HR Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my 9 week internship overall. I was placed in a team that I did not expect, but the work turned out to be very interesting, so it definitely taught me to be open to new roles. I had a very busy but fun and supporting team, so I was never bored and looked forward to meeting my colleagues every day.

I definitely felt valued as a member of the team from the very start. I was given enough time and suport to understand the different projects we work on, but then I was encouraged to come up with my own ideas to really add value to the team. I always felt that I can question our work and people would listen to my comments.

I was given a lot of support in understanding how the wider team operates and what kind of projects we work on. I felt comfortable with asking my manager many question and she was happy to spend her time explaining things to me. She even organised special sessions for me, where we would meet every week to go through strategic topics facing the business.

I was actually very surprised how busy my team was! In a positive way. I was able to get involved in the projects from the first day and was never bored. My day was quite varied with meetings, calls, work on data and presentations, so I felt like I always had a busy day. However, I could very much manage my work and take breaks when I needed to, so I never felt like I can't handle the tasks.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility early on, but always with the support of my manager and team. I was often told that they trust me in communicating with different stakeholders in the name of the team and that they believe I can produce high-quality work in terms of presentation and data analysis, so I was responsible for quite a lot.

I interned in a very different department than what is related to my degree, therefore I do not think this experience will assist me in my studies. However, I definitely learnt a lot about time management, working with different people and meeting deadlines, which hopefully will help my organise my final year better!

I honestly loved the general atmosphere and feel of my floor and the people in the department. Every one was very friendly and happy to speak to me. It was great to see that people at work are also simply good friends and I was able to develop really good relationships with my team as well. The atmosphere was hardworking but also supportive and friendly.

I think I was very lucky with my manager as I received very structured goals at the beginning of the internship. I knew exactly what my objectives are and how I can support the team, of course this developed over the 9 weeks. Additionally, all interns attended many intern events and meetings with senior leaders. Overall, I found the internship an amazing experience, very well planned.

As interns, we attended an initial induction and training days. After this, most of the learning was on the job. I think there is much more training on the graduate programme and the internship is more a way for you to experience the business and pick up the skills on the job to support the team.

I think Barclays is a very good employer with many different roles available and a great work life balance in most businesses. It has got very bright and friendly people, so in addition to great benefits, you are also surrounded by great people. I would definitely consider staying with the firm after graduation.

Absolutely. We could meet all interns at the initial training days and from there we naturally formed groups of friends. We would have lunch together every day, usually with people from the same scheme and quite often meet for drinks after work or other events. I definitely made real friends on the internship, not just work colleagues.

London is quite expensive overall, but I think with the benefits on the internship you can easily have a good life here. Socialising in canary wharf is similar to the cost in other parts of London, you can find more and less expensive bars and restaurants. It depends where you want to go.

Yes, Barclays encourages interns and employees in general to get involved in many things outside of work. We had the opportunity to visit the RISE offices, where Barclays supports Fintechs. We also spent one day in a branch across the UK, attended team picnics and drinks after work. Barclays also sponsors Pride London and there was an opportunity to attend this too.