SWG Cadence Operations Support Review

Even though it wasn't the job I originally applied for, I thoroughly enjoyed the year, and saw it as a chance to explore a business area that I may not have, if I hadn't been given the opportunity of this particular role.

IBM are very welcoming, a collaborative work force. Many opportunities to work with people outside of your usual day job.

I was given incredible support from my manager, who in my first few weeks helped me to learn my tasks and responsibilities. My manager is also very on board, we were based in the same office, which helped immensely with my development.

I sometimes did feel that the distribution of work between interns was a little off. I felt that I had too much work to complete in a day, whereas there were some interns who would leave early as they had nothing to do.

I'd say I was given a moderate amount of responsibility, not much at all, but enough to feel valued in the team.

My skills have developed tremendously throughout the year. I look forward to seeing the difference in my work ethic and drive, when I return for my final year of university in a couple of months.

The atmosphere is like any office job. However at my base location Bedfont, it would often feel very quiet as a number of people would work from home.

Very well organised. The set up of the internship was run by Foundation, they manage all students, graduates and apprentices. It ran like a well oiled machine. However, communication with regards to reviews and assessments could have been better, I sometimes felt that I didn't have enough information on what was expected of me.

As an intern, there isn't much personal training and development, however I do know that this is made available if you are a graduate. I have done some independent learning throughout the year, IBM have a learning database called THINK40, where there are courses that you can take on subject areas and initiatives, they could be IBM specific or about certain job roles.

Future employment prospects are very appealing in IBM, the pay is competitive, and having already worked for the company for a year, I feel that I am taking less of a risk coming back to IBM rather than joining a company that I don't know anything about. They also have a broad range of graduate jobs available, which is also an appealing characteristic.

There was a wealth of other industrial placement students at IBM. I was fortunate enough to be in a team of about 15 interns, which meant that the social scene was great.

Being based in London, meant that cost of living was expensive.

I was based in outer London, so even though we could travel into central London for nightlife, we couldn't go out in the immediate area.

IBM operates a number of what they call 'Giveback' activities. These are a way of getting involved in activities outside of your usual day job and 'giving back' to your local community.