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
As an intern with IBM, the work and the experiences you are given the opportunity to do are truly great. Particularly for anybody studying a business degree (other degrees are accepted) I would say this is one of the best placements out there. I have loved my 10 months here so far, and have even extended by contract for an additional 2 months after my 12 months have finished!
As an IBMer you are doing a genuine job, which means you have an important role to play within your team. Although you may feel like you are 'just an intern', this is not the case at IBM. Each placement is a full time job where you will be fully integrated into the team, and become an important valued member.
The great thing about IBM is the vast amount of employees, and therefore experience that is at your disposal. In my experiences, I have never had a problem approaching a more senior member of staff to ask for help, and I have always received a positive response in return.
In my personal experience, I would say that the balance of work was almost perfect each week. At the begining of the placement you will probably find that you receive more jobs on a day to day basis, however as you grow and develop into the team, I found that I had weekly tasks to carry out as well as other tasks where I had to manage my own time. This also gave me the opportunity to do a lot of other things which interested me that were outside of my role such as shadowing and attending education/product events.
I strongly believe that the more you put into your placement with IBM, the more you get out of it. If you show the willingness to learn and show the passion that you have to do well, you will find yourself with lots of responsibility. For example, weekly tasks could include reporting on sales records which are used in important cadences with the sellers, or putting together a PowerPoint for your manager to be used for one of their meetings. I found that the more interest you show in these tasks, the better chance you will have of being rewarded with similar tasks and involvement.
I cannot express enough how important this placement has been for me in many way. Firstly it has given me a new mentality and approach to work, with having seen first hand what some people do in the business, and how I can reach that level too. Communication, presentation and professionalism are all amazing skills which I have expanded on during this year. I feel I will have a greater mental attitude towards my final year of University, and it will drive me on to be more motivated.
The Company
In the London office in South Bank, the atmosphere was of a more professional nature. There were always meetings taken place, clients visiting and very senior employees located around the building. In contrast, the Warwick office where I spent my second half of my placement, besides still being professional, it was a much more relaxed atmosphere. Although there were less interns there, the community of interns seemed bigger as everyone knew everyone and engaged in various events or activities outside of work.
In the most part, the work placement structure that IBM has set up is, in my opinion, second to none. As well as having your task manager and another managers within your team, each intern is aligned to a Professional Development Manager (PDM) who will support you in any way they can. With these you have 3-6 month reviews where you can share your experiences and they can help if you have any questions or want to head in a different direction, as they have lots of contacts. As well as this, employing around 300 placement students a year means you will not be short of friends and colleagues to share your experiences, with many opting to live together. Finally, having spoken to friends on other placements, none of them have as much support or a better set structure.
Throughout the year at IBM, interns are given the opportunity to take part in many educational events which run every month or two. These sessions include a wide variety of things, such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, presentation skills and also events which prepare you for your return to University. You are also given the chance to attend Graduate Fairs too, which give you the opportunity to look ahead at what types of roles you may want to come into if you apply back as a graduate.
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Having completed this year, I have definitely decided that I would love to come back as a Graduate. It is now up to me to decide which area of the business I would like to join back into, and try and make contacts with the appropriate people to get in some shadowing and learn more about the roles. similar to the placement scheme, IBM has a great Graduate scheme with lots of support in your early career.
The Culture
In London the social scene with other placement students was good, although often expensive as you might imagine. At a minimum, a large number of interns would go to a bar on the riverfront after work on a Thursday, as well as seasonal events and occasional group weekend events. In Warwick I would say it is much better due to close relationship of the 'community' of interns. As well as seasonal events such as Christmas etc, every couple of weeks we have all got together to do something. Generally we all go for a meal once a month and have done other activities such as bowling, bar crawls, laser quest, nights out, parties, Alton Towers and many more.
As mentioned in the previous box, the cost of living, working and socialising in London is typically very expensive, although it is manageable. With the good wage IBM pays, it makes it a little easier as you will still have disposable income after you have paid rent and travel. Living in and around Warwick is around half of the cost of London, often more so it makes it a lot easier to socialise.
Nightlife in London is great as there is lots of choice in where you can go, but very expensive! Entry to clubs is around £10-£20 and then once in, drinks will often start at around £6 or more. Warwick itself doesn't have much of a nightlife, however everybody frequently goes into Leamington Spa as it is just 5-10 minutes away and has plenty of restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs. Entry here is usually around £5 and drinks can be as cheap as around £1.50 on student nights.
Yes, through the Warwick Club, lots of events are organising throughout the year. These include theater trips, cinema trips, theme parks, restaurants, pubs, bowling and many, many more. All of these are at a subsides cost by joining the Warwick Club.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Business Management, Logistics and Operations
West Midlands
May 2015