Robert Hardwick

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Placement: IBM

For my placement I spent 13 months at IBM within Integrated Technology Services ( ITS) Business Operations. My main role was to assist management in the maximisation of revenue and gross profit margins across none Service Product Lines.

Within these service product lines, my main responsibilities centred on the production of a range of financial reports focused on the issues of Day sales outstanding (DSO) and compliance.
Towards the end of my placement I was also responsible for creating a range of revenue reports to be used at a managerial and executive level.  

Outside of my day role I took part in a range of Giveback activities, including running a Smarter Planet workshop at a local school and being an active member of the Lancaster University Team, where I attended the Careers fair and organised mock assessment centres and interviews.

IBM is extremely focused on personal development and growth, so each placement student is assigned a Professional Development Manager and is also encouraged to join the mentoring scheme. My communication skills have improved vastly due to my placement year as I was required to communicate with senior management on a daily basis. IBM's emphasis on collaboration has also meant that I now have the experience of working in a range of project teams and understand the importance of teamwork and shared goals and objectives.

Highlights include having the opportunity to meet great people and taking part in a range of networking events. IBM's shadowing scheme also allowed me to spend the day with a range of senior consultants which allowed me to observe a project team in action. I also had access to excellent educational resources and had the opportunity to observe IBM's exciting growth initiatives first hand.​