Technology Spring Intern Review

This insight was an amazing opportunity to learn more about Barclays and different roles you can do within the company. It was very informative, I gained a lot of general knowledge about how banks operate. Also it was exciting to meet so many people from different backgrounds interesed in technology (I was Technology Spring Intern).

The recruiters vere so nice and super helpful with any questions we had, starting with what is the next event and finishing with personal advice for future career. They also would send us email reminders of where each of us should arrive the next morning (since our spring internship was throughout different locations) so it really felt that I was always taken care of.

We were busy every day from 8 in the morning to around 5 in the evening, but most of the events were speakers talking about their career or about bank structure. There were times where I lacked some activities that would involve us, the interns (like trying to solve a business problem, or doing some specific tasks), but nevertheless the talks were interesting and informative.

All spring interns were very excited to be there, so at each event we had a lot of people asking questions, discussing with speakers etc. It was quite informal environment. We also had a chance to do some work shadowing, and hence saw the actual offices where people work. Again, it seemed like a very friendly atmosphere, different to what I imagined corporate environment would be like.

Since I spent only one week in the company, it was more of an introduction to what Barclays does in technology sector, how it operates as a bank, rather than focusing on our skills training. We did however have an introduction to financial markets and a team building workshop, both of which were quite informative.

Throughout the week I got to talk to many employees, who were telling me about they career paths and how they eneded up in Barclays. What was common for every single one of them is that they all stayed in Barclays for a long time, because of the amazing culture. Some of the things they mentioned were good work life balance, flexible working hours (at least in the technology sector). Also since the first day we were told five main Barclays values and how important they are for creating a friendly community.

With regards to my expenses, Barclays made sure to cover all travel costs to London and back and provided us with high standart accommodation not too far from the office. Any additional expenses (such as commuting in London for example) were also covered, the same with meals, which were mostly provided.

I was given a lot of opportunities to network. In total we had two formal networking events and two work shadowing sessions. Also a lot of speakers stayed after the talks to chat for a bit and you could get their contacts to arrange a meeting after they finish work.

Throughout networking events at the start it felt that there was one employee standing in the middle answering general questions from around six interns around him. However, later on I was able to have a few one to one conversations, which was very nice since the employees are keen to get to know you as well, and this way it stopped being Q&A session.

Yes, definitely! I‘ve learned so much during the week, before coming I had no idea what all the different business roles do, especially within technology in a bank. Every company has a completely different culture, so by attending the spring week you get to experience it and see whether it suits you.