Human Resources Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my work placement at IBM. I think that moving away from home for the year helped me to become more immersed in the intern community (both inside and outside of work) as well as helping me to gain independence. I also got the opportunity to visit other IBM UK sites and therefore travel around the country to attend a number of events and conferences.

Being given a real role with real responsibilities made me feel valued by team because I was able to contribute and add value, like all other employees. Despite being an intern at IBM, I was still a trusted member of the team and I was given additional responsibilities such as training newer members of the team.

Interns at IBM are assigned two managers: a task manager within your team who sets you work to complete, as well as an early professionals manager within the early professionals community who looks after your personal and professional development. Having support and guidance from both was invaluable. In particular, having an early professionals manager provides an additional level of support.

My role was somewhat seasonal, meaning that certain times of the year were much busier than others. However, that does not mean that I had no work to do during the quieter periods. These quieter periods were an opportunity to make improvements to the existing processes and prepare for the forthcoming busy seasons. Additionally, interns at IBM can opt to join projects which may or may not relate to their field, allowing interns at IBM to further develop their skills.

Interns at IBM are not given the job title of 'Intern'. Instead, they are given a real job title for a role which has real responsibilities. These responsibilities allow interns at IBM to make an impact and undertake tasks which add value, as opposed to administrative tasks. Therefore, interns at IBM are treated in the same way as any other employee, with the same expectations regarding performance etc.

Undertaking a work placement at IBM enabled me to put many skills which I had learned during my degree studies into practice. However, it was also an opportunity to acquire new skills, particularly soft skills, which cannot be taught at university. Additionally, my business acumen and commercial awareness has improved considerably, as a result of working for a large global company.

Many people assume that IBM is an extremely corporate environment, however I have not found that to be the case. IBM's culture is extremely modern, open and relaxed, allowing employees to "bring their best selves to work". In my office, employees dress casually (unless they are attending an important meeting or event with clients) and working hours are fairly flexible. However, this can vary slightly depending on the team or location.

All interns at IBM have a 2 day induction when they first join which provides a broad overview of IBM's mission and values as well as the internship scheme itself. Thereafter, training happens within your team and interns learn on-the-job through shadowing etc, before taking ownership of tasks independently. Throughout the year, interns remain in contact with their early professionals manager which provides an additional level of support. Your early professionals manager also conducts 3, 6 and 12 month reviews where your performance is assessed against IBM's values.

The large majority of training and development opportunities that are available to regular employees are also available to interns at IBM. The main source of opportunities is via an online learning platform called Your Learning which has a series of online courses, as well as opportunities to sign up for virtual and in-person events. Employees and interns can earn points for completing online courses and attending events which encourages a culture of learning. In addition, interns at IBM also have access to training and development opportunities that are exclusively for early professionals.

The large majority of graduate roles at IBM are technical roles, with very few business roles. Therefore, future employment prospects for those wishing to pursue a career in a technical field are very strong, however those wishing to pursue a career in business are slightly disadvantaged because there are not many opportunities at all. IBM does not have a Finance / Marketing / HR graduate scheme, for example, despite offering internships in these fields.