Developer Review

In a phrase, it was great! Granted, it was at times tough to get to grips with working from home, however the experience delivered to me was thoroughly professional, focused and enjoyable from start to finish. The difficulty in networking and meeting fellow employees was well mitigated by regularly scheduled events, and the overall willingness and helpfulness of all staff members to engage with me made me feel welcome. I was set meaningful work that showed me a detailed cross-section of life at Barclays, fully easing my concerns going into the programme that I would be buried in my development work.

Despite evident difficulties associated with purely online communication, my interactions with existing employees and fellow interns always left me feeling a valued team member. I felt my concerns were heard and any difficulties I had were treated with due respect and integrity. It was always easy to reach out to other employees and ask for assistance where necessary, which added to the feeling of being part of a team, as opposed to being 'just the intern'.

I received as much guidance as I needed, in both the technical aspects of my job but also on the personal side. I was assigned a mentor and buddy who have both been remarkably helpful and who have demonstrated their interest in me and my development, going above and beyond expectations to ensure I have been able to make the most of the experience. In general I have felt comfortable approaching my line manager and other professionals if I have had any queries, so there have been very few occasions on which I have felt lost or unsure.

The skills I've developed during my time at Barclays are twofold - technical and 'business'. In terms of technical skills, in all honesty there is little correspondence between my work and the work I do at university, however I have no doubts in saying that the real value will be realised after university when I enter the workplace. This is because the technical work I have completed is far more applied than my university work, and so this should not be seen as a negative reflection on the work I've done here. As for business skills, the skills I have gained in terms of effective communication and working to deadlines, among others, will prove invaluable throughout my university career and beyond.

I was set clear objectives from day 1, and the time I committed to said objectives was nicely interspersed with a wide variety of events, from networking events and panels with large groups, to more focused activities with smaller groups. On a high level, my experience has been well rounded and structured in such a way that I feel I have had a very authentic experience, and have had the opportunity to practice effective time management skills without being micromanaged.

Of course it is difficult to provide an insightful answer when the experience has been entirely virtual, however the atmosphere created by the combination of video calls, emails and communication in general has been positive and optimistic, especially when framed in the context of the bleak times we live in nowadays. I have not encountered anybody that hasn't been willing to help me out, and I've attempted to do the same in return to ensure that this positivity has not gone to waste.

Barclays have invested a great deal in me, and in a multitude of ways. There have been many talks, panels and opportunities to learn, beyond day-to-day work, that have helped me appreciate the amount of opportunities and paths there are for my future career. I also feel as if there has been strong investment in the more technical sense; I was given access to a multitude of training resources, helping me learn more about not only the business, but also the technical skills I may need as well. I would also like to highlight that the resources provided go above and beyond those that support day-to-day work.

As mentioned previously, I do not feel as if I have just been 'the intern' - I feel as if I have gone through a meaningful on boarding experience that is reflective of that of that which a full time employee would go through. I feel as if Barclays have invested the time to make my experience as true-to-life as possible, which I have been especially impressed by given the short duration I am with the company for. I feel as though I would now be in a good position to make a judgement about full time work here, certainly more so than if I had not had this experience.

Barclays' values - RISES - have been the backdrop to every activity I have done during my time here. It is an attitude embodied fully and happily by every employee I have spoken to, and strongly underpins my day-to-day activities. Of course it is naturally difficult for some elements of company culture to transfer across to a virtual programme, but in every case that it's been relevant, the company's values have remained at the forefront of the experience, which makes it impossible not to understand the culture.

Whilst the work I have done is meaningful and interesting, there is simply so much variety in terms of jobs and career paths that the small slice of work I have done couldn't possibly determine a specific career path. That being said, I do believe that this experience has opened my eyes in terms of seeing how many jobs there really are, meaning I know now that 'developer' is not necessarily as straight forward of a career path as it sounds!

I have no further comments to add here - I was indeed paid and I was reimbursed for expenses.

The approachability and friendliness of other employees really made it easy to get in contact and network where appropriate. This is testament to the strong company culture, since networking is a big challenge when working virtually, but the experience I have had tells me Barclays has more than risen to the challenge. As well as the ease of networking on a 1 to 1 level, there have also been many scheduled group events and opportunities to ask questions and network throughout the experience, which has been great.

This question is slightly difficult to answer given everything has been virtual, however in general there has been a fantastic effort by everyone I have seen to make the networking and social side of things as effective as it can be. There have been some social events like quizzes, and networking from video calls is not ideal but has been workable and effective. I do feel that, had we been in an office, there would have been a vibrant and varied social scene.

There were a fair volume of emails that detailed opportunities to get involved with outside work, so I've been impressed on this front.

Definitely, it has been a fantastic experience from start to finish! Hopefully in future it would be an in-person experience also, which can only be a good thing!