Summer Analyst - Investment banking (M&A) Review

I really enjoyed my time at Barclays because I learned a lot and it was difficult at first integrating into the team but it was a formative experience overall and I would recommend it to everyone

I felt valued and a part of the team, not so much initially as towards the end. I suppose it takes different people different amounts of time to navigate and recognize what works and what doesn't

My line managers and buddy were fantastic and supported me along the process, the seniors were great and the culture was very friendly - it was very easy to just meet someone for a quick chat or coffee and learn about their experiences

As it is with M&A, work was lumpy, sometimes I would be super busy and at others I would not have anything to do, but you can always browse through team resources to further your learning or meet different people

I would say that varying amounts for different tasks - it is not reasonable to expect the same level of responsibility that and Analyst or Associate gets because they have been around for longer but there was enough space to use personal calls

I think the skill to be able to think and apply skills is useful in every aspect of life - technical skills that I learned will be useful for my career in M&A but I also learned a lot of life skills - it was a great internship, there was a lot of anxiety and stress but it was all worth it at the end. Even if I don't end up getting an offer, I am very pleased with my effort and I am sure that I will use these skills and find some other avenue to apply them to.

The general atmosphere was quite good - it was supportive and challenging at the same time and it gave me enough space to grow while making sure I was sticking to my daily job - I would recommend the firm and the industry to everyone who wants to learn because it is such a great place to start your career

The 9 week internship was very well organized - there were regular events, breakfasts, networking drinks and so on with extremely senior people and more day-to-day events with the juniors. The work that we were given was not just mundane but really challenged us with setting out specific objectives and making sure that we were given enough flexibility to meet targets so that we could be creative

I have been with the firm since the Spring Week and I feel that they have taken an active interest in my growth and development - not just in terms of money but also time. There has always been someone around to help me with things that I could not manage on my own and the people are just fantastic. Even if I do not get the offer, I will always be grateful to Barclays for giving me such a great opportunity so early on in life.

I would definitely love to get an offer from the firm and return but I am not oblivious to other opportunities that may present themselves. I am still going to attend networking events with other firms and maybe even apply for positions there and once I have enough information about teams and firms, I will be in a better place to make a more informed decision. I am not closed to better opportunities in the future.

I think most of us are fun-loving people and we went to different places for drinks, clubbing and so on, sometimes with the rest of the team and sometimes just with the other interns quite frequently. It is really great to be with people you can not just work with but also party with and the social life was satisfactory - it was not over the top because we had lots of work to do too, but it was not dead either.

Cost of living and socializing in canary Wharf is not cheap - I would say it is a good idea to live within commuting distance, places like Greenwich, Bermondsey etcetera are cheaper and not too far away either. I live in North Greenwich and it takes me around 25 minutes to get to work but I save a ton on rent. Drinks in canary Wharf are quite expensive as well - £10 a drink easily, I would recommend only going for team events where you don't have to buy your drinks in Canary Wharf, do personal events somewhere else

Canary Wharf has no clubs or anything but most of the decent places are within 30 minutes commute - you can go to Shoreditch, Mayfair etcetera and there are umpteen clubs there to choose from - if you are feeling particularly adventurous, try Raffles in Chelsea, it is really cool and stays open till 7/8 am

I would say that most of the activities that we took part in, even the social ones were with the work crowd. It is really hard to socialize with people outside of work when you are working a really challenging job and also need to attend regular social events with your work colleagues. It is even more important in your internship because your team should be able to see you as someone they can chill with for you to be successful at your job