Technology Sales Summer Internship Review

My role was situated within the Security Sales Team. In my role, I got the opportunity to shadow different members of my team on their current projects on a daily. Moreover, I got to replicate the traditional tasks of members of my team, for instance, through delivering pitches or product led growth demos to my team members. This helped me navigate what a real-life day-to-day role would look like in my sales team.

I have certainly developed numerous valuable skills. Firstly, through constant opportunities to presentations, I have been able to refine my presentation skills. In addition to this, I have practiced persuasive messaging, developing my ability to deliver effectively. Moreover, through shadowing my team in their day-to-day interactions with clients, I have learnt the art of building and maintaining client relationships.

Every day has been filled with responsibility. My team has certainly placed trust in me to deliver challenging contributions on current projects. The faith of my team in my ability to deliver has helped me quickly transform my professional skills, as well as built my confidence in my own competence.

During this internship, I have received constant support and guidance from my team, task manager and foundation manager. They have all made empathetic efforts to constantly engage with me to ensure I stayed busy, and always had an exciting task at hand. Whenever I was faced with a challenge, they were all beyond helpful in helping me navigate my way.

One of the most valuable assets of IBM is the vibrant culture it practices. To give an example of how this culture is nurtured, IBM has various communities in which employees can get involved. During my internship, I took part in the Book Club. Through Book Club, I was able to connect with other young professionals at IBM from roles in different brands and lines of business.

I immensely enjoyed my internship. I have been able to develop skills that will undoubtedly prove applicable to any future academic and professional aspirations I wish to undertake.

Yes

My advice would be to leverage the opportunity of being situated in a tech-based environment. Even though my role in Technology Sales was not necessarily a highly technical one, I have been able to successfully grow my technical knowledge through personal action. Through networking with other teams, as well as taking advantage of the learning courses (for instance in coding) available to any IBM employee, I have been able to develop in-depth technical knowledge.