Compliance Summer Intern Review

I found the internship to be a great opportunity, and it fulfilled all my expectations of it. I can now say that I have a fairly good insight into how a large financial institution such as Barclays works on a day to day basis, and how the culture is here. The people were supportive, especially my line manager who made sure I made the most of my 9 weeks here.

My immediate team were really good in helping me settle in the first few weeks. I asked everyone on my team for help at least once, and there wasn't a time when anyone was too busy to assist me. They gave me real work to do, and the appraisal process made me feel like a member of the team, one whose contributions actually mattered.

My manager was superb in helping me develop along the way. We had a one to one meeting at least once a week to catch-up on all the things I had done in the week prior, and what I could do to develop ore in certain areas, and what I could do to fulfill my objectives.

My workload varied throughout the internship. This was a good thing however, as the team said the amount of work they have varies throughout the year naturally, so it was a good experience in learning how to spend my time upskilling and doing other things if there was little work to do. However, there were periods were I had a tight deadline and several different reports to do, and so again it was a great exercise in time management.

I assisted in a corporate large case that was led by a Senior VP, as well as being smaller cases to do on my own. The report I did on my own were submitted after review, so it felt great to have contributed to actual work that the team does.

The internship was great because I was placed in a team that is report heavy. The skills they utilise are the ones I would typically use in my degree, so it was an advantage I was given the opportunity to round out my skill set. My writing skills have improved a good amount considering the short 9 week period, and I definitely feel more confident going into any writing tasks in the future.

The office was somewhat quiet. However, I soon found out this was because everyone is hard at work, but if you go up to them and engage with them one on one, everyone was happy to talk most of time. Friday's were livelier however, as it was the end of the week and most people were dressed casually, making it a bit more relaxed in the office.

It was well organised. Aside from the day to day work with our team, me and my fellow Compliance interns were given the opportunity to meet and talk with every single London based MD (bar one) for an hour., and we were also able to meet the Head of Compliance on two separate occasions. We also had an insight day organized for us, which was useful.

They spent the first two day training us on how the Company works, how the industry works, and how the financial markets work. This will be invaluable to me going forward, as a competitive advantage over other students. We were given 6 objectives to complete over the duration of our internship, and my manager helped develop my skills to fulfill them along the way.

I will be finding out if I have a job in two days. However, I definitely would accept the offer if I am lucky enough to get one, as spending 9 weeks here has made me want to come back after graduation.

A fellow intern organised weekly drinks after work on Friday, which was a great way to end the week. I also got to know my fellow Compliance interns really well, going out for lunches etc. Aside from that, we hung out informally with one another on a lot of days during lunch time and such.

It is Canary Wharf, and London in general, so the high cost is to be expected. There were a few bars on Friday that did some good prices for London standards, so it wasn't all bad!

I'm not a nightlife person really, but it's London so everyone knows its one of the best in the world!

I went to the launch of Barclays' Asian Professionals Forum, where I got to network with fellow Asian professionals, and got to listen to the CRO, who heads the initiative. I also was able to get involved with a charity initiative, and organized an Quiz night with some of my fellow interns and raised over £600 with Barclays matching that amount, so that was a great experience.