Business Operations Specialist at IBM

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year with IBM - It has helped me grow so much as an individual and as an early professional. The exposure that we receive as interns at IBM is massive - I've had the opportunity to work with various project teams, senior stakeholders, and clients, all while being encouraged to grow my knowledge base and skills. Overall, I've had a very fulfilling, stimulating and fun year with IBM, and am so grateful for all the experiences during my placement!

My IBM colleagues and managers have been extremely encouraging throughout my internship - they have pushed me to grow my skillset and have been very receptive to giving me the opportunities to explore different areas of the business. IBM also has a great internal feedback system, as well as an online placement journal for their interns to log their achievements. Interns also have regular reviews with their managers, where they are encouraged to play back on their experiences and accomplishments.

I received immense guidance from my task manager, project managers, and early professional manager throughout my placement. There is a great balance between the support and guidance we receive and the freedom are given to explore areas that interest us.

There was a good balance in my daily schedule - there were some very busy moments, and some quieter ones, which balanced each other out quite well.

The exposure that we receive as interns at IBM is massive - I was trusted to own project deliverables, and give the opportunity to work directly with senior client stakeholders.

My managers really encouraged me to grow my skills. IBM has great internal learning platforms that provides courses on topics ranging from Design thinking to Cloud and cognitive systems. I have also been able to receive external accreditations through IBM funding, and have then been able to use these skills in practice while working on project teams. I was also given the opportunity to shadow various professionals, including UX designers and scrum masters, and was mentored by senior stakeholders within the business.

The atmosphere within the office is great! Although we have had to move to remote working due to the pandemic, my team still make it a point to catch up virtually to not only discuss work-related updates, but also to take virtual coffee or lunch breaks together. We also have access to great virtual events, meet-and-greets and webinars to keep us informed and engaged. The physical office atmosphere is equality great! The Southbank office (where I was based) has a great and positive work culture.

The internship was very well set up. I have a comfortable handover period at the start, and was given the time to ease into my role. I was then given the opportunity to make the role my own, and the flexibility to expand my core role.

I've been given so many great opportunities to train and develop new skills, be it internal IBM training, or external IBM-funded training. I was also able to receive mentorship and shadowing opportunities. Additionally, IBM encourages placement students to participate in giveback opportunities which really add to the growth and development of the interns.

The IBM graduate scheme provides great opportunities to early professionals, and is definitely very appealing.

Yes! The intern cohort at IBM is massive, and we have had several intern events, along with several IBM-wide events.