Summer Intern Review

I thought that my team was incredibly supportive with all of my questions, which was very important as someone who is new to the finance industry. I really enjoyed the experience. I feel I have learned a lot and really developed my knowledge of the Banking industry. I really enjoyed being given the responsibility to work on the team's projects and to work on my own content. I feel that I was actually learning, and that I was not just left to process small changes.

I feel that my colleagues have valued me. I have really appreciated the fact that they have involved me in their projects, and I feel that they have been appreciative of my work. I have received very positive feedback via my Line Manager, in addition, which has made me feel valued.

I was given a lot of support by my Line Manager, who has been excellent at involving me in his client work, and has been a great guide when it comes to financial principles. I feel that he has always been willing to hear my questions, even at the very early stages of my internship, when I had a lot of questions about everything. But I feel that the Associates and VPs in my team have also been very supportive, helping me when it comes to answering more basic questions, and getting me involved in their work, as well. Even the MDs in my team have provided me with a lot of guidance, talking through concepts with me as well as getting me involved with tasks for them. I have really appreciated the opportunity to work with and learn from management.

It varied across the course of my internship. At first, work was fairly quiet, but I think this was in part due to the fact that it was summer (and post-Brexit uncertainty), but I had internship projects to work on during quieter periods, which was good, as it meant that I wasn't wasting time and learning even when there was less client work. More recently, I have been very busy, involved in a lot of projects and with an individual valuation case study, which I had to balance with helping the team. Overall, however, it has varied from day to day, and I have had to adapt to different levels of activity across the course of the nine weeks.

I was given responsibility for quite a lot of content during the course of my internship. While my line manager and the Associates were always willing to check through my work, they expected me to defend my assumptions and my input. I feel that this amounted to a considerable amount of responsibility, as I was responsible for pulling together data that would be presented to clients.

The ability to analyse information was crucial, which is highly important in the context of my degree. I feel I have learned to manage time pressure much more effectively, and the networking skills I have developed will be extremely useful both at university and later. I feel that my written communication has been highly important during the course of the nine weeks, and this is incredibly important in my degree studies, the success of which depends on my ability to articulate my thoughts convincingly in writing. More generally, for a career in banking, I feel that I have learned a lot about the culture and the practice of the industry, as well as far more about accounting than I had ever known before.

The office was focused as well as friendly. A lot of the MDs work with their office doors open, which I feel makes them far more approachable. Working together with my team on the same desk was also great in creating a more approachable and cooperative environment. I also enjoyed the focused atmosphere, as I felt I could work efficiently and productively without significant distraction.

The internship programme was very well structured. We had plenty of intern events planned throughout the course of the nine weeks, which were great in encouraging us to meet new people and to learn more about different teams within the Investment Bank. It was also really helpful that there was a good deal of coordination between the team and the recruiters, which meant that they were aware of most of the events and that they were very positive in encouraging us to attend and enjoy them. It was very easy to slot into the team, as the Onboarding process was very smooth, and even though the first few weeks were fairly quiet, the team was immediately involving us in work and explaining the relevance of their projects. Overall, the entire experience was very well organised, and the structured feedback through mid-term and final appraisals was very helpful.

I feel that the company invested in me significantly. We had pre-internship training with AMT, which was really helpful in getting us familiar with the basics of accounting. Furthermore, throughout, MDs were teaching me, and my line manager was constantly willing to help with questions and to teach me. Also, in setting aside time for the internship valuation case study, even when the team was extremely busy, was absolutely fundamental to my development over the course of the internship. That the Associates were so willing to help with questions we had, and to recognise that we could not devote as much time as usual to our team tasks, demonstrates that the company goes a long way in investing in training.

I feel that there is plenty of scope for career development at Barclays, and that the structure provides a very appealing environment in which to develop a career in Banking.

The other interns were very sociable, and I feel that there was a lot of camaraderie amongst the intern class. This was great as it meant that we could support each other through periods of stress, and at the weekends and on Fridays the group of interns as a whole was pretty sociable.

The cost of living was quite expensive, but not significantly higher than that in Cambridge or the rest of London. Socialising was fairly expensive, but the fact that the recruitment team organised several social events during the course of the programme meant that this had less of an impact than it otherwise could have. Furher, for the past few weeks I have been very busy, so there has simply not been a lot of time to socialise and I haven't experienced any problems in this regard.

The nighltife in Canary Wharf and in the City was pretty good, but I haven't experienced a lot of it.