Barclays Personal and Corporate Banking & Barclaycard Spring Insight Programme Review

Barclays PCB & Barclaycard Spring Insight programme was very enjoyable, not only did I enjoy meeting a diverse range of people but I was able to carry out assignments that are real world focused. The most enjoyable experience was shadowing staff from Wealth and Barclaycard divisions to see what work was really like within banking.

The recruiters were very nice, in fact, the nicest recruiters I have ever come across which was surprisingly great. The company itself has great values, (R.I.S.E.S) Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship. This was evidently seen by the way all staff members, as they respected me and helped me out when I needed it.

The Spring Insight programme was running for 1 week thereby it was mainly presentations, partial shadowing and assessments. The support I received when completing group tasks and shadowing was moderate, this is simply because everyone (including myself) in the insight programme were very smart so all tasks set were simple to understand. On top of this, if I had any questions, they would give me an answer with experience and an example to explain.

The great aspect of Barclays Spring Insight Programme is the fact that I have learned the basics, all the way up to so complicated finance related situations. It has given me a much wider understanding in the field that I wish to gain a career. Over the week, we developed our team work, coordination and workload skills which is hugely useful to implement these into degree studies. For example, I have learned the true importance of time management, tasks are set in banking with deadlines dates that are often very short (like University coursework). This skill development is therefore a useful skill that will assist me with my studies.

Very well organised! The Human Resource Coordinators had a great schedule in place for activities, presentations, assessments and so on. Barclays Spring Insight programme even had a special app for all candidates on the course, this showed us the agenda of each day, information and much more. From the outset, the insight was every well prepared with a great structure. The first three days consisted of presentations and team activities (group work), Thursday was a shadowing day (VERY interesting) and Friday was the assessment day (And rewards day). This structure worked perfectly. In fact, I feel I have learned a huge amount from this experience because it was structured so well.

The general atmosphere during the insight was Barclays lives and breathes the values of; Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship. It was an odd atmosphere at first, I imagined everyone at work in full suits rushing all over the place to complete work. However, the insight showed me that even with pressured deadlines, most employees were relaxed, focused and very kind. There were even employees on allocated floors of the building that are allowed to practically wear whatever they wanted to work, as long as it looks averagely smart. During the entire week, I felt everyone respected the Barclays Values, everyone was proud to work for a great company and overall everyone seemed to love what they were doing. On an overview, there are some jobs that seem mundane, however it really depends on your personal outlook on the work. I found some jobs such as areas of Wealth really engaging and fun.

From the outset, the entire process seemed very efficient and direct to everyone learning capabilities. Almost every speaker during the week knew that we were first year university students, thereby their language in explaining topics were adapted so we could understand. How much time and money has been invested in me? It was clear that a huge amount has been invested in the week from my personal experience. For example, Barclays organised the CEO Jes Staley of Barclays to speak with the PCB & B Spring Insight division which shows the dedication of the company to train and develop us. On top of this, there were multiple events (from networking to shadowing), assessments and presentations. The week was filled of information and I gained a huge amount of knowledge not only from how Barclays operate in multiple divisions, but about the banking industry as a whole.

Very insightful in this area. Barclays showed me just how diverse each role is within the bank. There is however no definitive answer to, what is it like to work within a bank? This is because it's completely dependent on the type of division or work your assigned. For example, Barclays helped me understand many roles such as Barclaycard you can work normal hours of 9am to 6pm, whereas in Wealth or Investment banking, you may find yourself working 9am-11pm. I have learned that working full time within Barclays, I would have to be very motivated in my chosen career, keep learning and updating my knowledge on new regulations and be fully prepared on a daily basis. In my opinion, having a full time job at Barclays would be intense but fun. This is because I enjoy the challenge of the diverse work that needs to be completed on a daily basis.

The company culture is very much Barclays Value driven. From my experience, everyone within Barclays had a strong work ethic and everyone is always willing to listen and earn. The culture has both power, in the sense that each person has a huge amount of responsibility and wants to succeed, and strategy, in the essence that everyone is smart by taking the approach to work that is efficient and which benefits both the company and the clients.

EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Barclays insight was hugely beneficial in showing a range of career paths we can take within the company. This ranges from; Wealth banking, Investment banking, Retail banking, Barclaycard, Technology and much more. Barclays have a huge amount of opportunities to undertake, as well as great schemes in place to rotate staff if they wish to experience a different department. During the week I found Wealth banking very interesting due to the nature of helping clients with their portfolio. During the week, I have watched many presentations by a multitude of speakers from many divisions. This was hugely useful to understand more about each department and to find out which one appeals to me.

I was paid a small amount for taking part in the Spring Insight Programme which was of adequate value. I could have claimed back travel expenses however due to the low cost of the train I decided it was not worth the hassle for me and the HR team. Barclays also paid for my fantastic accommodation because I live outside London and it would have taken too long to travel to Canary Wharf each day by train. Barclays even paid for lunch during the week. Barclays are very generous when it comes to expenses and I must admit, I am hugely thankful for that.

There were shadowing and networking events during the week. We had a main networking evening on Wednesday where I met many employees from different division. In fact, some conversations went very well and I had a great experience whilst learning a huge amount about different employee's jobs roles. Additionally, the network event was very well organised, food and drink were served throughout with an assortment of graduates and directors to speak to. There was two shadowing sessions which enabled me to speak to professionals and one main networking event which enabled me to speak to a range of people.

Networking was fun and interesting, there is a huge amount of people you can talk to with various levels of experience.

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I recommend this Barclays PCB & B Insight Programme to everyone. Its a great look into multiple career paths you could take.