Business Operations - Events Specialist Review

My placement year was thoroughly enjoyable, a large part of this came from being in a great team and a great circle of interns. The job itself was largely admin based, however there was a lot of opportunities to get involved with different things outside of your day to day job.

My colleagues valued my opinions and insight at all times. I feel this is a major strength of IBM, you're treated like a full time member of staff rather than an intern.

I received very little support and guidance from my manager due to being based in a different location. It was very much me communicating with my manager if there was an issue, and other than that there was fairly little communication.

Due to being in an Events based role, I was busy during certain periods, and very quiet during others. The quiet periods were a great time to do my University work alongside my job.

Due to being based in a different location to my team, I was given a significant amount of responsibility and was trusted to meet clients, sales specialists and other employees on a daily basis, by myself. This increased my confidence when meeting new people hugely.

Very little of what I have learned during my time at IBM is relevant to my degree. This is due to performing an Events based role. However, it is relevant for my future and beyond, in terms of time management, prioritization, analytical skills, and communication skills.

The office I worked in was extremely fun and the team were always up for drinks after work, or just having a chat and little breaks which would split the day up nicely.

My first week at IBM was extremely poor. The interns which were set to do a handover had a range of other tasks to be performing during this period. It felt as though I was nuisance and definitely not a priority. Since that period, the internship has been set up relatively well.

The company doesn't invest in individuals to a large extent. You are there for a purpose and this is reflected in the very few graduate opportunities there are for placement students.

The graduate salary is good at IBM so this is appealing, other than that there is not a great deal of employee perks.

There was a great social scene if you were based in Southbank, all interns go out for 'Thirsty Thursdays'.

Expensive - London is.

The nightlife in London is great, and is varied. You can always find something new and that suits everyone.

There are so many opportunities outside of IBM to get involved in including sports clubs such as Netball and Football, or giveback which is essentially volunteer work.