GBS HR Partner Support Review

Working in the HR team, I had so much exposure to a variety of programmes which made each week different and interesting. Although there was a lot of excel, admin work, the work was very interesting and exciting and gives you a great insight into how the business works.

I was made to feel very welcome straight away and at IBM everyone is so grateful for the work you do no matter how small.

Massively, whenever I felt like I couldn't complete a piece of work I could sit down with one of my team and go through it with them until we came up with a way to complete it.

It varied really, most days I was very busy with lots of reports and meetings whereas some days can be less busy especially when none of my team were in the office. But you can always find something to keep you occupied ie. online courses and asking for more work.

You are given a vast amount of responsibility as IBM have a very flexible work culture. At least once a week I'd be in the office on my own with no one watching over me so you have to be disciplined and get all of your work done so that you do not let you team down. You are also allowed to work from home which gives you massive responsibility as you are trusted to get your work completed.

It has given me a really solid routine which I am going to take back to final year with in order to improve my grades and do the best I can. It has also really improved my Microsoft Excel skills and I am now fully competent in this field. Furthermore, it has boosted my confidence and communication skills as working in HR you have to deal with very senior executive people so this has helped me with how I present myself when communicating with them.

When the team are in it is a really good atmosphere but when less of my team were in, it was really quiet and had less of an atmosphere. However, this meant you could put your headphones in, put your head down and crack on with your daily work.

It was very good as there is a review with your Professional Development Manager every 2 months to see how you are getting on and there were also a few careers academies so you could network with other interns who are not at your location and also see different parts of the business such as sales or consulting.

There is a massive online database which has hundreds of different courses which you are allowed to take. These massively helped me improve my skills such as brand representation and excel and they are all free which shows IBM's investment in order to help their employees.

The consulting and sales grad training are some of the best in the country so the employment prospects look fantastic. I will definitely be applying to the Graduate Scheme as a career at IBM looks very appealing to me.

The social scene is huge, especially for those interns who live together. We used to go out for some drinks every Thursday after work and we also entered 3 teams into a 5-a-side league down at Goals in Canary Wharf. Just like university, I feel I have made some friends for life here at IBM.

I lived back with my parents but from what I understand, the rent was very expensive as it is London but the property was very nice and it is living in London at the end of the day! Socialising was quite expensive too as like I said before, it is London but it is well worth it.

London has a fantastic nightlife with so many different places and clubs and pubs to go to. The only downside is the pricing but it is nice every now and then for a nice treat to splash out.

There were definitely lots of activities to get involved in, you just have to dedicate time and money for this. For example, the 5-a-side football league me and fellow interns entered into. Other interns would go and also play golf together too.