IBM United Kingdom Ltd Interview Questions & Answers

One interview happened at the assessment day. This was very relaxed. We discussed how I thought I had performed in the Assessment Day, and my background in a very general way. Importantly I was asked why I wanted to join IBM which I had a few prepared reasons, avoid the typical 'Big company, lots of opportunities' answer.
Second/final interview was more in depth. Skills and competency based questions. Going through my CV and asking for examples of where I have shown leadership/ dealt with a difficult client/ how I would deal with certain situations.....

Describe an occasion where you have thought outside the box to come up with a new way of doing something?

Prepare for the numerical tests - they are hard! Read up on the company, make sure you know about its history and its current state. Stay on top of any news articles about IBM and what it is currently working on. Speak to people who work there if you can.

Spilt into groups for two group activities - planning a client event and a task going though information and deducting an answer. A short numerical test. A business based small group exercise and an interview.

The IBM group assessment centre was very well run. The morning is split into four segments, where you are asked to work as a small subgroup in two of them, do a short test (to verify earlier test results) in one, and watch a "history" video and presentation.

The day is an excellent chance to network, and if you're successful you're asked to stay for the afternoon, do an individual interview, prepare a presentation and other activities. I was not successful unfortunately but it is a very competitive position and I fought hard!

We weren't really asked interview questions in that sense. However the group activities were difficult because we had to work with 6 other people we'd never met before and come to a consensus within 30 minutes on our projects.

Participate as fully as possible with your potential colleagues.
Do NOT sit in silence - you will not be chosen!
If you have an idea, speak up. Let people know you have something to say.
If you figure something out, tell people.
If you're not sure, clarify.
Enjoy yourself. It's for them AND for you.

We were split into 4 groups of 7.
We watched a 10 minute "history of IBM" video (available on YouTube) of what the company had gone through between 1911 and 2011.
We carried out a logic puzzle in order to answer questions. This required co-ordinating information
We carried out a "project management" task with a time limit, budget limit, strict client requirements and creativity.
We carried out a 10 question sequencing test to verify earlier results.

My experience did not involve an interview other than the ones during the Assessment Center.
After the initial screening I was given a week to complete 2 online assessments; 1 numerical and 1 abstract reasoning.

Competency based questions were not easy. I was asked different types of questions which were very much indirectly related to my course.

Be prepared for your Assessment Center interviews and presentation; you have adequate time at your disposal.

Prepare typical Competency Interview Questions.
Regarding the Technical Interview: Research the company's Website about their technology and methods of production, this will hopefully get your thinking started.

After a long wait I was invited to an Assessment Center, which involved a Presentation, a Competency Interview, a Group Task, a validating Numerical Test and a Technical Interview.
We were split into two Groups and we were handed separate schedules covering the day. For my Group:
1)9:00 - Numerical Test first thing in the Morning; time allowed around 25mins for 30 questions.
2)10:30 - 10-minute presentation, which we had time to prepare before the Assessment (almost 10 days). Topic was about ourselves.
3)11:00 - Competence Interview. Standard Procedure but personalized to each candidate at that time.We were asked questions coming from a scenario booklet. i.e. Tell us a time when you were really stressed, how did you cope, how did you plan, etc.
4)12:30 - Lunch break. The opportunity to mix with the assessors and chat was given to us.
5)13:30 - Group Task. The task was to build a Tower, able to withstand the weight of a water bottle. It was required to reach at least a height of 1m.Materials available; A4 paper, A3 Carton Paper, Scissors, Sticky Tape, Pencils, String and Plastic Cups.
6)14:30 - Final Task: Technical Interview. The interview was personalized and adjusted to the level of knowledge and experience each one of us had. Questions started out easy but progressively became difficult reaching a point, from which onwards we could not answer. This is done for them to see how you react and think to something you have not seen before.

1. Online Application very wordy,
2. Online test (IPAT)
3. Online test for English comprehension
4. Phone interview
5. Assessment center ??? lots of tasks

What salary are you looking for?
What are your weeknesses?

No tricks in the Interview, just a chat over your application form. Maybe be prepared for 'What value would -you- bring to the organization?

The final assessment center started with a software engineering test that was mainly decision mathematics. You then have various tasks and teamwork activities to complete. This includes a presentation about yourself, a group logic puzzle, a reading task, where you have a large amount of information to read and are then questioned about what you have read, a group interview where you are asked about a fictional scenario and what you would do about it. For the group exercise, we were split into two in the morning and business presentation and one-to-one interview was in the afternoon for me. The one on one interview is where they ask about your application form, why IBM, what your long term goals are.

My personal experience did not involve a physical interview. It involved the two online assessments that IBM use to select their top candidates. I submitted my CV (IBM have their own CV guidelines and template you must follow). I was given 7 days to complete 2 online assessments which I have described in the assessment centre section.

Numerical test questions were difficult due to the time limit and seemingly irrelevance to the job. I'd applied for a job elsewhere and they asked IT/Project Management questions. IBM have their own way of doing the exams and you need to be able to answer mathematic questions, quickly.

Make sure you are quick at answering mathematics questions in order to get to the interview stage. This company is looking for a certain level of mathematics ability in a student and unless you have it, you will not get the interview and not be allowed to apply to IBM for a year.

Whilst I didn't make it to a physical interview, I managed to get to stage 3, which was, for me, online testing. I was advised by IBM's email that I should have a pen and paper ready and that the test was NOT a test of your academic ability, however, I found that the numerical test was very much a test of mathematical ability and felt rather pessimistic from the outset. You are given 2 minutes to spot a pattern of numbers, work out the pattern, then select the correct answer from the multiple choice list given below. Whilst some answers are incredibly easy, some take a little bit more working out and with a countdown timer and maths not being your strongest point (afterall, this is an IT job, not a banking sector job) I failed to see the relevance of this, although IBM insist it's a worthwhile testing scheme for them.

The second part of the test is a numerical reasoning test where you are given a questions which contain a list of numbers for objectA, objectB and you have to work out the answer. I found this section of the test slightly easier than the previous test, however, it's mathematics and unless you're really up to speed with maths, it'll be a tough slog to finish the questions confidently. Needless to say - You are also timed on these questions, 2 mins only.

Unfortunately, I didn't meet the minimum amount of points and my application was sadly, cancelled. Something you should know about IBM is that you can only apply once per year. I'm now in a situation whereby I have to wait until Jan, 2015 if I want to apply to IBM again. Good luck!