HR Internship Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 9-week internship with Barclays. The work I was given challenged me every day and I was able to take real ownership of tasks. Barclays also make a real effort to engage interns with the wide range of roles within the function through regular insight sessions with senior leaders.

My colleagues were instantly welcoming on my first day at the desk. I took the initiative to ask for work and get involved in projects and my colleagues responded to this attitude by trusting me with increasingly more responsibility. My colleagues included me in social events and day-to-day conversations outside work chat.

My manager was strongly engaged with my development throughout my internship. From establishing aims prior to my start-date, to regular one-to-one conversations, to reviewing work and giving advice when I needed it. I always felt as though I could ask my manager any question, yet also felt comfortable that they trusted me enough to own the work I was doing.

I was very busy from the first day of my internship due to coming straight into a team project. However, my manager made sure to check how I was managing workload and after the first few weeks of getting my bearings at Barclays I felt I could easily juggle each day's tasks and responsibilities.

I was gradually trusted with more and more responsibility and I never felt micro-managed by my team. I think the key to this was keeping my colleagues regularly updated on what I was working on so that they felt consistently involved with tasks. Strong communication within the team meant colleagues and stakeholders trusted me more readily.

This placement has definitely given me a set of skills to form the foundation of my future career. I have had a real insight into the functioning of a large organisation, project planning and delivery, stakeholder management and quantitative/data skills. I have observed excellent management techniques which I hope will inform my future management style.

Generally, the office atmosphere was very friendly. Some days could be quieter than others (e.g. when team members were working from home) but my colleagues were always happy to chat. There was freedom to go and grab a coffee when you needed to but equally an assumption that you would stay at your desk to complete tasks to an excellent standard.

The internship team made sure the placement was very well organised. We each completed 9 weeks in one team which meant you could really get to grips with the role. The insight sessions with senior leaders were fantastic and networking events/an end-of-internship celebration were organised for interns to meet one another and network with grads and other colleagues.

We had one day of training in the first week of the internship and an additional personal development day. We had mid and end-term performance reviews which enabled us to track our progress and had regular catch-ups with our recruiter. We did not have any formal excel training but I personally was able to develop these skills easily on the job.

Very appealing - this is a huge organisation with many opportunities to explore different roles and develop different skills. Graduates I have spoken to are very positive about their experiences. The graduate scheme consists of 4 rotations over two years which allows for a breadth of knowledge and skill development.

The interns were very sociable and I have made some great friends over the summer. The social scene amongst colleagues varies hugely by team due to colleagues needing to get home to their families etc. My team were very sociable during the day and on a few occasions after work.

London is always pricey but there are cheaper options and transport links from the office are great meaning you can get out of Canary Wharf and into other areas very easily.

London nightlife is great but expensive in Canary Wharf. There are definitely more lively areas of London and these are very easy to get to. There are other options if going out isn't your thing - Canary Wharf has great cinemas, restaurants and summer activities to enjoy outside of work.

There were some opportunities if you took the initiative - I think it would be easier to get involved whilst in a more permanent role.