Sales Intern Review

Whilst the internship was tough at first and the initial learning curve was incredibly steep, I enjoyed the internship programme as a whole, increasingly so as time went on. There was a really good mix of events, shadowing, talks to help develop you and your network to make the internship a well rounded experience.

I felt incredibly valued as people at all levels gave up their time to speak to us, including Jes Staley which demonstrates how much time and consideration they put into the scheme. The placement was also very well planned showing that they had taken the time to consider all aspects.

I was given a lot of support and guidance although this was up to you as to how much you used the people and tools available to you. At times, due to it being the summer, a lot of people were away which meant you had to be more proactive.

This varied - there were days when you had lots on and others where you had to fill your own diary. Working in markets meant the mornings were often hectic so shadowing was often more easily done in the afternoons which gave you time to work on individual tasks.

Regulation prevents markets roles actually speaking to clients so this means that you could not be given that much responsibility sadly. Having said this, any opportunities for responsibility they did try to give us but in general this was more difficult to find in the role I was in.

In terms of my degree, not extensively so as I do not do a finance or economic based degree. Having said that, the amount I learnt in general was more vast than I could have ever imagined and overall I feel I am much more aware of all the current and relevant topics and trends of the market at present, just from being sat on a trading floor. Furthermore, I developed a lot of technical knowledge surrounding the product which will be useful in a job going forward.

This varied between team, the people, the size of the team and how many people were on holiday but in general the atmosphere was incredibly positive. Everyone was incredibly friendly and more than happy to spend time talking to us and including us where possible.

The internship was very well organized. Within the first week, a calander was sent out to us with the activities for the entire internship so we knew what was coming up, thus enabling us to plan our time effectively from the outset. Furthermore, the initial training was very well structured and all events were planned in advance to use our time in the best way possible.

The firm invested in us by giving us initial training for the first 3 days and ongoing opportunities to learn and develop throughout, both theory based and practical through shadowing.

Whilst the number of job offers has shrunk in recent years across banking as a whole, and with Barclays currently having a hiring freeze, this means the only people they are hiring are interns which means that they place more importance on hiring the right people from the start. So whilst it may be more difficult to get a job, if you secure one the prospects are better.

Average - I think in previous years it sounds like it was better. Working in markets and having 6,15 starts meant that you were less keen for late nights in general however Friday nights and towards the end of the internship people became more sociable.

High - London and Canary Wharf in general are expensive

Average

A few such as team bonding and a citizenship challenge