Company: IBM
Date: 2018-05-31
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Great to have on a resume, then get out
Pros: Joined IBM in the CbD program out of college. Been here two years now.  GBS NA - New York City based. 

IBM is such a huge company, and there really are so many opportunities here. I have constantly heard this phrase "IBM is what you make of it." While there is some truth, I do not entirely agree. Your experience at IBM really relies on luck and timing. I like to think of myself as a go-getter, ambitious and always learning new things in order to get to the next opportunity, but just being a good employee, working hard and following all the rules is no guarantee here. I have been extremely lucky in my timing in rolling off projects,  in knowing people at the right time, and have been able to take on a lot of responsibility and leadership roles. But peers who I consider good friends as well as excellent and smart coworkers have not had such luck, and it is definitely not because they didn't try hard enough. Some have even been fired after being over 100% client billable with excellent project reviews. So all I can say is - IBM does have the ability to offer you a great experience, just don't always expect it. And if you get unlucky with your IBM experience, it really isn't you, it's them. Other positives: IBM is great to have on a resume even still, exit opportunities are, for the most part, great. Only recommendation for CbDer joining, do your best to learn as many skills as possible while you're here and network as much as possible, that's what's going to get you places.
Cons: I said most above, just a few things to point out due to my personal experience:
- salary: The salary they give you is based how good your university is. This discrepancy is pretty big and doesn't make sense, the hires from the Ivy league universities are not doing any more work than hires from other colleges. It is really demoralizing.
- management: I have yet to have a single CbD manager or BPM that actually knew what they were doing or has helped me in any way. They don't receive training to manage people, especially those who do need guidance coming into their first job out of college, and the managers who are chosen do not actually want to be managers, they were forced to. IBM needs to invest in their people a lot more, get real managers, get them training, allow for these young people to be mentored and to grow. 
- quality of hires: Some of the people I have worked with here are amazing, very intelligent, and have even become close friends. The problem is that so many people here I wonder how they even passed the first screening. The quality of employee differs so greatly, and is not something I would expect from a company that is supposed to be somewhat selective. I have also seen way too many people get in because they are friends with management. I know that this happens, but at IBM this seems to be abused even more. Please hire based off of merit, not on school background or ties to current management.
- such variance in experience: Like I said, there is no one "IBM experience." While I do think it is good for people to have a variety of options and experiences, the variance is much too wide in terms of positive or negative experience. Don't be fooled by the common "it is what you make of it," count your blessings if you have it good.