Spring Insight Group Functions Analyst Review

I have enjoyed the Spring Week to a very large extent as it serves as a very effective break course into banking and finance industry. The various spotlight sessions were well-designed and structured to give us a comprehensive overview of each business function under the Group Functions divisions in an effective and interactive way. With the information acquired, I was able to make more informed choices about which area of banking I would like to join based on my personal interest and ability. Besides, the networking events and skill session were also extremely useful for my long-term career development. Lastly, I feel the program would be even better if materials could be given to interns beforehand so we can read and learn before the sessions to utilise it more effectively.

I constantly feel that I was valued by the company as we were always taken good care of by the HR managers of the Spring Insight program. They were very approachable and were willing to help should any intern came to them and ask for help. Besides, many junior and senior business representatives attended the networking events of the program and I think this shows how much the company values us by providing these good opportunities for us to make use of.

I have received much guidance and support from the personal buddy that was assigned to me at the beginning of the program and we have communicated through email many times ever since, whereby he answered many questions posed by me. The experience and advice he gave allowed me to prepare for the program beforehand and also enabled to settle in and adapt to the program very quickly.

Through the activities of the program, I had further developed many important skills such as teamwork, presentation, interview and self-management skills, which were all soft-skills that I could not possibly learn in school. Besides, I also deepened my understanding about the banking industry through the information provided by the program. These soft skills and technical knowledge will help me in my degree studies and long-term career development to a large extent.

The Spring Insight Program was well-designed and well-structured to allow the interns to learn as much as possible about the financial industry and about Barclays. The first one to two days served as an induction into the program whereby interns were given an overview about what was going to happen. During the next few days the program dove into more specific areas with more depth with activities such as spotlight sessions and job-shadowing sessions. With such a well-designed structure, I was able to gradually adapt to the program and learn in the most effectively way.

The general atmosphere was very vibrant and intense during the Barclays' Spring Insight. Everyday interns were given a schedule packed with exciting and informative activities. Besides, the interns attending the program were very driven individuals and very eager to learn more about the industry and Barclays. Therefore, the atmosphere there was very positive in general and there was always a very high energy level.

Although the Spring Insight program aimed at providing a general introduction and overview of the finance industry to all participants, many activities were still designed to help me in my personal training and development of skills. For example, the skills sessions of the program gave many useful tips about presentation and interviews. Besides, the group project of the program also trained my skills in teamwork and communications. In general, the program has been useful in personal training and development to a fairly large extent.

The job-shadowing sessions of the program gave me a very good and first-hand experience of what it is like to be working as a full-time associate, whereby I followed full-time graduates from various business functions to their working stations and saw what their daily work was.

The Spring Insight program exposed me to the Barclays values through its specifically designed value session whereby senior business representatives gave very comprehensive illustration of each of the five values upheld by Barclays with specific examples. Besides, through spotlight sessions and job-shadowing sessions, I was also exposed to the working culture at Barclays. In general, I had a very good understanding of the Barclays culture after the program.

To a very large extent, the experience at the insight program made me more determined in pursuing a career in the banking industry, as I had a clearer understanding of the banking sector and knew better which part of the bank I wanted to go into. With a clearer objective, I became more motivated to work towards it.

The program provided interns with a one-off payment of 250 GBP to cover travel costs. Besides, a return economic air ticket was also provided to the interns for them to travel from and back to their current address.

Networking activities were organised constantly throughout the week-long program to allow interns to network with a range of business representatives from Barclays. We had speed networking session with senior business representatives at director and VP level and we also had graduate networking session with full-time graduates who just joined the firm. We also had a formal networking night at Barclays whereby we networked with a even larger group of Barclays business associates.

The various networking opportunities were very good in terms of the people present, which entailed a good mixed of representatives from different departments and at different levels. Therefore, I was able to talk and heard opinions about the industry and the firm from different perspectives and I developed a deeper understanding about Barclays through these events. Besides, business cards were made for us and we could distribute them and establish long-term relationships.

I was exposed to some potential activities that business associates at Barclays could get involved with, such as charity projects through spotlight sessions of the program. Generally, the program focused on the professional life at Barclays and provided more content about the professional aspect.

Yes, I would definitely recommend this program to my friends who aspire to work in the financial industry in the future as the program is well-designed with many interactive and informative activities and it is really a good opportunity to deepen their understanding about the industry and about Barclays.