Case studies : Industrial placement, IBM: Charles Donnell

While studying for a BSc in English Language and Human Psychology at Aston University, Charles joined IBM as a university attraction and recruitment coordinator during his placement year.

How did you find out about your placement? What attracted you to it?

A friend who had just finished his placement with IBM encouraged me to apply around the time I had started to look for placements. His endorsement fuelled my first interest in IBM and then when I actually spoke to an IBMer at a placement fair at my university it sealed the deal. IBM does not specify a particular degree area for their schemes, which not only meant that I was able to apply for their industrial placement scheme but it also made me aware of the diverse workforce IBM must employ.

What was the application process? Was it difficult?

The application process wasn’t easy, put it that way. The online CV I treated almost as if it was a mini-interview, I introduced the interviewer to my interests but at the same time made them aware of my experience and skills that I have. I always find mathematical tests difficult and I was especially worried about the online psychometric test, but when it came round to it, it wasn’t as difficult as I first thought. The assessment centre was strenuous in that I had to travel quite a distance, but the actual experience even if IBM hadn’t have offered me a job was brilliant as I learnt lots about myself, including how I work in teams of people I don’t know (it is rare you do this at university) as well as being interviewed by several different people on the same day.

How was the placement scheme structured (i.e. structure, duration, range of responsibilities)?

The placement scheme began with a two-day induction and then about two weeks being introduced to our roles by the placement students who had already been doing it for a year. It was also good to see how our business area worked on a day to day basis and what kind of thing I would be doing over the year with IBM. My responsibilities ranged from liaising with universities to attending careers fairs, presenting, running mock assessment centres, running actual assessment centres and working within Recruitment Marketing. I was also a port of call and advice for IBMers who were attending fairs themselves and it wasn’t their day job to give advice surrounding best practice and training.

What work did you carry out while on your placement?

On the most part I worked in University Attraction, which meant contacting and liaising with universities to book events in which IBMs attendance would be appropriate to attract future talent. I would then go along to these events and talk to potential candidates, run workshops and present. I also did a lot of work in Recruitment Marketing, from designing attracting talent presentations to copywriting for brochures and the recruitment website. I took part in the running of assessment centres and matching candidates to particular roles. I also ran training presentation for IBMers all over the business in order to give them information and best practice around attending university events.

How did you find working full time?

In the beginning it was difficult - at university you get so used to not waking up early if you haven’t got early lectures so it took a while for my body to get used to it. After a couple of weeks I began to realise how much you can actually get out of your day from working full time and you realise the importance of weekends. I definitely think when I go back to university I will stick to a 9am-5pm structure as you can get so much more done.

What support did you receive from your employer while you were on your placement?

There was lots of support. Not only did we have two managers, a task manager who we worked with on a day to day basis, but we also had a personal development manager who was there to discuss any problems or issues we were having and was also a port of call outside of our work area. You also have two buddies, these two people were there to discuss any issues you may or may not be having, how your development within work was going but also to be there if you didn’t want to discuss particular things with your managers, so all in all, a lot of support.

What are your future career ambitions?

When I graduate I would like to come back and work for a large organisation like IBM, potentially marketing or recruitment, and possibly consulting.

Sourced from IBM UK Ltd

Date: 

October 2011