%%PAGE TITLE%%

University: Imperial College London
Degree subject: Physics
Insider Tip: Spell check your application form!

• Why did you apply to IBM?

  The primary driver was the role involved because it allowed me to use my skills and also fulfil my ambitions. I’d always wanted to become a consultant but I also always wanted to use my analytical skills, so the role within Business Dynamics at IBM was a perfect match for those two.

• Did you join straight from university?

  I did a scheme called 'Teach First', which is a graduate scheme aimed at people who wouldn’t normally go into teaching as a career, where you go into teaching in a challenging London school for two years. Upon which you make your decision on where you want to go in the future. A number of people decided to stay in teaching. I decided that my future lay elsewhere. So I joined IBM.

• What is your role?

  I am a Strategy Consultant within Global Business Services, specialising in Business Modelling. The core business of Business Dynamics is usually to create some sort of model, using an Excel spreadsheet, where we try and understand a clients business from its various drivers, to try and understand what’s really driving their business and how there business is going to develop going forward.

• What has the training been like?

  The training I’ve had can be split into two distinct parts I think. There’s the training I have received for my specific role in Business Dynamics, so that’s the specialist analytical techniques used in the various software packages we use. I have also had more generalised training for consultants such as strategy training and financial analysis training.

• How has foundation helped you?

  Foundation has been a very useful tool to me because I’m the only graduate that sits within Business Dynamics within my current intake, so it gave me an immediate network of people I could go to across different service lines, so I could gain a real understanding of IBM and the breadth of it’s business from day one as opposed to becoming quite specific to one group within one service line.

• What activities do you get involved in outside your day to day job?

  I’ve been involved in a significant number of activities with IBM. I’m the editor of the newsletter for my particular group, that’s the BDI, where I collate articles, write some articles and give some puzzles, that sort of thing. I’m involved in the Imperial College Campus Recruitment Team which is a team that’s specifically been set up to facilitate Graduate Recruitment within Imperial. I’m also a buddy to a couple of people that joined after I did which involves giving them general advice on how to cope at IBM and how they can further their roles.

• What would you highlight about IBM?

  What really has impressed me with IBM is that they really value individualism and innovation within their business. There’s this stereotype of it being this big blue machine like a steam roller ploughing through the IT business and that’s not the case. They really value your own personality and what you can bring to the business.

• Why stay with IBM?

  What reason do I have for staying at IBM? I love it here. Sounds really cheesy I know, but I really enjoy my work and I am quite passionate about what I do. I can see my career developing quickly and where I want it to at IBM.