Spring Intern Review

Overall, this insight week has been a big eye opener of what it is like to work at Barclays. It has been great fun as the week involved a great deal of team activities, challenges as well as talks from summer interns, graduates and managers from different divisions of the bank.

Barclays have treated us very well. We were given a card on the first day which gave us access to all 31 floors of the bank and we were trusted to do as we wish when we had spare time in between sessions. HR were extremely nice and the whole experience was a great one.

We received a lot of support. During the team activities, HR were always around to answer our questions, we also had graduates present to us and they supported us by allowing us to work shadow them and explain to us their experience. If we had any issues, there was always someone to help us during the week.

The skills developed and information learnt have been invaluable. Everyday of the 5 day insight involved a group element/task set that developed our communication skills, collaboration abilities and idea generation skills. These soft skills will be essential for a summer internship as well as in a graduate job. Similarly, the information we received were things that could not be found online or on their website so it will greatly help for my own understanding of the industry and of Barclays as a bank.

Very well structured. We were given 3 15 minute or 25 minute breaks every day as well as 1 hour for lunch. The sessions were not too long and were very engaging. The whole 5 days also involved a range of activities, talks and shadowing which made the 5 days fly by.

Very laid back, not competitive but very collaborative. All of the graduates were always willing to help and the fellow interns were very easy to talk to and form friendships with. I had preconceived misconceptions that it is going to be a very aggressive, competitive environment which is what my university told me to expect but this was not the case at all.

We did not receive any training for the division we were having an insight in but we were given many talks for every day of the 5 days that we were there. I felt valued and learnt a lot. Especially because of the culture of Barclays that is very collaborative and development is emphasised

The insight gave me a very clear understanding of what it would be like to work at barclays. I spoke to many of the grads and they explained their roles, day to day tasks, the work that they do, the expectations placed on them and the amount of responsibility they receive.

The company culture was very easy to understand and it was clear that barclays has very different cultures from other banks. There is more emphasis on working at home once a week, mental health and personal development. Barclays clearly care a great deal about their employees and their work life balance.

The insight gave me a very clear understanding of what it would be like to work at barclays. I spoke to many of the grads and their view of the division made it very clear that this is somewhere I would like to work. Without experiencing other careers though, it is hard to compare which is best

We were paid £250 for the 5 days. Some interns were given accommodation if they lived over 1.5 hours away from Canary Wharf whereas the rest had to commute. Lunch was also provided for the 5 days as well as tea, coffee and biscuits across the 5 days of the programme

Yes, we had 2 times 1 hour work shadowing where grads had one on one chats with us, showed us the Barclays offices, took us round their offices and gave us an insight about the work that they complete. We also had many sessions where grads would come and talk to the whole group

There were no networking or social events. But we did have 2 work shadowing sessions with grads as well as panel discussions from grads and summer interns. All the grads were also very willing to give us their emails and phone numbers to stay in contact and ask any further questions

There are many volunteering activities such as helping 11-24 year old's get into education and apprentices as well as new emphasis on helping the elderly and a big focus on social impact not only through volunteering but also with the work barclays do across their divisions where they try and drive change and make an impact. Especially across the retail bank.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone with an interest in working at a bank or working in financial services. Barclays run so many spring insight weeks across all of their divisions so there is an opportunity for everyone as long as they are willing to apply. It was a great experience.