Summer Intern Review

It was a great learning opportunity and a chance to appropriate Barclays's values and culture. I loved the people, the attitude and the programme itself. I found the programme to be very well balanced, a good split between the hands on practice with the team and the internship specific training. The social aspect was always positive, with the team sharing the same values and level of care for each other. The networking events were very good and we also had the opportunity to independently network with a larger group of people (the internship being digital), which was a great benefit. Had the chance to meet several directors and managing directors who had great advice to give. I definitely enjoyed everything specific to the transaction cycle I was in, although I had no former training or studies in the financial sector, and that is really the merit of the team who were so helpful and supportive.

My input was always valued during conferences/projects. I felt like the work I was doing was an integral part of the team's goals and was thus relevant, and I appreciated that I had such responsibility. There was feedback on everything I did. I also felt like the work I did was representative of the increased level of trust the team developed for me in time. I got the chance to join many important calls, as well as work closely with various stakeholders and bridge the gap between various processes while doing that.

Everyone was very cooperative and very open. Whenever I had questions or needed extra training, everyone was happy to help, whether it was me requesting it or my line manager. My line manager was always checking in with me and making sure I am comfortable with the work and the demands and that I feel positive and content. Daily catch-ups as well as weekly objective review meetings were in place. The internship coordinators were always available and had daily check-ups in place with all interns, in order to make sure any questions are answered before starting the day.

I think the volume of work was well measured. We started off with slightly easier assignments during the first weeks. The work became increasingly heavier in importance and volume. Nonetheless, it was always matched against the level of understanding of key business processes I had managed to acquire at that particular time. The work was also chosen to be relevant for my interests and skills, in the sense that it conformed to the objectives we set out initially and tried to build on and grow existing skills or inclinations I had, but from a banking perspective. Between the work assigned and the internship specific training, all days were full and never boring.

I had the opportunity to work on a research based project and was assigned several tasks throughout the internship, mostly associated with that. Otherwise, I shadowed my line manager with the tasks he had to complete. I was given leeway to reach out to key stakeholders that were relevant to parts of our research, most of them in senior positions. I found the work to be extremely important, as it was meant to improve all processes we analysed. I presented all the findings back to the team and am satisfied that the work I've done will be incorporated in future business processes.

I think appropriating the corporate culture and developing those soft skills, building up the confidence to speak and present in front of people, personally approach and discuss with managing directors, these are the most important skills I have personally developed. In terms of more technical skills, I found the financial training very useful, and very digestible, making complex financial concepts easy to understand. I also found the administrative skills, which I learned by doing, to be of utmost importance for the future. Time and schedule management, reaching out to people, knowing what tone to use in all the different situations, how to receive and give feedback, these are all things I learned either via training or just by internalizing them while watching how other people do it. I believe all these skills are going to prove to be essential regardless of the career choices I make. In terms of a career with Barclays specifically, I think the internship has definitely laid the foundation for the future, in the sense that I have learned a lot about how the firm works as a whole, how my particular transaction cycle works, and most importantly what their core values are.

The internship was digital, but we had plenty of team building exercises and events.

Considering the internship happened in July-August 2020, digitally, I can only congratulate the coordinators for making it into such an amazing experience!

The company gave me a buddy and a mentor, with whom I interacted weekly and got really close to. Additionally, we had the chance to set out personal goals and work on them throughout the internships.

A graduate role is usually offered for good performance.