Demand and Resource Management Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at IBM throughout my time there. Whilst not every role offered to interns may be the most exciting every experience is one to be enjoyed and learnt from. The people you meet both other interns and full time employees are fantastic and really allow you to turn this into more than just work experience.

During my time in my role I worked very closely with my Manager as we were the only UK based resources in our team. I also took on a role with very high autonomy and was in charge of myself, my time and a few specific roles within our team. As a team we all valued each other and often worked together to spread the load if anyone of us was getting a full plate, and this was reflected in the sense of cohesion within our team.

I was never without support on my placement, whether it be from the intern HR Managers (EPMs) or from my own team and Task Manager. I was always able to reach out to someone who could help when ever I had a problem and there really was no silly problem (Within reason). I had a number of occasions where personal and family issues required me to spend time out of the office or not at work during the day and my Manager was more than helpful in accommodating these times and helping me where possible.

I had an extremely busy placement, working on a proper 9-5:30 arrangement, because within my team I was given a full role and as my own ability grew my autonomy grew with it. This lead to me never being loaded it more than I was capable to handle but also not being left with nothing to do. That said how ever, if I ever needed to make time for an event, a talk, or some other learning opportunity, I was usually capable of making the time to attend such an event in order to expand my internship.

I was fully autonomy in my role, I had the oversight from my manager to ensure that if I ever needed assistance or a second opinion I was not alone however, I was rarely ever checked up on as much as I was check in with. This really made me feel capable and responsible in my role and I often found myself engaging as the main point of contact with many client interactions.

I can't stress enough how helpful it is just to have the imposed structure of a 9 - 5 commitment and the work ethic that comes with that for a year. That alone is enough to make an experience like this worth it for many however, when you consider the exposure to office politics, a view of the practical applications of skills and knowledge acquired at University and the general networking opportunities. This experience is something to work for.