My name is Inga, I joined IBM's placement scheme in 2019 and returned in 2022 after completing my university degree. I now work as an Associate Business Consultant under Enterprise Application, SAP.
What made you decide to come to IBM as a graduate?
Based on my experience upon completing a placement at IBM, I decided to come back to IBM as a graduate because I value a company that nurtures supportive individuals and has extensive opportunities for me to grow my skills set and strengthen my wealth of knowledge in different industries. At IBM, I find it easy to take on responsibilities as long as I remain proactive and inquisitive. There are always supportive people around me, who want me to learn and are willing to spend time on me to make sure that I'm gaining value from my current role.
Moreover, I like that graduates within the scheme are assigned to an Associates manager who is there to support my career development within the company. There are also free resources across several learning platforms and a huge and global network of graduates who I can confide in, which is what made it special to me.
I think as a graduate, you are still in such an early stage of finding your passion and strengths yet I truly appreciate that IBM has the right culture, resources and people to kick start my career.
What hints or tips would you give to those who are interested in applying to IBM as a graduate?
Before applying, do your research! Nothing is more important than understanding whether this is the right company for you and why would you be a good fit. The scheme will be 2-years long, so think about how you can make this experience valuable for you.
During your application, you will be going through stages, which consist of your initial application, assessment centre and matching interview. You must be prepared before going through each stage. Practice or rehearse when completing each stage. There are many resources available online to practice online assessments and assessment centres.
Lastly, be genuine. IBM doesn't expect you to be perfect as long as you show interest and proactiveness in every stage of the application, you will go far.
What has your career journey at IBM looked like so far? (e.g., previous roles, training)
During my penultimate year of university, I joined IBM in 2019 as an Industry Analyst. This was a great first role to get a glimpse of IBM's extensive client portfolio. I assisted my team with identifying opportunities for existing clients or even new clients across industries. I would create a business proposal via analysing the client's financial profile, strategic goals, existing technology in use etc. This role allowed me to learn more about how IBM creates business from an end-to-end perspective. Some of the soft skills that I developed are effective communication skills, time management and attention to detail.
I joined IBM's Graduate scheme in 2022, upon the completion of my degree in BSc Banking, Finance and Management at Loughborough University. I joined the SAP practice under the Enterprise Application service line. Under my practice, I was given 2 weeks of speciality training, which better equipped me upon joining a client project, as well as growing my understanding of the offerings which SAP provides.
I am a Project Management Officer in my current project. In general, I work closely with a project manager to ensure that we have the right resource profile for the project, making sure the team is operating efficiently and delivering deliverables on time using agile tools such as Trello.
What hints and tips would you pass on to a student about to start the IBM Recruitment Process (online application form/CV, online numerical test, video interview, assessment centre, matching interview)?
Online Application form/CV:
Make sure you research IBM as a company, its core values, key skills they look for/the role requires and adapt it accordingly to how your previous experience and skills that you've developed will add value to the company you're applying for. There is a technique called the "STAR" technique which I find useful for structuring my work experiences and skills obtained. Lastly, do your grammar and spelling checks!
Assessment centre:
Before attending your assessment centre, do your research and understand what IBM needs you to prepare for and don't leave it till the last minute. If you are travelling to an in-person assessment centre, give yourself plenty of time to rest and travel. If it is online, make sure you have good internet connection, dress appropriately and have a clean background.
During the assessment centre, everything counts from the moment you join the assessment centre. Make sure you act professionally on the day, smile and be friendly! Depending on the task given to you during the day, remember that the assessors are not always looking for the "correct" answers, it's often the way you approach the problem and how you solve it, with or without the team. If you are given a group exercise, don't panic if it's not your strong suit and look for a role within the team that complements your soft skills.
What's the best thing about your current role?
The best thing about my current role is the network and exposure I am developing. As a Project Management Officer, I work across different workstreams within the client account, meaning I can build great rapport with people and get involved with different activities and initiatives within the client account.
Recently, my client wanted to take up a new way of delivering their change requests within the SAP system with higher transparency across the cross-functional team, better demand forecasting and more automation with testing. I worked alongside the IBM Garage team to run a few design thinking workshops to drive the initiative forward, which has been a great experience.
On the other hand, I have been involved with a contract renewal with the same client, therefore I was responsible to co-ordinate the timeline with IBM's stakeholders and ensuring that we submit the renewal to the client on time.
What's the best thing about being at IBM?
The best thing about being at IBM is the people. Nothing matters to me more than the people who will help to guide, support and mentor me along my career journey. In the short amount of time within the company, I always felt encouraged to attempt new things, acquire new knowledge and there are always opportunities to get involved in "give back" opportunities at IBM.
As of October 2021, I joined the UKI Associate Diversity and Inclusion team to advocate for different Business Resource Groups and raise awareness for important matters. As a person of colour and a person who wasn't born and raised in the UK, I want to raise the voices for IBMers coming from different backgrounds who have their own cultures, stories and experiences to share. I want to be an advocate for IBMers from diverse backgrounds to be valued, heard and included in their everyday lives at IBM. Hence people are the best thing about IBM for me.
Want to find more about what to expect from a career at IBM? Check out their profile here.