Account Resource Management Analyst

Kiki Lin

Accounting

Higher Level Apprenticeship

IBM

1. What made you decide to come to IBM as a school leaver?

I have always known that I did not want to go to university and that it wasn’t quite for me, so I applied to various apprenticeships instead. I ended up taking a gap year due to COVID-19 and then through word of mouth, I found out about the futures scheme at IBM. I researched more about it and thought that it was a good alternative to university, so I applied.

2. What hints or tips would you pass to those who are interested in applying to IBM as a school leaver?

Be yourself! Check over your application for any small mistakes before submitting them. Make sure that you are relaxed and in a peaceful environment when you are taking any of the assessments. This allows you to focus and prevents you from being distracted.

3. What’s the best thing about your current role?

I get to meet different types of people working in different roles, which gives me the opportunity to learn about their experiences and what their job is like. Also, I can further develop myself as I get to try out new things that are outside of my comfort zone.

4. What support was available to you when starting at IBM?

IBM provides us with 2 managers, a Task manager and a Foundation manager. We could turn to both our managers whenever we have any concerns during our time at IBM. Your Learning, a tool we can use for our own independent learning, is also available to us. It provides courses on all sorts of topics so we can use it to help us understand our roles better or learn skills that could help us with our role. We can also use it to learn about anything we may have an interest in. In addition, we have meetings arranged with other futures and interns so that we have a chance to know and connect with them. This way we can support each other as well.

5. What’s the best thing about being at IBM?

The people – Everyone is friendly and always willing to help which made it easier to settle into my job role. My team mates also often look out for me to make sure that I am okay and not being overwhelmed with work.