Spring Intern Review

Really useful and enjoyable opportunity for multiple reasons, ranging from getting to know more about the company and industry to meeting great people, as well as having the opportunity experience first hand what Corporate life is.It was perfectly arranged to make yourslef feel as comfortable as possible whislt making the best out of the experience,

Barclays puts a great emphasis and investment into its Interns. From day one by providing ideal accommodation very close to Canary Wharf, to special treatments inside the office such and coffee, tea and snacks, it gave a sense of being a valuable member. We even had the opportunity to meet the current CEO which was quite unexpected.

Both our Human Resources recruiters were incredibly helpful throughout the whole time. In preparation for the week, a lot of helpfut guidance was provided on what to expect, accommodation issues and general tips. Once inside the Spring Week there was always someone willing to help with any questions you had.

More than developing actual skills, which were developed up to certain extent, what I really found extremely helpful towards degree studies and beyond is how can and will you apply the skills you gain throughout your degree in a future corporate life. Being able to talk with people with completely different degree background made me realised such skills are more important than the actual content involved in your degree.

The insight week was really well structured and prepared. Everything you would expect and much more was provided. From initial tips which you realised were actually helpful, to the actual structure of the programme, where we attempted multitude different activities and got to know so much information about so many different people.

The atmosphere was without doubt one of the best values of Barclays and the Spring Week. It is a very relaxed culture in comparison with other banks where a big effort is put into making feel everyone as valuable as possible. Spending time with people sharing your same interests and passions but coming from very distint backgrounds also proved a great experience.

The firm has a very big emphasis on its H&R, which is observable when speaking with people on a daily basis by how friendly they are. It proved an invaluable experience to those people planning on working on the finance industry since you get to understand how many different roles and jobs exist within a 'bank', from inside Consultancies to the Tech guys etc... It is an enormous world you have to experience first hand.

Although there were many opprtunities to interact with full time employees including networking events, it is very difficult to obtain a clear image of what your daily routine would be as a full time employee. There was a networking session which although incredibly useful when asking questions did not actually allow me to observe their daily routines since it was more like a Q&A based interaction.

One of the aspects which I found greatly revealing was getting to know so much about a company which first hand was a 'bank'. However, the week allowed us to gain an understanding of everything that is going on inside that 'bank' and how after the financial crisis they put great effort into making everything as transparent as possible to gain that trust back.

Being very interested in the financial world and greatly attracted to working for a major bank I was really keen on the valuable insight this programme allowed me to have. It created a clear path on which divisions I should aim for which helps when applying for the Summer Internship, and well as other alternative ones people inside the bank had tried such as Consultancy.

Reimbursed travel expenses and paid for my daily expenses.

One of the facts I found most interesting is the importance Barclays gives to Networking. Even in a world where technical skills acquired at Under and Postgraduate level are very important, they always repeated the word networking and how having those relationship skills is just as important to your future career path. There were multitude of Networking opportunities including an official Networking session.

There was one major networking session which was organised between the various Spring Programs as well as Senior members of the Barclays community. It was great being able to learn so much about people working in completely different sectors within Barclays as well as getting their advice.

There was no official information about this, however when talking to graduates as well as employees it was evident their relationship did not end when they left work.

As someone who had a first experience with the Financial Corporate life. the Spring Week proved to be an invaluable asset towards my future. It is an opportunity to learn and grow but also to make friends and have fun.