Junior Consultant Review

As the Operations Manager of a $20million portfolio for one of IBM's largest clients, I manage the end-to-end commercials of the $20million portfolio, across 20 different contracts, across 15 different GEOs. I forecast, manage, and routinely assess contractual commercial performance using data analysis to assess revenues, GP's and pre-emptively spotting any issues that I can help resolve. I also assist the smooth operations of the portfolio overall, as well as spending a large portion of my time onboarding and sourcing resources for our project as it grows and expands.

I have learnt many technical skills. I now have a good level of understanding of technical terminology, and can hold myself in technical conversations about computer science, GenAI and quantum computing. I have also significantly improved my excel skills, as well as having grown the critical thinking abilities needed in order to improve current IBM processes around me which may not be as efficient as they could be.

I was in a very lucky position as I had a manager who over time, gave me a lot of responsibility during my internship. By the end of my internship, I was running the operations of our portfolio completely on my own independently, and was merely reporting back to my manager when needed.

I had a lot of support and guidance during my placement. IBM has a very positive, warm and friendly community, and especially as an intern, everyone is willing to help you. One advantage of IBM is that the interns are non-billable to clients, meaning everyone is willing to help you learn and thrive from any opportunity throughout your entire placement. Every time I was unsure of something, I knew that I had two managers by my side to help resolve any issues, as well as my own internal community of friends and colleagues within the organisation.

The company culture was fantastic. IBM has a very positive, warm and friendly community, and especially as an intern, everyone is willing to help you. Especially at iX, the floor in which we work is very bright, and since many designers work on this floor, it is also very colourful and creative in this way as well. We also have a casual (for work) dress code, which allows everyone to develop closer relationships and perform better in their role, as well as emphasising this positive company culture as well.

I enjoyed my placement very much. I enjoyed the diversity of my role, as well as the level of responsibility that I was given. I made amazing friends during my placement, which I believe will last a lifetime.

Yes

Make sure to go into the office at least 3 times per week, as it really makes a difference. Throw yourself into the work and say yes to as many opportunities as possible - and stay open minded at all times!