Spring Intern Review

I really enjoyed the Insight Programme at Barclays! The programme was very well organized, and it was designed to give us a deeper insight into both Banking & Markets at Barclays. The presentations were very informative and Barclays employees were more than happy to answer our questions. I learned so much during the programme and I had a very enjoyable experience!

Despite only being a Spring Intern, I really felt valued by Barclays throughout the whole duration of the programme. Not only were the people I met very happy to answer my questions, but it was also very obvious that the employees we met, especially Senior Managers, were genuinely very keen and interested in learning more about us and our interests.

The Graduate Recruitment team were very helpful and supportive during the programme. I always felt that if I did have any concerns or questions, I could always ask them for support. They were also incredibly supportive and very understanding during our Assessment Day, which was a new and daunting experience for most of us. However, they were very supportive during the process and happy to clarify things for us.

As a student currently studying a finance-related degree, there was definitely some overlap between the topics covered during the presentations and my degree. I was able to use some of the theory I had learned as a part of my degree, in an actual case study during the Banking case study sessions.

The programme was very well structured and well organized. There were no delays as the Graduate Recruitment Team always made sure that we were running on schedule. There was a very nice mix of informative presentations, skills sessions, and networking events. However, it would have been nice to have included desk-shadowing activities as well.

There was an incredibly friendly and positive atmosphere throughout the programme, both with the Barclays employees as well as with the other Spring Interns. Everyone seemed to get along very well and the general atmosphere is very friendly at Barclays. People were really down to earth and the employees were happy to spend time with us.

Barclays had clearly invested a lot in this programme in order to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. They had hired external training providers for some of our workshops, which were very interactive. Employees were also very happy to spend time with us and answering our questions. This made the experience a lot nicer for us as we could see that a lot of effort and time had been put into organizing the programme for us.

The programme definitely provided me with a much deeper insight into life as an Investment Banker at Barclays. I had the opportunity to speak to so many different employees, who were happy to answer any questions we had about their work. However, the programme consisted mainly of skill sessions, presentations, and networking events, so it would have been really useful to have been able to do some desk-shadowing as well.

The Insight Week gave me the best possible impression of Barclays, as I really discovered how well the company culture suits me. Previous to the spring week, I struggled to differentiate Barclays’ company culture with its competitors - they all seemed to have the “typical” Investment Banking culture. However, the Insight Week was a brilliant opportunity for me to learn more about Barclays’ corporate values, working environment and atmosphere.

Barclays paid my travel expenses and also organized my accomodation during the programme.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of emphasis on this during the programme. Nevertheless, we did have a "Diversity Panel" presentation, where the panel members spoke about the different diversity initiatives we could take part in.

I would highly recommend others to apply for the programme! I had an amazing experience and I learned so much during the programme. It was incredibly informative and taught me a lot about what it means to work at Barclays. The programme caters both to people who are certain they want to pursue a career in Investment Banking, as well as people who just want to learn more about Investment Banking to see whether it is a career path they would like to pursue.