Technology Summer Analyst Review

I have really enjoyed my time as an intern with Barclays as I have found it to be incredibly insightful into the life of a Technology analyst and I have had responsibility given to me from day 1. I have particularly enjoyed the rotational aspect of my internship where I got to sit with three different teams - this gave me a broad perspective of the positions available within this role and how different teams interact with each other.

My team especially have been incredibly helpful and supportive throughout my time - whenever I was stuck on something that may have seemed menial to me, they were always happy to book in time to set up a call to help me through the work. Throughout my first week I had a number of calls set up with different members within my team to help me understand what the role is like and the motivations for the project we are currently working on - this made me feel welcomed immediately.

My manager has been very supportive throughout the whole internship - he messaged me frequently before the internship commenced to ensure that I was comfortable with my role and understood what was to be expected of me upon joining, and then maintained the left of support throughout the internship with weekly update calls and regular emails to and from to keep me up to date with work, and to check in. My supervisor has been similarly brilliant at constantly reaching out to make sure I'm involved.

My day to day schedule varied but I completed "Business As Usual" daily tasks which were due in by 10am each morning, and then completed project work set by various teams and supervisors throughout the week. Alongside project work for my team I also completed intern specific sessions which were organised by the recruiters such as speaker session and innovation workshops. These were arranged at different times each week so the weeks definitely did not feel monotonous and I felt excited to work each day.

I was given responsibility from week 1 where I was introduced to my daily "Business As Usual" tasks, but I was not expected to be perfect at this every day and the team supported me via calls to make sure that I was comfortable with the process before allowing me to complete this independently. In terms of personal projects, I was given full reign over the depth I wanted to complete this to, and if I had an idea that may make a process easier then I was allowed to implement this myself which was really exciting.

I have significantly developed my Excel skills through my work for my teams, and also through the planned sessions ran specifically for interns, which gave me an opportunity for contextual learning off formulae and pivot tables which I don't get within university. I also learnt more about professional skills such as personal brand, networking and confidence which you don't get access to at universities so this was a welcomed opportunity, and Barclays hired an external company which made the sessions very interactive and useful,.

Despite completing my internship during the wake of the pandemic, I have had an excellent experience with my team during my internship. Every week we have a "coffee morning" session booked into our diaries to simulate having coffee as a team within the office - this gives us a space to relax and talk to our team mates about our personal lives without having the stress of always talking about work on our back. I really enjoyed doing quizzes with the team too, and the team took it in turns to pick different quiz topics.

In the first week of the internship, I encountered a number of technology issues as I was trying to join the company remotely due to the pandemic, but the team were always helpful in getting my issues resolved quickly and gave me different work to do while my software permissions were being approved. The structure of the internship was very good with activities planned for nearly everyday of the internship but enough time to have a worthwhile time with our teams.

Throughout the internship, we took part in a number of personal development sessions which focused on building confidence, developing skills such as networking and understanding the differences between various personality types and how this impacts on how you should treat people within the workplace. These sessions were very interactive and so built off of our responses and allowed us to contribute our own ideas to the presentation, rather than just listening to a long script, which made the sessions more enjoyable.

Graduate opportunities with the company are very appealing as they offer fantastic development opportunities, both professionally and personally, and allow you to try multiple roles within the first 2 years of the graduate scheme, which is a feature I find very appealing as it means you are not stuck within a team that you might not necessarily flourish in. The team structure is clear and allows for promotions at appropriate points within your career, and teams are constantly encouraging your professional development through training courses and external certification.

Having taking part in the Spring Week insight programme in Spring 2019, I already knew a number of students who were joining the same scheme as me this year, so I felt that I already had a good social support network through this group. When I joined the internship, I was also introduced to other interns within my direct division which allowed me to meet like minded students who would be taking part in a similar internship to me. The intern sessions also allowed us to talk to different teams and work with them in workshops.

This is not applicable since I worked from home during the pandemic, but the pandemic saved me a lot of money on travel but I'm sure my gas and electric bill is a lot higher than usual.

Again, this is no applicable due to the pandemic, but I know that people on my team said that they did enjoy going for food and drink before lockdown, so I can only assume it was good.

Outside of work we were able to join the employee networks such as Spectrum (LGBTQ+), WiN (Women's network), Emerge (multi generational network) and Embrace (multi cultural network) which were group-specific network which held speaker sessions and panel events throughout the course of the internship. Examples of events we were invited to were the Women's Global Panel and the Black Professionals Forum which gave us an insight into these groups and the employees who are excelling within their roles/