Technology Engineer Review

In my role, I work with other members of my squad to develop solutions to client problems. My daily tasks might include attending daily standup meetings and pairs programming sessions or learning. I have very few interactions with my colleagues in person. I have worked on various projects; one project I worked on involved me using the programming languages Java and React. During the project, which lasted four weeks, I attended daily standup calls and paired programming sessions.

I think that during my placement year I have greatly developed my soft skills; in my current role, it is important that I communicate and work effectively with my team. I have completed various online training courses - I also attended a bootcamp where I learned about various cloud technologies. Also, I have become a much more confident programmer; prior to my placement year, I had no experience in the programming language Python but now I use it frequently.

There have been various occasions during my placement year where I have been given responsibility; for example, I was responsible for representing IBM at a science festival. This is not the only event where I have been entrusted with representing IBM - I was a steward at a client event in London. I have also had some autonomy when working on projects; once, I was granted permission to work on developing an algorithm for use in a project single handed.

Throughout my placement year, I have felt as though I have been supported by my managers and my team. Support has always been very accesible - I have a couple of mentors and buddies who I meet with on a bi-weekly basis and they help me with any problems I am having or give me advice. The culture at IBM is a very supportive one: everyone is more than willing to provide support should you ask for it.

Everyone I have met at IBM has been very friendly; whenever I travelled down to London and went into the office there was a lot going on. It was common that after work IBM'ers would meet up to have drinks and a meal together which was a great way to get to know one another. There are also a lot of benefits that IBM provides its employees and I think the holiday allowance is very generous.

I really enjoyed having the opportunity to program on my own and in paired programming sessions; programming is something that I have always really enjoyed. I also had a lot of fun whenever I was in the office or at events; I really enjoyed getting to know other IBM'ers after work by meeting up to have drinks and a meal together. I think that my placement year has lived up to my expectations fully and if I had the chance to do it again I would.

Yes

I think it's important to do your research before the interview process - it shows IBM that you are already invested and that you care about the company you are applying to work for. In my case, I already knew about IBM because of their work developing the personal computer during the 1970's and 80's but I learned a lot about the company by doing some more research. During the assessment centre it is important to be yourself; it's also important to listen to what others are saying in the assessment centre and, if and when you can, put forward your own opinions.