Business Operations Advisor Review

As a whole, I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement. Coming in at the start of the year, I didn't know what to expect but you slowly get to grips with the job, the team you work with and the surroundings. I wasn't 100% sure at the start if my job was something I'd like but you learn more about what you're meant to be doing as time goes on, which makes it more enjoyable. As a whole, great year.

At the start, I did feel like an intern but I think this was more down to the lack of experience and knowing what I was doing but as the year has gone on I have certainly felt value by my team and had comments from senior management that they forget that we are actually interns, so we are certainly valued for our contribution to the business and in all we do.

During the first few weeks there is a handover period with the previous interns who give an insight into what they've been doing and teach the new interns how things happen and what to do. My manager was also involved, more so at the beginning of the year in helping out with tasks and giving guidance. There's always someone there if support is needed. My manager has supported me throughout the year, but also left me to get on with things, which is very nice.

At times it's really busy. I was involved with a large bid in the couple of months before Christmas and on a couple of occasions was up until 2am working. This was mainly down to myself wanting to get things done but I felt it was necessary to achieve a good end product for the project. At times, it's also fairly quiet. The office is quiet on a Friday and with sometimes only a couple of calls, it's a time for a bit of downtime. The rest of the time, I've had enough to keep me ticking over nicely and very rarely been very bored and had nothing to do.

The responsibility you get at IBM can be fairly significant, even as an intern, and I feel that without us, things wouldn't work as a whole! I've been given a good level of responsibility throughout the year on everything I've worked on, almost from the beginning of the year. With the project I worked on before Christmas, I was solely responsible for a lot of different elements which played an important part in the final product. It is a nice feeling and the team do appreciate the effort you put in and the vast majority of the time it doesn't go unnoticed.,

I certainly feel that I have developed during the year and feel much more laid back in the environment I'm in. Just gaining exposure and getting involved with different things throughout the year has helped and I have certainly gained some invaluable skills to take forward with me in the future and further build on.

On the whole the atmosphere is good. I sit in an area with a small bunch of interns as well as regular employees and we always have a laugh but get on with work when we have bits to do. On a Friday it's quiet but this is quite nice and makes a bit of a change from the rest of the week. The office is big and open plan which is nice.

On the whole it's been quite good. We get the odd message from Foundation who oversee all placements, with an update of what's going on. There was a 2 day induction in Portsmouth before we started in the office in London, which gave some basic information but more could have been covered, more with setting up laptops etc. There's also the odd training session in the year to develop skills and round tables within the brands.

We have had two main training sessions in the year, organised through Foundation. They are in small groups, which helps but I found that most of what was covered is stuff I've already done at uni or have built on during the year, so had a limited purpouse. In terms of day-to-day learning and learning how to carry out new tasks, it's sometimes up to you to take the initiative and learn how to do it, which is a nice challenge but can just be confusing, but usually someone in the team is able to provide some advice.

Future prospects are quite good as there are several grad roles that you can go into with IBM, across the business. The application process is similar to the placement one but with a good placement performance you can get fast-tracked to a final interview.

Very much so. There is a great bunch of interns and I've made some great friends this year. There's always plenty going on and most weekends there'll be something going on. The more people you get to know, the more fun it is. Towards the end of the year most people know each other and it's nice to be able to just speak to different people.

It's not cheap being central London and without the extra financial support I've had this year, I might have struggled to do everything I've done so far but this doesn't mean that it's unaffordable. It's just best to make the most of the year while you're here so just do do everything that's possible. Accommodation is expensive and finding something nice for a good price is hard but living close enough to the office is a must.

In the area around work, it's not bad. There are more pubs than anything else which is always nice for a drink after work. The clubs are more towards Leicester Square and Covent Garden over the river. Around work is better for after work drinks. I tend to go out closer to home or slightly further away from the office in the centre.

There are opportunities through Foundation to help with assessment centres and mock interviews etc. at universities and schools all around the country and also to shadow people on projects but only a certain amount of money is reimbursed for expenses so this limits it to an extent. I would have like to have been involved with more events or meetings outside the office with my team but this is something you have to ask around to do.