Spring Intern Review

Overall, the week was a lot of fun and offered a valuable insight into the many divisions within the bank. The week definitely pick up its pace from Wednesday- Friday when there was more lined up for us; interactive sessions, work shadowing and panel Q&A gave various insights into the company.

HR were fantastic. They did their upmost to make everyone feel welcome, comfortable and valued. It was refreshing that our HR guardians were not solely focussed on Barclays as a bank but offering us general career advice for the future. They came across as welcoming, friendly and genuinely interested in giving us the best week possible. Thanks guys.

As mentioned above: HR were fantastic. They did their upmost to make everyone feel welcome, comfortable and valued. It was refreshing that our HR guardians were not solely focussed on Barclays as a bank but offering us general career advice for the future. They came across as welcoming, friendly and genuinely interested in giving us the best week possible. Thanks guys.

One week is a limited time to acquire new skills as such. However, I would say that some broader careers advice such as how to conduct myself in an interview or assessment environment will stay with me. Other tips such as applying to placements early were also handy. Some talks we had around macroeconomics of the bank were useful in giving a foundation of knowledge in the finance industry.

Pretty well. We had an agenda every day. We also had an app with an agenda but we didn't really seem to stick to it. We were never bored or milling around without knowing what was next. Talks rarely ran over.

Great! Being a spring week for first years, naturally everyone is pretty keen to learn and excited to be there. The atmosphere was always lively and the other interns were lovely. The atmosphere in the bank as a whole was also good, especially the Barclaycard floor. Canary Wharf is a cool place to work.

We did a quick "housekeeping" and "office etiquette" session which was casual and not very interactive. We also had a session on agile ways of working which was interactive and really fun. I've rated this section 5 because there wasn't much, but it's a bit of an unfair question because in one week there isn't enough time to fit in much personal training.

We did work shadowing which gave an insight into the life of a full time employee. We also did several networking sessions with different people around the business in which we were allowed to ask as many questions (big or small) as we liked and learn about their roles within the company. We also had panel interactive question and answer sessions which were useful.

Loads. I think you can get a feel of it from the people you meet. Barclays are big on their values, which really came across in its employees, as well as the large placards on nearly every wall which states them. I liked the culture and can tell they look after their employees well. It looks like a great place to work.

Very valuable. They tried to show us as many divisions as possible so that everyone could picture them working in one or another. It depends how set you are in your career decision; PCB was definitely painted in a very good light and looks like a great place to work as a graduate.

£250 + fair in and out of London + £7.50 for lunch + accommodation

As mentioned above: We did several networking sessions with different people around the business in which we were allowed to ask as many questions (big or small) as we liked and learn about their roles within the company. We did work shadowing which gave an insight into the life of a full time employee. We changed work shadowers in the morning and afternoon to give us greater exposure to business divisions.

As mentioned above: We did several networking sessions with different people around the business in which we were allowed to ask as many questions (big or small) as we liked and learn about their roles within the company. It wasn't a particularly sociable event, more like a very business-focussed-get-noticed sort of thing. It would have been nice if they offered a social for the interns separately as we all got on famously by the end of it.

We didn't really find out about this. Other than networking groups such as LGBT and WIN, not much was said about life outside of work. Many employees said work life balance was good and that they had reasonable hours. Supposedly there are sports teams and a gym too.

Yes! I felt very invested in and valued by the team. I also met some great people. It was a great way to spend a week of Easter that would otherwise have been spent at home or in the library. It was a great experience that portrayed Barclays in a very favourable light. I'm sure not everyone would have been sold by PCB&B after the week, which is absolutely fine; HR made it very clear that it is as much for the intern as it is for the recruiters.