Public Cloud Technical Sales Review

I really enjoyed my placement year, it was a good experience and I learned a lot about what it's like to be in the workplace and work as a member of a team. What made it slightly more difficult was that I was based in the midlands location which has very few other interns, and subsequently a lot less opportunity.

I most definitely felt valued by a few members of my team, and one of them became very much like family. However, my relationship with my task manager was very rocky at times.

There were many expectations of myself from my supervisor/task manager. However, I feel like there was little guidance to meet those expectations. I was regularly scolded.

I was often busy but the workload was never particularly the issue. Me and my team worked together very well, and this only got better when we all started working from home due to COVID-19.

I had a lot of autonomy in my placement, as mentioned in my previous statement - there was little guidance but a lot of trust was placed in me to do a good job.

The skills I gained will assist because I have become significantly more organised, I've learned how to work with others way more effectively. I have become more confident in my ability to present, and more focused.

The atmosphere in the office was always either jovial or very strict. There was rarely an in-between. We watched the rugby world cup together, and often played games together.

At IBM it very much differs from placement student to placement student. For me as mentioned, it was all dependent on my task manager who believed it was important that we were treated autonomously.

A lot of personal training and development, was expected of you in your own time - however, there were a large number of online resources through IBMs YourLearning channel.

As appealing as IBM is as a company due to its large name - my experience was not the most enriching - I learned a lot of different things about social interactions at work but my experience wasn't one that made me want to return. It has been an excellent stepping stone and learning platform however, to the world of opportunities out there!

The atmosphere between interns in IBM as a whole was fantastic! Many interactions and opportunities - unfortunately I was based in a midlands office where there was only 1 other intern which meant my experience was not quite as rounded as an intern who was based in Southbank for example.

The cost of living and socialising in my area was relatively high... I paid £595 in rent per month as it was a student town a little bit further away from the office. Accommodation closer to the office would have been cheaper but that would also mean that you traded in the opportunity to socialise with other young people.

There are a number of clubs and social venues in the location where I lived. I was a little bit further away from the office but it was entirely worth it, because there was a lot of opportunity to meet other people.

There were a large number of "extracurricular" activities and opportunities around for those who were interested. We played mini golf, went for one of the best pizzas in the united kingdom and had a water park trip planned next.