Trading and Structuring Summer Analyst Review

The internship experience was well thought through, with a good balance between the amount of time spent on the desks and networking events with senior managers within the business. The rotational structure of the Markets internship (Trading & Structuring) also provided an excellent opportunity for me to gain insights into two vastly different operations within Markets, and it allowed me to understand how the different businesses functioned together. The objectives set by both my teams were challenging, but also achievable, and I learnt a tremendous amount over the past 9 weeks.

Both teams that I rotated in were extremely welcoming, and were always willing to take the time off their busy schedules to introduce me to their jobs and the opportunity to schedule them. I was encouraged to ask as many questions as I could throughout my internship to gain exposure, and was also introduced to colleagues in other teams who worked closely with mine in order to understand the business from a more holistic point of view. There were also many social events where I was invited to, including networking with young professionals in the industry, as well as the team's various initiatives - it was nice to get to know the teams on a more personal front, and it definitely made me feel like part of the team.

Both my managers checked in on my work frequently in order to ensure that I understood the tasks that were given to me. I was always able to approach my managers with any queries I had, and they always took the time to explain things I had clarifications on. On top of work-related guidance, my managers offered me valuable career advice and mentorship, which was very helpful in helping me decide my future career path.

I assisted my teams on both qualitative and quantitative fronts, which was good in offering me a different perspective on the work that both my teams do. On the structuring side, I was kept busy with modeling work, and looking through legal documents, which was manageable within the 4 weeks that I spent on the desk. In trading, the work that I could assist in was more limited, given that I did not possess the relevant qualifications. However, the team made sure that the work I did were of commercial value to the team, such as summarizing regulations and doing up swap curves, and I was fairly busy throughout the 4 weeks. However, I did have some free time during my time on the trading floor, which I made use of to shadow other teams and read up more on the product the team trades.

I was provided work that possessed commercial value for the teams that I was working on - the tasks given to me were not just menial tasks, but could be used in live transactions and assist traders in their business as usual. It was definitely more responsibility than I had expected prior to the internship, and I learnt a lot more in the process.

I have definitely learnt a lot more about the various products and processes in the structuring and trading teams - the knowledge I gained has been really helpful in integrating my theoretical understanding from university with real life business application. A key skill includes synthesizing large amounts of data into relevant information for my team, working on more technical aspects such as modeling, and financial concepts ranging from securitization to interest rate curves. In terms of soft skills, the opportunities throughout the internship has definitely improved my confidence in talking to senior business managers, not being afraid to ask questions, and working with diverse teams of people.

The trading floor was always buzzing with activity, especially in the lead up to key news releases such as MPC decisions. It was interesting to see how the markets reacted accordingly. On the structuring side, the office atmosphere may be less market-driven, but people were always willing to address any queries, and have social chats occasionally, which made the working environment pleasant.

The internship was set up very well, with sufficient emphasis on training, learning on the desk, as well as networking with both business managers and fellow interns. However, most of the activities seemed to be concentrated during the first few weeks of the internship, and it may be better to space the activities out more evenly throughout the 9 weeks. Apart from that, I had an excellent experience getting to know more about the bank and its different functions, as well as having the opportunity to engage in citizenship initiatives that included working with UK charities to come up with solutions addressing a real-life problem. Our key objectives also included an initiative to meet directors/managing directors within the business, which I found to be a highlight of the internship as I got to hear from senior people and their experiences. The trade idea I presented was also immensely helpful in consolidating my understanding and honing my presentation skills in front of business managers from various teams.

Prior to joining our desks, we attended 3 days of training in order to get up to speed with Barclays' businesses, values, as well as a brief overview of the types of products/business functions in the bank. We had training in rates, credit, equities, and derivatives, which was really helpful for interns without a finance background. Apart from that, throughout the internship, interns on the macro floor were provided with a weekly macro product session, where colleagues within the business took some time off to introduce their product in more depth, and explain the key concepts. During my internship, we had sessions on repos, FX spot trading and FX options trading, which was really helpful in aiding my understanding of some of the more complicated product types.

The culture in Barclays has been really welcoming for young graduates like myself - working in Barclays is very appealing, as it is obvious from the internship programme that the bank is very invested in the graduate programme and staff retention. There are ample training opportunities and support available for the staff, and senior managers are all very approachable. It will be great to kickstart a long-term career in a bank like Barclays.

The markets interns go out for drinks/networking events regularly (on a weekly basis), and I have made some good friends throughout the 9 weeks programme at Barclays.

Living in London is inevitable expensive, and transport to and from Canary Wharf can add up to a sizeable amount. That being said, it is still manageable.

There are many bars in Canary Wharf that the interns and the teams like to hang out in, so there is a good social scene. The drinks in Canary Wharf tend to lean toward the pricier side though - however, some well known bars such as Wetherspoons still do pretty affordable after-work drinks.

Within the internship programme, there were opportunities such as the Citizenship Initiative, where interns took half a day off to work with other interns within the bank (Corporate & Retail & Investment Bank) and UK charities. We had the chance to work in teams to propose solutions for real-life challenges faced by these charities. There are also other initiatives such as a charity pub quiz after work for interns. My team also organized frequent team bonding activities outside of work such as basketball and pizza making parties, which served as good team bonding activities.