Technical Infrastructure.
Hands-on experience.

I decided to apply to Baillie Gifford as it’s a company that takes students seriously, whether that’s on the year-long placement that I’m completing or the summer internship opportunities that now exist. I applied to a couple of other employers, but Baillie Gifford stood out because of the application process. The interview was so different, like talking to good friends. They were interested in me as a person and my educational path, so there was the right amount of technical and non-technical conversation.

When lockdown came, I was worried about what was going to happen with my placement. However, my manager at Baillie Gifford took the time to have a lengthy telephone conversation with me and was happy to answer all my questions. When I joined, I found the programme was very well structured, even though it was virtual. In the first week, I received a three-month plan, which included a day-by-day breakdown of my initial induction and technical training. They really wanted to give me the fundamental knowledge and skills to do the job right. Since then, I’ve had placements in five different teams in the department.

My third placement was on the Service Desk. I was part of the team tasked with replacing all the iPhones in the business, upgrading 700 devices in total. Baillie Gifford works hard to keep on top of hardware, and they upgrade all their devices annually. The project involved ordering the latest phones, installing SIM cards, configuring the devices, and finally delivering them. We also had to support users if they had any issues. I really enjoyed helping to solve any problems.

When I was with the Security team, I worked on a project that migrates some Baillie Gifford software to the Cloud. As part of this, we needed to do some housekeeping, as the software was holding a lot of passwords and confidential information. I was tasked with creating a way for people to see the relevant information and clean it. It was entirely up to me how I approached this, but I created an interactive dashboard that would show the activity for that piece of information, who was using it and how often in the last two years. It was exciting receive my own brief.

In my third year at university, I visited Baillie Gifford’s Data Centre and was surprised by their networking set up. I had already completed a network-focused placement for a firm in Cheltenham, which I assumed would have state-of-the-art structure. However, they were only beginning to implement the networking architecture Baillie Gifford already used (and were about to upgrade). The technology here is already cutting-edge, but there is a constant push to optimise and improve existing business solutions.  

It was clear early on that my role as a placement student would not hold me back from getting involved in any projects or opportunities available to full-time employees. For example, during my time on the Service Desk, there was an opportunity to work on a project to roll out Jamf, a mobile device management tool for Apple devices. When I volunteered to help with the project, I got kitted out with everything I needed, including a MacBook. I hadn’t used Apple before, so it was really motivating to know that my colleagues had put their trust in me. In addition, I had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong to support the office there with a different project, which was a truly amazing opportunity for anyone, never mind a student! 

At Baillie Gifford, it’s not just about the skills you have; it’s about your willingness to learn new ones too. You are constantly encouraged to think about how you can develop your strengths and overcome any weaknesses. For example, I’ve been on internal assertiveness courses, and during Baillie Gifford’s LearnFest week, I attended a leadership skills course and a visual thinking session. These have really changed how I behave professionally and given me a new level of confidence.   

At the end of the summer, I was lucky enough to be offered a permanent position. The internship was a fair reflection of what it’s like to work here full-time. It’s a very open and inclusive workplace, where trainees are a valued part of the team. For example, since re-joining, I’ve been afforded the same level of opportunity as I was before.   

I found out about Baillie Gifford when some recent interns gave a presentation at my university. They spoke so passionately about how positive their experience at the company had been and explained how they had put their lab and theory work to practice in a real business environment. I was also able to join a student visit to Baillie Gifford’s Data Centre and was amazed that we had the opportunity to see their servers and how the technology behind the scenes worked. They made us feel really welcome, and I chatted with many of the department heads.

I was quite nervous when I started at Baillie Gifford, as I’ve not had much professional work experience before, but they take you under their wing. For example, during my induction I had a series of one-to-one meetings with the team managers across the Information Systems departments to help understand everyone’s roles. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in various projects of my own, including handling a server upgrade and taking responsibility for Zoom.

Since joining, one of my jobs has been to help set up equipment in a new area of the office, and I have also worked on a project to ensure the firm’s MacBooks remained compliant and functional within the business. I’ve been treated as any other staff member through my time here and given the responsibility and trust to take on important tasks. Along with this, the training and support I’ve received have been outstanding.

As I’ve moved through the placement rotations, everyone has made a real effort to make me feel part of the team. For example, in my first week with the firm, I was given a ticket to the TEDx conference in Glasgow. About 15 of us from across the department attended. I also went to the Service Desk away day, during which we discussed how improvements could be made to our service, took part in team-building exercises and completed an escape room.

Towards the end of my placement, I had experienced many aspects of the Infrastructure department: first-line support, third-line support, maintenance and projects. I had enjoyed them all and built strong relationships within each area. So, when it came to the end of my time here, I didn’t want to leave and knew I wanted to continue my professional career at Baillie Gifford.