Human Resources Summer Analyst Review

Overall, the Human Resources internship provided a window into the world of HR, and Barclays more generally. From the first day to the very last, Barclays made me feel welcome and a valued part of the business. Whether it was sessions and meetings organised with senior leaders, or being given real projects and joining my team's day to day work, I was always busy doing interesting and high profile work.

My team were fantastic at getting me involved in all their work and providing constant feedback, both through official channels and personal conversations. Although this might vary from team to team, everyone at Barclays recognises the need to value their colleagues, and this certainly held true for my 9 weeks. This was really brought home to me at the end of the internship - my team organised lots of leaving activities for me, and gave me a lovely send off!

There is quite a strong formal performance review process which starts the minute you begin your internship at Barclays. Your objectives are set after a discussion with your Line Manager, and you are then supported and guided by your team and manager on how to achieve them. At the half way stage, you are provided with formal feedback on how to improve, what is going well, and what could be done differently. This means that by the end of the internship, you're very certain of your own development and progress, and can really see your personal development journey over the 9 weeks. As ever, your colleagues at Barclays are the most valuable source of guidance - if you ever need support, all you need to do is ask the person sitting next to you!

As some of the work I was involved with was project based, the day to day schedule varied depending on deadlines. However, my objectives contained short term and long term goals, meaning that there was always something to be doing! Also, you're encouraged to get outside of your team and meet people from across the business, so if you aren't particularly busy for an hour, there's no reason why you can't go and help another team out or learn about a different part of Barclays!

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of responsibility I was given from a relatively early stage at Barclays. As my team was quite small, I really had to pull my weight. Although this at first can be a bit daunting, your colleagues always explain how to complete the task, and are there to answer any questions - big or small - if you get stuck. By the end, I was able to confidently complete my responsibilities, and being trusted to do so was a real highlight of the 9 weeks.

As my degree is relatively far removed from HR, the specifics might not cross over too much with my studies. However, the general skills in time management, resilience, networking (the list goes on) will always be applicable, whatever you do. The general financial training is also a great insight into how a big bank actually works - something you don't really get studying at university.

Barclays is ultimately a large corporate business, and the atmosphere reflects this. However, I was actually surprised by the friendly and welcoming atmosphere in the office. In my short time at Barclays, there were a large number of activities organised - from an office olympics to bake sales and quizzes. Although everyone is hard working, Barclays also recognises that colleagues need a break from work, and also want to have fun!

The internship was extremely well organised. From on-boarding to my final day and receiving an offer, the whole process has been pretty much seamless. The recruitment team organised loads of events throughout the 9 weeks, and were always in touch from the day I received an offer to join on the programme.

I feel like Barclays invested a fair amount in my personal development and, on top of this, my colleagues then invested their own time in learning about my goals and helping me get there. There were a series of formal training sessions, as well as conversations with senior leaders within HR and then I was also able to set up 1-on-1 sessions with senior business leaders. By the end of the 9 weeks, colleagues across the business had invested a serious amount of time in my personal development.

On my final day at Barclays, I was lucky enough to be offered a place on the 2017 Graduate programme. The internship is a great way to get your foot in the door at Barclays, and if you're interested in joining post-graduation, I would highly recommend applying for the internship, given my experience!

Every week there would be something to do with your team or fellow interns, whether it was lunches, going for coffee or drinks after work. This meant you got to know colleagues both inside and outside of work, which really helped build me a strong network and meet new people.

As Barclays is Head Quartered in Canary Wharf, the cost of living and socialising is not particularly cheap. However, it is a paid internship, and there is more than enough money left over after rent for all of your living and socialising costs - plus more!

It's London! There's always something going on, somewhere. Canary Wharf has loads of bars and restaurant which are busy after work, but you can also head down to the City as it's only a few stops on the Jubilee Line.

If you wanted to get involved, there were always offers to play sports with other interns or socialise outside of work. As everyone is in London together, we met up as a intern cohort on the weekends at went bowling or for drinks etc.