Summer Intern Review

The summer internship was very enjoyable and I was given a lot of exposure into the industry and the opportunity to meet a variety of people. The work was challenging, but also very interesting too. We began with a 3 day training programme which was extremely comprehensive in excel and finance training. During the internship, there were also many talks and learning sessions we could attend to give us further familiarity with the products that the team and the bank cover. This allowed us to learn about all of the front office teams, which was extremely useful.

The team was very supportive and patient in explaining what we had to do. We were given exposure to many tasks and treated like a part of the team. We were also involved in team social events, which were all very enjoyable. There was a flat culture where everyone was treated as equals.

Barclays have a 'Meet the Director/ Managing Director' scheme, which allows interns to meet senior people within the firm. This was very helpful in learning about the firm. We were all assigned a line manager and a buddy, which was our support network. This meant that we had a huge amount of support from the people around us.

We were always kept busy with a range of tasks and events. There were many teach-in sessions and learning sessions, which kept us busy. There was sufficient workload which kept us busy throughout the day. We were also expected to work extremely hard when necessary, but the work was very interesting and relevant.

We were also given a lot of responsibility within the team, from regular junior team tasks to project work. This is with limitations, as we are still learning and unable to complete more complex tasks.

The internship taught more soft skills than hard skills in terms of communication, team work, completing tasks to a deadline and working under pressure. These are important in managing university work and I believe this could help us become more efficient. Beyond degree studies the skills we learnt, such as paying attention to detail, will be extremely valuable.

The graduate recruitment team organised a lot for us to do, with many learning sessions. We were told prior to the internship that we would be able to rotate onto a different desk for the last two weeks of our internship, however were informed once we arrived that this had been cancelled a few months back. We were also given very little information as to the content of the first week of the internship as well as key information we expected to receive.

My team was provided plenty of teach-in sessions on many products. The graduate recruitment team also offered exposure to all the teams within the bank. We were also given training in softwares such as Bloomberg, Factset and Dealogic. This was extremely helpful and they maintained this support throughout the whole internship.

The intern class are very friendly and fun to spend time with. We have organised many social events together in the evenings and occasionally over the weekends.There were fewer social events organised by Barclays for the interns. There were only a couple of networking sessions with other colleagues within the bank.

London is very expensive compared to the rest of the UK. The office has a subsidised canteen, which makes meals more affordable. Rent is extremely expensive if you want to live close to the office, however far cheaper if you are willing to commute. Socialising in the area is also fairly expensive.

There are no nightclubs in Canary Wharf, however there are plenty more venues and places to go out in the City of London and Shoreditch. There are plenty of bars in the area however they are fairly expensive, although there are some cheaper options around. Transport is very convenient, so travelling to the venues is easy.