DEFRA IAM Administrator Review

I was faced with many challenges during my placement, by which I took in my stride. I did enjoy my placement as I was given a great deal of responsibility, however I was faced with pressuring circumstances which were fairly stressful.

I feel as though my colleagues looked up to me and my work ethic towards my job role. I had learned so much and become very knowledgable in my area, and so when training new colleagues they really valued my persistence and hard work.

My supervisor at IBM (EPM) was based in a completely different location and so I only came into contact with her twice, with very little communication throughout. My task managers were extremely helpful ensuring that I was comfortable within my job.

I am situated in a very demanding job, coping with an increasing inflow of requests every day. I enjoyed being busy as it kept me motivated throughout the day, however I had very little opportunity to engage in giveback opportunities and extra curricular activities.

I was given a lot of responsibility. My performance day-to-day affected our teams end result, therefore any minor blips could cause penalties for our team. It was great to have so much responsibility, however can be stressful when workload is extremely busy and targets are not met.

I was situated in a very technical role whereby I had no prior experience, therefore can certainly say I am more technical-minded. I have also enhanced on existing skills and intend to utilise in my studies and beyond, such as leadership skills, time management, etc.

Our office was very quiet and empty. With there only being a few interns situated in our office, there were also very few other employees scattered about in empty rooms etc. It was very quiet and not as sociable as I was expecting.

I would like to fully agree with this, however being moved into a demanding job within IBM was extremely unexpected. This role did not allow for me to get involved in giveback, Think40 and all other internship opportunities due to my high commitment to the job.

I was situated with documentation to give me an idea of what I would be doing within my job. The instructions and assistance provided were very useful, although I did have to seek further advice from my team to ensure I was performing correctly.

I was exposed to great responsibility and had learned so much throughout my placement and would like to explore further career opportunities within IBM. Unfortunately, I am not inspired to apply back to a graduate scheme due to limited options which really is a shame.

Even given a very small intern community within my office, we all got along extremely well and sat within the same area which was extremely sociable. I also met other interns based in Southbank and Hursley whom I have stayed in contact with throughout my year.

I lived at home with my parents and so costs of living were smaller than imagined.

I had only been out in the area a few times with colleagues and enjoyed myself, however it is not the most lively area and is quite far from my home address so found it difficult to commit to evening social events.

There are very few opportunities. If you are a member of IBM Club then they post regular updates of activities to sign up to etc. We also arranged for Christmas meals and birthday events on regular occasions.