Insight Week Review

I really enjoyed the Barclays Technology Insight scheme. Throughout, I was exposed to a range of different sectors within the technology division as well as having the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh to visit the Barclays Eagle Labs. There was a good combination between the coding and development side of the programme versus the more analytical emerging technologies stream.

I felt really valued during my time. Unlike many other insight programmes, the costs of travel, accommodation and a stipend were offered. At the same time, we were afforded the opportunity to speak with members of the Barclays team who were constantly happy to answer questions. It really felt like they were happy to be there and we felt that they valued our interest in their company.

Before the programme started we all received access to an application which allowed us to see who else was on the programme and what our agenda was. Throughout, members of human resources were also on hand to answer any questions that we might have. Before this, it had also been easy to contact them via email with any queries.

Even if I end up not going into financial services I think the skills that were developed are going to be key in other industries. In particular, I thought the sessions on personal branding, networking and an oversight of how a large company works more broadly will be an invaluable experience to have developed at such an early stage in our careers.

The programme was extremely well structured. As stated previously we had access to an app which allowed us to see the agenda for the week. One negative was that this app was constantly crashing (ironic for a technology insight) and was received relatively late before the insight started. Throughout, however, it was easy to see what we all should be doing. We were extremely busy and occasionally sessions overran which had a knock-on effect on our much-needed breaks! However, these are small points.

The atmosphere was excellent! Applicants had come from a range of universities, economic backgrounds, courses, genders and races. In the evening most of the applicants met up to go out for dinner or drinks. While obviously, the course is competitive it did not feel like it was cutthroat between everyone unlike in other schemes. Finally, the human resources team really managed to establish a good relationship with everyone. They appeared to be happy to be there and this had a knock-on effect on everyone else's positivity.

The company provided speakers to develop key skills such as networking alongside a broad leadership session on the morning of the first day. With only four days the focus was, understandably, more on gaining an insight into Barclays and technology then it was necessarily about personal training and development. Nonetheless, given the time constraints, I felt that there was a good amount of personal training and development.

I think that ultimately no one can really understand the true nature of the career they want until they are actually doing it. One thing that struck me was the range of jobs available under the broad title of 'technology' and the company did a good attempt at explaining this. I think that in future there is an argument to be had for dividing the development stream from the emerging technologies. After speaking to some of the employees it was clear that while there was a degree of overlap the different elements of technology were very different. Splitting the group would allow people to better understand the specific role that they are interested in technology.

Our insight was at Barclays Technology in Glasgow. Apparently, in future, much of the technology team will move from London to Glasgow. It was great to talk to workers about the advantages of living in somewhere like Glasgow (cheap cost of living and small commutes) versus somewhere like London. Glasgow appears to be a bit more laid-back with a more traditional 9-5 approach. London it seems is more the place if you want to go full steam for the first few years of your career.

In terms of financial services, I think that the scheme was pretty good at giving a broad understanding of what it consists of. We had a talk on an introduction to financial services more broadly which is useful. However, I think that given the nature of the insight it's unlikely that the content could be used for other career paths. One thing that would have been great would have had a greater focus on other areas of Barclays.

The Barclays Insight is particularly generous in terms of both payment and expenses. Barclays covered transport, up to a budge of £250, from anywhere in the European Union. It also provided accommodation at the Hilton in Glasgow which was also where most of the programme took place so it was very convenient. Finally, a stipend of £250 was given to each person.

On one evening we had the opportunity to network. Given that there had been nothing on Monday, as it was a bank holiday, there may have been two networking sessions on other schemes. There was plenty of opportunities to ask Q&A. However, perhaps in future, there could be more of a focus on networking and less on formal Q&A.

The networking opportunity was a good chance to talk informally with staff who were very happy to speak honestly and openly about their time with Barclays. For many, this was obviously the first time doing a formal networking event and they made the event really easy and comfortable. The free wine and food didn't hurt either!

The woman I shadowed mentioned that she went out to the pub with some co-workers. Employees get the opportunity to take part in community projects which are important to them; for example, helping with local LGBT groups.

Absolutely 100%!