Corporate Social Responsibility Professional Review

1. Organising and leading school and client visits to the IBM London innovation studio, where I presented multiple times a week, to groups ranging in size from 15 to 120. I handled unexpected issues under time pressure and became fluent in processes including budget approvals. 2. Leading the CyberFirst project in Manchester. I worked with [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] to recruit 18 volunteers to help 400 underprivileged students upskill. I created a project plan, briefing documents, liaised with senior external stakeholders and convinced IBMers to give up their time while maintaining great communication. 3. Establishing and leading with an external client (Inspire). I created an educational challenge for underprivileged students. I designed the project, leveraged others and communicated with stakeholders, developing my reporting skills and high quality asset creation. 4. Co-leading the SkillsBuild Ambassador Programme. I encouraged IBMers to connect with their former schools, speak about their career journey and SkillsBuild, driving our targets. This was consequently adopted by the global team. 5. Working with the communications team to produce promotional materials and overseeing the social media strategy. 6. Working with the HR team to find opportunities to promote SkillsBuild during the application process. 7. Managing the CSR publisher page, writing blogs and developing volunteer stories through interviewing IBMers worldwide, growing my persuasive and descriptive writing skills.

- Project management - Employee engagement/enablement - Design and agile thinking - Taking the initiative - Collaboration - Passion for the business - Confidence in my work

As my placement progressed, the amount of responsibility and trust given to me grew. Whilst in the beginning I felt a bit overwhelmed with the number of processes I needed to learn about, I quickly got used to them and adapted to the new environment. The team was very welcoming and understood when I made mistakes or did not know something.

I received incredible support from not just my immediate team but from the whole company. I was almost never turned down when I had a question or needed help, and the work I did on projects was received positively.

The company culture was very open, welcoming and keen on asking many questions.

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship, solely because of the number of skills I learned and experiences I received from attending tech events, organising workshops and recruiting volunteers from various IBM locations.

Yes

Be curious from the start and ask many questions as this will help you progress and gain confidence the quickest. Show interest in the company by looking at their CSR initiatives, business goals etc. Be your authentic self in interviews as IBM thrives off of diversity.