Intern Review

I really enjoyed the marketing internship and Barclays. I was busy from day one, and was given a range of tasks to work on throughout my time here, which meant I never got bored. The people I worked with were welcoming and made me feel like a valued member of the team.

Very much so. I met with each my of my team members individually early on to ask them about their role and experiences, which was a great way to get to know everyone. I felt that people gave me tasks to do which genuinely helped the team, and that I was entrusted with responsibility on certain projects despite being only an intern.

Barclays was very good and establishing a support network for each intern. I was assigned a line manager, with whom I worked closely and to whom I reported. He worked on my desk so was always nearby and attentive when I had questions. We would also meet at least once a week so that I could update him on my progress and talk to him about any concerns. I also had a mentor, who worked in a different marketing department, with whom I had weekly meetings in which I could ask him more general questions and also for advice. On top of that, I was also assigned a buddy - a member of the grad scheme - who had interned in the same department as me, so I also met with her weekly for guidance on certain projects.

As in any job, this varied. I was given a range of projects from the beginning, but because many of these were collaborative or were dependent on other people, there were some days where I worked on smaller, more immediate tasks and had more free time because I was waiting for emails to come through.. Days could also be busy in different ways: on some occasions I was rarely at my desk because I was in back-to-back meetings; other times, I would be at my desk most of the day busy with big projects. I never felt over-worked but equally I never felt bored.

I was impressed with the amount of responsibility I was given from the start. My biggest objectives were two data analysis projects that were not due in until the very last week of the internship, and would be used by my line manager and department head in meetings with more senior people to determine future marketing strategy. I was also given responsibility for designing a new intranet site that will be used by my team long after I leave.

I think the skills I developed and training I received will be very useful for my future career. My time management and communication skills have vastly improved - the former due to the large number of tasks I worked on at any one time, the latter because of the number of interactions I had with new people. The financial training I received, as well as the informal marketing training I have been given by my team members and through my projects, have also set me up well for a marketing career in the financial industry.

Very positive. My team were really friendly, and there were opportunities to chat throughout the day. There was also a communal sweets section at the end of the desk row, which was a nice touch. Obviously everyone worked hard and people would be away from their desks at various times, but the atmosphere was never stressful or unwelcoming.

I found the internship to be extremely well-organised. From the training we received on the first two days, to the mid-term HR meetings and performance reviews with my line manager, to the meet the director initiative, I felt that progress was tracked appropriately and we were given a lot of opportunities to meet people from around the business. The 'In conversation with...' events were also a beneficial way to interact with people in the marketing department but not in your immediate team.

To a good extent. There was the general training at the beginning of the internship and the financial training early on, which were a good introduction. Besides that, much of the training and development took place 'on the job' through the people you met, the events you attended and the projects you worked on.

I believe the internship is a good route to the grad scheme, which is then a good route to further employment in the business. My understanding is that people tend to change roles every two years or so depending on the opportunities available, which is a good way to build up a diverse skill set. My only concern is that Brexit might lead to hiring freezes or employee cuts, as the financial industry is expected to be hit hard by any economic downturn resulting from it.

Relatively so. Barclays took on a lot of interns and inevitably you tend to socialise predominantly with those in a similar business area. The four marketing interns (including me) became very close and would socialise outside of work quite regularly - but besides that I was often too tired from work to attend bigger intern events. In terms of colleague socialising, there was a team lunch quite soon after I joined which was a nice way to spend time with the team outside of the work environment, and a team pizza night is scheduled for near the end of my internship.

I lived at home during my internship because I was close enough to the office that I didn't have to move into the city. However, commuting and socialising, and even eating, were extremely expensive (as one would expect in London). The internship is very well paid but I would say that at least 25% of my salary is going towards commuting, meals and occasional socialising, which isn't ideal.

London obviously has a great nightlife scene, with loads of different bars, clubs and restaurants, though everything is very expensive. I didn't really go out during the internship because I was normally quite tired and because I was trying to save money, but I know that other interns did go out quite frequently and had a great time.

Some. There was an office gym, which I used regularly, but there weren't many intern networking events. There was some women's network events which were informative and enjoyable, but I think potentially the sheer number of interns Barclays had mitigated against more intern events. However, there is a big end-of-internship party which I am looking forward to.