CIO SME Assistant Review

I feel like my placement year has provided me with a whole host of networking and educational opportunities. I have had the flexibility of choosing extra projects / giveback I wanted to participate in and got in touch with many individuals including executives.

From the very start I was receiving thanks for my hard work and enthusiasm, adding value within the first 3 months. I felt they really appreciated having an intern, since it was the first student they had within their team.

My managers fully supported me in everything I did, providing me with opportunities as well as accepting opportunities I sought myself. They encouraged me to make the most out of my experience, and never penalised me for actively participating in many activities outside of my role.

As my role was a new one within this time, a clear defined role wasn't established from the start. I had periods of time where I wasn't as busy as I like to be, however this provided me with the opportunity to get involved in lots of project and extra education.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility with which would have affected fellow employees and customers alike in certain systems. I think as this role gets more well-defined, more responsibility can be given to future interns.

The skills I have gained over the past year have been invaluable and will certainly allow me to display a higher level of professionalism for my Dissertation, as well as provide me with a competitive edge over other graduates applying for graduate schemes - whether it be at IBM or not. The training and education I received is sought by many of IBMs competitors throughout the UK, and will assist me in becoming successful in my career in the future, no doubt.

The atmosphere in the office in Portsmouth was quite negative, as others have explained before. This is due to the offices downsizing and generally being fairly slow in comparison to bigger sites such as Hursley or Southbank. The student community here however is extremely large given the number of employees at this locations, and bumps up the positive feeling here.

Due to this being a new role, it was hard for my managers to organise my work straight from the start. I also feel as though Foundation could do more to provide relevant sessions - particularly at the Careers Academy held for interns which provides information about grad roles etc. I felt that they didn't explain the Graduate roles any more than an online research session couldn't do.

I was given many opportunities to take part in workshops, as well as assist in one in Scotland - which allowed me to travel with fellow colleagues! I think the personal training and development at IBM is second to none.

I have applied back for a Graduate role and really hope to secure this. I believe the opportunities they can provide over two years as a Graduate would be amazing, based on my experience over the past year.

There was an extremely good social scene amongst fellow students/colleagues.

The cost of living was still quite expensive given Portsmouth is a student town - however there were lots of good deals on nights out for example 2 for 1 drinks or 50% off drinks nights.

The Nightlife was buzzing because it was a student town, and Gunwharf Quays is a prestigious area that draws the attention of those who live in Portsmouth and others visiting from the rest of the UK.

I had many opportunities to get involved in Volunteering, including events held at Guild Hall, Big Interview Days at local schools and holding cake sales for MacMillan.