Spring Intern Review

The Barclays Spring Week taught me the different divisions in banking and markets (e.g. structuring), as well as giving us an insight of the culture and values of the firm. It also allows me to make many friends and connections who share the same interests and overall was very well organised.

I feel that Barclays really spent a lot of time preparing for our Spring Week. Firstly the structure of the Spring Week was very well arranged, with a perfect balance between learning and interactive sessions. Every person who came to talk to us were extremely helpful, patient and friendly, and the HR made sure that everything goes well for us Spring Interns.

We received a lot of guidance for the week. However, I believe sometimes it is also good to have the Spring Interns 'have a go' by themselves and discussed in groups, which is exactly what Barclays have done. This allowed us to think on our feet and apply our knowledge more, rather than just listening and completing the task by following instructions. However, I do feel that some of the sessions were a little rushed, and not everyone knew what was going on depending on their technical knowledge.

I learnt about all the different divisions in banking and markets. I went on a tour of the trading floor and I learnt about different valuation models in banking. Apart from technical knowledge, the most important skills I believe I developed was speaking and communication skills, as well as the ability to listen to feedback and improve.

Perfectly structured. In the timeframe that we had (4 days), squeezing everything seemed impossible but Barclays seemed to be able to give us an insight to everything, and we feel that we did not miss out. However, I would prefer it to be 5 days long, so some of the sessions do not feel too rushed.

Everyone was extremely friendly, ranging from my Spring Intern colleague to the MDs. No one was overly competitive and only a few were extremely keen to the point that they seem pretentious. The general atmosphere was friendly, collaborative and enthusiastic, and this allowed me to make many new friends and connections

Barclays really took time to invest in us, and this really showed in the way they organised the day, making sure we are improving and learning, as well as building good rapport with others. I believe that if I receive the summer internship I will be able to learn much more and improve very quickly in this fast-paced yet friendly environment

Although there was a person from practically every division of the firm, it is still quite hard to fully understand what they do each day given a lack of strong financial knowledge. However, they definitely put a lot of effort into this and we can tell that everyone there was very honest.

The company culture really comes through as being super friendly, collaborative, fun and enthusiastic. Everyone had a smile on their faces and no one seems to be bored of work or coming to Barclays. There also does not seem to be a strong sense of hierarchy and the MDs talk very casually with the analysts and associates.

I did not know which divisions I want to go into yet. However after the Spring Week I decided I wanted to do trading, as it was more analytical and hands-on experience. I will be able to interact with colleagues in teams as well as executing the trade myself. It is also a very fast-paced environment where I will be able to learn quickly from mistakes.

I was paid very well given that it was only 4 days long. All the travel expenses were also reimbursed by Barclays, and in addition to that they also provide me accommodation given that I do not live in London. The accommodation was very nice and consists of everything you really need to work at Barclays.

There were many opportunities to network with the senior employees as well as the juniors from every division. I also workshadowed and therefore had a chance to network with the person I shadowed a lot. However, my perference was QA and did not find many QA people to talk to, but that was the only downside.

Again, the events were friendly and nice. People there really took time to explain to us about their roles and experiences, and we had time to build a rapport with them. In terms of usefulness, it gives us an insight on how they really feel to work in the division.

Not too much. We only heard that there is a big gym and sporting activities, but nothing too specific. I believe Barclays did not have time to put this together due to the Spring week being only 4 days long. However, we did get a gist of it and given how they are so friendly and seem to know each other well, I assume there are a lot of activities that they can get involved.

Definitely. I would say even if you are not very interested in banking, still take your time to apply to Spring Weeks as it really shows you what it is really like, and you will learn a lot more about different divisions in banking than you already know and this could easily change your mind.