Business Operations Review

IBM allowed me to try out all the tasks within my job role before accepting them as my day-to-day role. My work has always been challenging, and therefore very rewarding! I have been recognised for my work on countless occasions, and have built my renown as an SME (Subject Matter Expert) in MS Excel, and various pieces of IBM software. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year!

All of my colleagues, both within and outside of my business area, have always told me how much they value me as a colleague. Many feel as though I'm not 'just an intern', but a part of the team. I'm certain that I will still be friends with some people I've met at IBM well beyond my intern year!

My manager has changed several times throughout the year, but one thing that remains constant is the support that they have all given me to advance my career and development. Naturally, as in every job, there will be office politics, and there's one sour manager per-thousand good ones, but all in all, my managers have always supported me

Due to the nature of my role, and my placement within the business area, my role varied wildly from day-to-day, which in my opinion, was a good thing; it gave an interesting variety! Some days, I would have very little work to do, and I would be volunteering my efforts to my colleagues to keep me busy. Other days, I would be insanely busy, working beyond the standard 9-5:30 work day, but I do it happily, because I know I will be appreciated for it. No work goes unrecognised.

From day one (literally!) I was given the responsibility to build a whole storage system, community, and wiki from the ground up, all to my own standards, and to whatever criteria I desired. I was then tasked to run this environment. I'm happy to say that this is my mark within IBM, that will (hopefully) remain after I return to uni! I have been left to run several servers, processes, and management calls by myself. It made me feel very valued, like I wasn't just being overseen.

The skills I developed within my placement year at IBM may not have an enormous overlap with my degree (Economics can be quite niche), but I have certainly learned a huge wealth of transferable, professional, and life skills that I will never forget! IBM always provided the opportunity to train whatever skill I wanted to, and all for free, of course.

IBM gives general flexibility to work from more than one office. Occasionally, you can work from home, depending on your manager's preferences. Every office is mostly the same: it's a work environment; professional and relatively quiet. However, there are always communities of interns, grads, and apprentices, which makes for an enjoyable environment

There were countless events, meet-ups, conferences, calls, presentations and all other kinds of informational events run. IBM never had a boring week! It was all organised by a team of managers and grads/interns, which made for a very fluid and well-run experience.

IBM made it very clear that any training or development you wanted, you would get, and for no cost. If I wanted to do a certification in Excel, IBM would support me in every way possible. If I wanted to go volunteer, IBM would support (and encourage) it! IBM constantly invests a lot of money into their 'Foundation Programme' (Apprentices, Interns & Grads), which meant that everyone was happy and fulfilled

On average (or so I've been told), 90% of interns with IBM apply for the grad programme straight away from their intern year. Of which, around 30% actually get a place. I'm in the application process myself, and I can't stress how important networking is! -- All the connections I've made are steps closer to securing my place on the Grad programme.

It really depends on what friends you make throughout the year. My particular group of friends (all interns) went on regular nights out, and organised our own entertainment. We all sat together at the office, and helped each other out when needed. All in all, good, but it really depends on who you end up making friends with!

Cost of living: N/A to me. Just petrol. I was based in the IBM Feltham office, but ended up spending a lot of my time at the IBM Farnborough office, and lived at home. Socialising: Really depends on where you go; near the Farnborough office, it's not too expensive to go out to socialise. I can imagine it's quite a lot more pricey near London, though!

In all honesty, the nightlife is what you make of it. If you go out and find a pub/club/bar, then there are plenty of opportunities for you. If you want to stay home with friends and get some beers, that's an option too. I couldn't say it's any more or less than the average place in the UK

IBM has a system called 'Giveback', which is IBM's way of saying 'volunteering'. IBM encourages employees from all walks going out to do giveback (in fact, IBM encourages roughly 40 hours of it per year!). There are countless ways to go out and volunteer!