doing day to day didnt relate to my degree entirely. However, my placement taught me so much. It gave me the skills that I was lacking when presenting. It taught me how to make lasting relationships with clients and gave me training in the project management area that I was working in and invested in me. The skills that I learnt during my time at IBM I will be able to use in any job anywhere and almost make me feel that I now have an advantage because of my experiences

I was forntuante to be working on the most amazing account. I worked with a specific client and we had our own account garage which provided an atmosphere like no other. Everyone was easy to talk to and always willing to help which as a newcomer always puts you at ease. Also, we had a designated team to organise social events for the account and educational ones that both combined kept us all really well connected and informed with what everyone was doing and making lasting contacts. It was amazing as everyone worked really hard and then went on to share it in a more social setting making learning far more interesting.

My placement with IBM was extrememly well organised. At the beginning there were a few hiccups in terms of correct equipment given, however every part then on was run really well. Great communications, clear understandings of criteria and hurdles needed to over come to fulfil the placement and support was always meticulously organised.

IBM really allowed me to develop and become a Licensed Scrum Master and invested in the course and accomodation for me to obtain this accreditation which was absolutely outstanding. They support you in learning as much as you can and using their badges to learn in different areas and also support you in the direction you really want to go in.

Future employment prospoects within IBM are very appealing as I now have more knowledge about how they work and how they treat their employees. You can come across countless IBMers that tell you wonderful stories about the amoutn of time that they have been there and its incredible. However, more so the vast amount of opportunities that you can persue there and the support they give you.

A lot of fellow placement students lived in London and therefore the social scene was fantastic. The Placement community was hige and always something going on especially around Christmas. I was involved in intern communities across IBM and it is incredible how many they hire.

It was expensive however, I lived at home and travelled in so I had that benefit and couldnt really answer the cost of living.

Lots of nightlife where I worked in Southbank and in London with plenty going on. Not only amongst the interns but full time colleagues wanting to socialise outside of work hours too meant building working relationships was so much easier.

Plenty of opportunity. IBM really focuses on their giveback aspect of their Placement year and it was really rewarding. Also within IBM you can help out in different sectors completely different to your own and meet new people and learn new skills which they really encourage. It is fantastic the opportunities that they provide.