Banking intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the insight programme organised by my school at the Barclays main site in Canary wharf. This attachment allowed me to experience and observe the work that takes place in a big banking company in the UK. It allowed me to make my mind up whether this was what I wanted to do.

Throughout my time at Barclays, the staff and my supervisor always made sure I was constantly gaining new experience and ensuring I was having fun at the same time. As a student this made me feel, valued and respected and to be fair made me more willing to take part in events.

I received plenty of guidance and support from my supervisor, who always checked up on me to make sure everything was fine. The staff there were really nice and embraced me as if I was an actual employee. They helped me ease in to the branch very well and all the staff were extremely polite at my time there.

A lot of time and emphasis was put by staff to improve my skills. During my work experience i was able to gain a wider knowledge and understanding of the day to day running of a bank from small jobs such as organising deposit slips and file keeping, to higher things such as loan pitches.

The team looking after me had a diverse timetable set out for me, so I can gain an understanding of the different aspects of banking. I spent most of my time listening and asking questions about the workplace, however I was given some things to do such as enter information into spreadsheets, sort things into files.

The atmosphere was on the whole, very friendly and relaxing. It definitely made me feel welcomed and more wanting to get involved. All of the employers were kind and respectful and I had no problems at the work place. I would advise anyone that would like to work in a bank in the future to come here.

They staff put a lot of time and effort to make a stronger candidate. I learned many things e.g dealing and cashing money as well as counting the money quickly and fast sums in my head. This allowed me to see the world of banking, and know if this is what I wanted to do.

The insight programme allowed to me see what a full time work at this place would be like, and I can say for a fact the different departments appealed to me greatly. I learned that customer service is key in a place like Barclays. I learned the values of barclays which were Respect, Integrity,Service, Excleence, Stewardship. I learnt a few facts about Barclays Firsts.

This attachment was my first exposure of the work that takes place in a top banking firm but it was such an eye opener for me. Hardest part of the job would be handling rude customers knowing that i have to remain professional no matter what which i did really well.

I am very grateful for my school, who arranged this attachment for me but also covered the expenses for this trip. Without them this wonderful experience would not have been possible. If anyone out there needs help getting work experience at a Bank, and struggling to organise it themselves, definitely get in contact with your school.