Investment Banking Summer Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about corporate finance on a theoretical level while simultaneously putting it into practice in the context of pitches and live transactions. The Firm did an excellent job of enabling interns to experience the life of an Analyst.

I always felt as though my input was appreciated by my colleagues. Whether this was with regards to the content of a slide deck or engaging in group meetings with Managing Directors, colleagues always took my input on board and in many cases, acted on it.

The Firm assigns to each intern a Buddy and Line Manager. Both served as points of call throughout the duration of the internship, addressing any queries or concerns I had in a constructive manner.

The Firm does a fantastic job of slowly increasing your workload as you progress through the internship, allowing you to put newly-gained skills into practice immediately. As a result, by the end of the internship I always had work to do or something to learn. Although this pushed me, it never felt overwhelming to the point where I was unable to work.

Early on in the internship I was responsible for keeping track for the team key discussions in an M&A situation. Additionally, I was asked to generate ideas for slides and implement them; these slides eventually made their way into the slide deck that was presented to the client.

Perhaps the most useful skills gained during the internship were: time/stakeholder management and the ability to perform quickly but accurately under pressure. Suffice to say, these skills will undoubtedly be useful throughout life.

The atmosphere very much varied from quiet during intense periods to much louder and more energetic later on in the week. This variation provided the perfect balance between being able to concentrate on work while still having the opportunity to engage in fun conversations that ultimately facilitated the formation of strong working relationships.

The internship was set up to strike an excellent balance between being able to engage with our desk, thereby learning about it in detail, while still having the ability to meet and engage with members of other areas of the Firm. Events such as the 'In Conversation With...' involved small groups of interns speaking directly to senior leaders and definitely sparked my interest in areas of the Firm that I otherwise perhaps might not have explored.

Arguably the highlight of the internship, colleagues were always willing to explain technical concepts in detail and provide helpful tips that would increase my productivity. Additionally, division-wide events such as the Learning Sessions were a fantastic way to learn about other product and industry groups and consequently understand how the wider Barclays platform is constructed.