This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I had a great year at IBM
IBMers are, short of the very rare exception, all very nice helpful people.
Professional Development managers get allocated to you so you have a point of contact outside of your day to day work team. Great support structure for interns.
Most of the time I was close to the perfect balance. The workload was not always steady due to the nature of the role I had which was directly related to the activity of sales people
Within my role, I was given a lot of autonomy. My job was to support technical sales with their customer events and I was left to coordinate logistics and technical requirements directly with them.
The skills and experience I picked up will be invaluable beyond university, but my role was not exactly aligned with my University degree so what I have learned will only help me in certain specific modules in my studies.
The Company
I do not think I ever went a day without having at least one good laugh at the office. The huge Intern community and general friendliness of IBMers makes for a great office atmosphere.
From the induction to the regular reviews throughout the year, the placement was very well organised.
A lot of learning is available online, as well as courses over lunch times and Intern specific learning days. Some of it wasn't always cutting edge though. Presentations on CV writing and doing well at assessment centers for example were fairly generic.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
If you do well during your year, you can apply for the graduate scheme with a good chance of obtaining one. Nothing is guaranteed though.
The Culture
From a couple drinks after work to organised activities such as bowling or amusement parks. The structure is there to help you socialise, you just have to make the most of it
London is expensive, but IBM offers hundreds of placements in other locations around the UK!
You will find everything in London. London life is just awesome.
Not many company driven opportunities, but once more the intern community is so big that organizing things within that is very easy.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Marketing, Sales
London
May 2014