Sales Analyst and Operations Support for Infrastructure Industries Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year at IBM in London. I have been given numerous opportunities and experiences that have allowed me to get involved in lots of different tasks and projects. Living in London for a year has also been fun as it is always busy and you are never short of things to do.

I have been lucky to be part of such an amazing and supportive team during my year here. We have regular team meetings to ensure everybody is included in decision making and everybody has the chance to voice their opinions and ideas. Every time I complete a piece of work I receive praise and often guidance on how to improve, which to me is very important. We also have been out numerous times as a team which has made me feel like I am valued by my colleagues.

I always receive support and guidance from my managers whenever I need it. They are always happy to help me on tasks I am struggling with and explain to me what I need to do. They also make sure I am exposed to any extra opportunities that have come my way.

Most of the time I was busy and had lots of things to do, that being in my job role and also extra tasks and opportunities I was involved in. There was only a few times I was quiet and didn't have that much to do. However, I think this is subjective to the time of year, for example when people are most likely to take holidays etc.

I feel as though I was given a high level of responsibility during my placement year. My manager would often pass tasks on to me when she was too busy and would trust me to deal with them independently. I also took lead of various tasks which improved my confidence due to the trust my team had in me.

I have learnt various new excel skills which will help me in my final year of University. I also have a deeper understanding of the professional workplace and will be able to apply this to business strategies and theories. However, as I have been working in sales this year and my degree is accounting, these experiences won't assist me in my final degree studies.

IBM adopt flexible working where a lot of people work from home either full time or a few days a week. Despite this, the atmosphere in the office is always engaging as it is usually very busy. Also, being in the centre of London means you can go out for walks/lunches.

The placement scheme is very well organised at IBM and it is no surprise they have such a high intake of interns every year. If you get a placement job it is more than likely they have had an intern for many years before and therefore know what they want and need from you. This is good as it is clear what your job title is and what your role within IBM will be.

IBM always wants you to be the best possible version of yourself and they show this through their supportive intern programme. Also, my team always wanted me to succeed and would go the extra mile to make sure I make the most of every opportunity in order to develop as a professional.

IBM won TARGETjobs UK Graduate Employer of the year this year in 2019 and they have amazing graduate opportunities if you want to come back and work as a consultant. Even though I have decided this isn't for me, the majority of interns I know are reapplying for a future graduate employment here.

I work at IBM in Southbank, right in the centre of London. There are about 100 placement students here which is a huge bonus as it means there is a great social scene outside of work. We would go out every Thursday after work and there were often events at the weekends where numerous placement students would meet up.

Being in London is never going to be cheap, and the majority of places are expensive, especially near work right in the centre of London. However, there are ways to get around this. For example, numerous bars do 2 for 1 or 10% off for IBM employees, all you have to do is show your badge to prove you work there. Also, if you venture out of the centre of London it is a lot more affordable.

Living in London means there is a very busy nightlife near enough everywhere you go. You are never stuck for places to go out either after work or at the weekends.

Living in London means there are numerous activities you can get involved with outside of work. Like I said before, you are never short of things to do in London. There are also numerous clubs in IBM. For example, there is a bi-weekly squash club of IBM employees where they play every other week after work.