Spring Intern Review

Really enjoyed it! The people at Barclays were all super nice, and I met some great friends during the spring week too. Even though it was tiring, you really learn a lot during the spring week and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s wondering whether to take on a Barclays spring week.

Everyone was super nice, from the HR, to the analysts, even to the people from more senior levels! During my work shadowing for instance, I asked some really dumb questions and sometimes couldn’t quite understand the technical bits of the work, but they were always patient and even gave me some general life advice which was nice.

A lot! During the more hands-on activities, such as the M&A case study, there were quite a few employees who were attached to us so that we could just ask them any questions. Because it was a group of about 10 to maybe 1 analyst/associate, it was much easier to ask them any burning questions you had.

I definitely learnt a lot throughout my time here. When I first came into the week, for instance, I didn’t know a thing about Structuring or TCU. I’ve heard of Sales, but didn’t really know what they did too. Through the spring week, I got to know all of this which would definitely help me in the future.

This year was only a 4-day spring week. The schedule was jam-packed and tight, but everything was well-planned and flowed nicely from one activity to another. You always felt fulfilled at the end, and there is never an instance when you didn’t feel stretched to your limits or felt idle.

Great. I love the people, love the culture of Barclays. There were a lot of people I’ve met that I would definitely love to hang out with, and I’ve made plenty of friends from different universities with different backgrounds. Everyone was friendly and helpful - even my opponents for the group debate gave me advice for my presentation during the debate, just to give an example of how collaborative the atmosphere was.

They definitely invested a lot. You get to meet people from analyst level all the way to a pretty senior level, and something you quickly realise is that they’re all very willing and even eager to give you advice on how to convert or tips on how to break into the industry.

Work shadowing was definitely a plus, I actually got to see the employee I was attached to rush out work that was due during the time I was there which was pretty cool (although probably rather stressful for him, having to explain to me his work while meeting a tight deadline).

The spring week was definitely very good in letting you understand and feel for yourself why Barclays is different. Everyone in the firm displayed Barclays’ values and although it sounds really cheesy, I really enjoyed the culture of Barclays. I’ve done a number of other spring weeks as well, and I can say that Barclays’ culture is one of the best.

Before coming into Barclays, I thought I wanted to do IBD. However, during the spring week, I realised that what suited me probably wasn’t IBD but Research. The spring week got me interested in Research and I definitely think that from here on, it’ll be an area I would consider pursuing.

There were many opportunities. You meet so many people and at the end of the spring week, they provide a list of contacts details for the people who came down to speak to you. Barclays was very open about letting you, even as a spring intern, meet others in the bank which is what I really appreciated about it.

I definitely recommend this, 10/10. I learnt a lot, not just about the different functions of the bank, or the culture of the bank, but even things such as understanding my strengths and my interests for my future career. It really got me to think more deeply about what I wanted and what suited me, and as such, I can safely say that Barclays is a very valuable experience to me.