Spring Week Technology Insight - Knutsford Review

The placement was very insightful and well run. I enjoyed meeting the people on the placement because I was able to talk to them about their career plans. All of the barclays staff were also very easy to talk to. However, it has made me realise that a role here wouldn't be suited for me.

[This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They were incredibly eager to help us with any problems and make sure we got the most out of this internship. All of the barclays staff we met were also eager to help and answer our questions. I felt they had made a real investment in us, which made me feel valued.

Having the app with a schedule in it helped to guide us as we knew what we needed to do every day and what preparatory work we should be doing. We had sessions on many different business areas, from CV preparation to personal brand, which I think will really support us in our future careers.

As a biochemist I don't think the knowledge I learned about banking and finance will be very helpful to my degree. However, it has helped me realise just how interesting I find biochemistry, which will motivate during my studies. I do think that the skills I developed, especially interview skills, will help me beyond my degree.

It was very well organised and we definitely had a detailed introduction and overview of barclays. I felt like all areas of barclays and the different jobs on offer were well explained. I personally would have preferred to have some more interactive activities, such as being set tasks that simulate what an employee here may do on an average day, because it was difficult to stay focused for hours of lectures.

Everyone was really enthusiastic (both staff and fellow interns), and the atmosphere was definitely one of eagerness and willingness to learn. Although there was a professional atmosphere, everyone was incredible friendly and happy to have a laugh. There was also an atmosphere of awe at the type of work being done here.

It felt like there was nothing that the company wasn't willing to do to ensure all of us interns had the absolute best experience possible. There was a big time and financial investment in us which was really obvious. Also, individual workers at the company were happy to network and invest their time in us.

I felt like I gained a really clear insight as to what life at the Radbroke campus would be like. I also felt going to the restaurtant in Knutsford for networking gave us an introduction to what life in the local area is like. I felt like we got a good idea of the atmosphere of working here too.

We had many opportunities to walk around the campus, see the inside of the offices, and talk to current employees. This gave me the chance to really understand the culture at the company. In addition to this point, the barclays values were really stressed by almost every person that we met.

It was very helpful to me. Unfortunately, I didn't find the content interesting and so I don't think a role in business or finance will be well suited to me. However, I did have interest in cyber security and the prevention of financial crime, which is useful because now I can go and research those and perhaps find another internship more specific to those areas. This has been useful because I'd rather know that an area of employment doesn't interest me before I invest more time into it.

We were paid £250 for completing the five days of the spring week internship. We were also reimbursed up to £250 for our travel costs (although I think if your costs were more expensive then you may have been able to be reimbursed further). We were given free accommodation at a local 4 star hotel, free breakfast and dinner at the hotel, and £7.50 a day for lunch (which was more than sufficient).

We had two sessions that were completely dedicated to networking. One was at a restaurant but the setting was very casual, which enabled all of us to be comfortable enough to talk to the current barclays employees. These were mainly people on the graduate program. We had a second session with more senior members.

The sessions were really helpful. The atmosphere that we got to experience was very helpful because it meant everyone was relaxed enough to talk freely and ask questions. I think that the networking sessions could maybe be improved by having more staff members so the ratio was better. But in general they were good.

Yes, almost all of the workers here were very keen to emphasise just how good the work lite balance here is. We were told all about the gym and football opportunities, as well as the potential for other team sport activities. They also emphasised how the work hours here are flexible.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend. This is because there was absolutely nothing to lose by coming here because it was so well funded. Also I learnt so much about both barclays and banking which I had no ideal about before I took part in this spring week.