Summer Intern Review

As a whole, the internship was enjoyable; I almost always looked forward to going to work in the mornings. This was largely because my line manager gave me tasks I found interesting and challenging – it was “real” work and not just some random admin task to keep the intern occupied. It may be a cliché, but it’s also largely what you make of it – I organized a lot of meetings, shadowing sessions etc. which kept things interesting even when there was a lull in my work.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was treated like a regular team member from day one, but was also given any help or support that I needed. At the beginning, I didn’t know enough to contribute all that much, but when I did start giving input it was taken seriously.  

I was lucky to have a great line manager who provided a good mix of support and freedom. He taught me a lot, made sure I was comfortable with my tasks and regularly checked in with me. However, he wasn’t overbearing and gave me enough space to learn some things on my own. Having said that, it is very much the luck of the draw; some other interns struggled a bit more with their managers.

At the beginning of the internship, I was struggling to find enough things to do, but by the end, I was struggling to complete everything. To be fair, this was partially my fault, as I took on a some extra tasks and booked in a lot of meetings and shadowing sessions (having said that, you are encouraged – i.e. expected – to do so, so it was the same for everyone). I had to come in an hour early or stay an hour late every now and then, but on most days I could comfortably get everything done from 8:30am – 6:30pm.

I was given “real” tasks that would’ve been done by my line manager and other team members. They were quite challenging and required a lot of input on my part – I also presented on behalf of the team at some meetings – so in that sense, I was given a fair deal of responsibility. However, I worked together closely with my manager and other team members, so it’s not like I was given free rein to do whatever I wanted; anything that resulted in an actual transaction and/or went to the higher levels of management was thoroughly checked first.

I learned a lot about the specific part of Treasury that I was interning in. While I probably won't need to use that particular knowledge again, I also learned a lot about financial markets in general, as well as really improving my excel skills. The way I manage time and approach tasks is also much more efficient after a few weeks here.

The atmosphere was relatively calm - people would talk and have conversations, but even then it was mostly about work. On certain days, it would get very quiet, but most of the time there was a pleasant level of background noise going on. In terms of dress code, it wasn't overly formal but also not too casual. For girls, I'd recommend having a few nice dresses but a suit probably isn't necessary (I wore mine the first week and never again). For the guys, it was varied - definitely smart/business wear, but it was rare to see someone who kept their full suit and tie on all day long.

Overall, the internship was quite well-organised.

We were given a lot of exposure to senior people, which was great. The entire experience is in itself contributed a lot to my development. However, in terms of targeted personal training and development, we only had one or two very broad and basic sessions, so I wouldn't really say they invested in us specifically. Having said that, it was only nine weeks.

Very appealing - Barclays seems like a friendly and stimulating place to be. I can see myself fitting into the teams well and learning a lot if I were to continue with the company. I felt supported throughout. Having said that, a lot is changing now due to the ringfencing process, so this does add a little bit of uncertainty, but that would be the case for most of Barclays' competitors.

Yes, but this was mostly because we were a small group who happened to get along well, and had desks near each other.

London is always expensive, but we were given extra compensation for living costs. Going for dinner and drinks was not cheap but completely feasible considering how much we were being paid, so there's nothing to complain about there.

Canary Wharf is a bit dead, but easy access to good nightlife in the city centre.