Placement Year Review at IBM

The Role

Role Description

Main tasks included the co-ordination and recruitment for a number of community programmes IBM run across the whole of the UK.

Mainly involved event planning and management, logistics and co-ordination, volunteer recruitment and recognition.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I was lucky to have a very 'hands on' manager who I saw every day - but I'm aware that this is not always the case.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

The job has peaks and troughs - so some months were very intense and involved working at weekends, others were very quiet. Flexible hours helped me to keep a work/life balance.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

As well as assisting on numerous larger events and projects I was given my own events to run, in addition to being encouraged to seek further opportunities out.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Not directly related to much of my degree matter, but many transferrable skills developed.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The people make a placement - I was lucky to have good colleagues to occupy me at lunch and tea breaks, but the atmosphere in the office is a little stale at times.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Good onboarding process and numerous support channels

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

My manager allowed me to attend paid for training courses in addition to the generic training/skills development offered by IBM to all students.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Flexi Time
• Sports and Social Club
• National Travel
• Financial Bonus
• Working from home

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Applied for graduate scheme but no fasttracking offered by the organisation to interns

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 2/10

Inner London - always going to be expensive!

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Good bars - central London has more on offer than any other city!

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Competed in the Corporate Games in Liverpool for IBM in May - they also actively encourage employee volunteering

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Best year of my life - in terms of general development and career progression, but also in making friends, adding to degree and just living!

Review 173/173 for IBM

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