Summer Intern Review

My internship at the company is very enjoyable. The hours are very good compared with same position at a competitor firm and the tasks I am working on are quite interesting. My manager made sure that I have all the support that I need every now and then and she has been very supportive of me exploring other areas of the business. She arranged all the job shadowing for me even before I joint the team. .

People at the company are known to be very nice and I can't really think of anything bad about them. The collegiate culture is what Barclays is proud of and is also what makes it a very desirable place to work. My colleagues treated me with respect and trust, which I think is rare in the cut throat environment of the industry. Overall I felt very valued in the team I worked in.

To a great extent I was given support and guidance by management and your supervisors. As mentioned above, my manager made sure that I know what I am doing and they do give me enough guidelines and resources for me to complete the tasks. They have been extremely helpful all the time. Though sometimes my deliverable might not match their expectation in terms of style or format, they are still willing to let me know what they want from me.

It varies a lot really. Because the company encourages its employees to have a flexible work schedule - that is people can work from home a few days a week, my team is not always in the office and it is not often the case that they have anything left for me to do before they leave the office the day before they work from home so especially towards the end of my internship when my projects are all done, I am quite idle.

My manager would want me to get on as many projects as possible but given the nature of projects in my team, it is unlikely that I can lead a project on my own in a short period of time so the majority of time I am only supporting the team on some tasks like making spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations. They are not like very important tasks but I still get sense of achievement after I completed them.

I like the fact that the company spends 2 days before the start of the internship to give us an overview of the industry, the company and its products. It helped me understand a lot better about banking and how the company stands in the industry. The HRs have also invited a lot of CEOs and senior executives from different areas of the business to speak to us about their division. These training sessions provided me with a great source of knowledge.

People here are genuinely nice and friendly. They always help me when I need anything and are patient enough to explain anything no matter how basic the questions were. It is definitely the most collegiate among all the companies I have interned at previously. Because people are not overworked and are not pitted against each other like they do in American banks, they are also willing to help each other.

The goal of the grad scheme in my division is to promote grads to AVP within 2 years. The grad scheme involves 3 8-month rotations within different areas of the division. After the grad scheme, you can choose to stay in one permanent division or take up overseas assignments. I would say it is pretty flexible but the starting salary is not as attractive as the other banks.

London is crazy expensive to live in, especially when you are still a student. I do like to make my own meals all the time and avoid eating out on weekends just to save up my money. Rent is also very expensive in the city. I am now living in a shared flat not too far from Canary Wharf but it is in a very sketchy area. I would want to move out anytime. The good thing about the company is that they gave us housing allowance, which is more than enough to cover rent and some daily expenses.

Canary Wharf is not famous for any nightclubs and bars, like many others in central London, close before midnight. Not particularly vibrant nightlife doesn't mean that they don't know how to have fun on a Friday evening. Here we have bars that run happy hours and they offer very good deals for drinks and food. It is always enjoyable to get a pint or two near the canals.