Spring insight -Technology Review

The insight gave a very good overview of the different business sectors which barclays participates In, as well as the sectors and internal structure. The chance to speak to recent graduates at the firm was the most insightful as it allowed me to understand what I would be doing in my first few years at Barclays, the general structure of the graduation program and what to expect.

There were many opportunities to network with graduates as well as more senior employees. Moreover, it was very interesting to hear from CIO's within the company and very much appreciated that they took the time out of their busy schedules to come and speak to us, both about Barclays and to pass on career advice.

The only time you are left to your own devices is for the group project. Even then, you are given advice from recent graduates about the feaseability of your ideas. HR are always on hand to answer questions, and each discussion allows time for questions from the speakers. The work shadowing sessions were also a great chance to get 1-1 with recent graduates.

The specific skills we learnt don't directly apply to my degree, but the emphasis was on life skills as opposed to specific technical skills. A lot of time was dedicated to the soft skills necessary to work effectively as a team in any professional environment. Since it was only a week long, there was not as much emphasis on specific skills to assist in my degree.

Very well structured. The app you can download before the week gives your whole agenda so you know what to expect and what you will be hearing about. Each day is full of activities giving you exposure to as much of the bank as possible as well as meeting as many people as possible so you can figure out exactly what team within the bank you are interested in, and what role you would like.

Very positive throughout and very engaging. You are encouraged to ask as many questions as possible. It is very much a week of you will get out of it as much as you put in. Everyone takes the time to ensure that any questions you have are answered. Very good atmosphere working in trams towards the group project at the end of the week, challenging but stimulating to be thrown into a team of people you don't know.

There wasn't training so to speak because it was only 1 week. But they did organise short 2 hour talks from the head of multiple divisions. These talks varied from how the business operated as whole, down to what each individual does on a daily basis, and how their project or assignment fits into Barclays' operations.

Very helpful in seeing what employees do in the company. Also gave a very good oversight as to the different roles within technology. For example there are pure development roles, there are understanding business needs roles as well as roles involved with structuring the solution to a business need.

Barclays were very strong on the flexibility within the internal organisation. They are active in ensuring that each employee is able to do the job that they want to do. They also help in fostering the development of their employees to ensure that t you are getting as much out of Barclays as you are putting in.

It allowed me to understand the role of technology within the banking industry. Specifically, it was helpful to understand the developments barclays is doing within tech and the push to innovate. Moreover, you get to understand what the current challenges facing the bank are, and how they are looking at overcoming those challenges.

There is generous compensation for the week as well as travel expenses to and from London. Also accommodation is provided if you love far enough from London.

Plenty of networking opportunities on almost a daily basis. Lots of chances to meet with recent graduates and understand why they chose barclays and what they like about it. Also the opportunity to talk to more senior members of the organisation and understand their career path and how they got to where they are today.

Mixed. The first networking session was very good, meeting typical employees for the first time. Later in the week the networking sessions became more who k fire where you didn't quite get enough time to speak to each different person. More of a quick summary of their progression was all that we had time for.

Yes there was an expo about the community side of Barclays which talks about what is offered to the employees in their spare time as well as the community focus of the company.

Definitely, very good chance to understand the role of tech in the banking world. In this aspect Barclays is definitely on top of the game and trying to push the boundaries of where technology can be used in the banking world. If you want to understand how a bank works and the different roles within it then I would definitely recommend the spring insight.