Credit Risk Analyst Review

I had a wide range of tasks to complete at all times. I was given a thorough introduction to the corporate environment and had work which seemed of real value to the company. The work itself was very interesting and varied, and both challenged and taught me a great deal.

I felt very much valued by my colleagues. They treated me as they would have their permanent staff, and included me in all of the social actvities. They were also all very approachable, and were willing to help me when I found difficulties in my work.

I wwas able to ask any questions at any time to my line manager without feeling that I shouldn't. I was given many documents to help me out with my work, and there were also several skills sessions arranged by the programme, which helped me out with the more general skills. I learnt a lot from the programme as a result of this.

I was given enough to do to cover all of my time, but I never had to stay past my contracted hours to complete it. There was one point when my line manager was away, and had very little to do in the team I was in, but there were several other activities in the programme which I could be getting on with. The range of activities to be completed significantly improved my stakeholder management.

I was given work which the company was able to use further, and which had an actual impact on the team I was working in. In particular, I looked at some alternative approaches to a new project the team was undertaking, and made my input into that. The technical skills I had as an intern were not vast enough for me to be given any huge responsibilites, but that considered, the roles I was given were significant.

There were several skills sessions concentrating on stakeholder management, presentation skills and personal brand and influening, all of which are very useful life skills. My time management has significantly improved as well, because I Was given the challenge of managing several tasks at one throughout the internship. My social and networking skills also improved, as I met with many of the senior leaders in the company, and made some valuable contacts. Generally, it was a great eye opener into the corporate environment, and gave me a great insight into how the working world operates.

It was very friendly. Most, if not all, of my colleagues were extremely approachable, and, apart from near deadline periods, was very relaxed. There was a great team atmosphere, for example, we would all support eachother when faced with challenges, and socialise together too.

We were given a very clear timetable detailing the activities we should be doing at all times (i.e. whether we should be with our teams, with the rest of the interns on some activity, or away from office). We were given a wide variety of things to do, and everything was organised so that each intern could participate throuroughly. The work allocated was, perhaps, slightly uneven amongst the interns in their teams (for example, some were asked to work much longer hours, or comlete much less interesting work), and some interns ere even sent to a different office to work, and so missed out considerably on the social aspect of the internship. However, they still got a great experience from the internship overall.

We had several skills sessions throughout the placement, and we were given a 3 day induction, in which we worked on team building skills, and learnt a great deal about the company through exercises and talks from senior leaders. There was also community days, social events, and other activites to get involved in which were organised by the company. We were also given a personal development plan to give us goals throughout the internship. These were assessed throughout, and help was given to meet these personal targets.

The benefits package is fantastic (great salary, sign on bonus etc), and the company has demonstrated itself to be a great one to work for. They clear value their employees and they have a great culture within.

The social scene was fantastic. We would visit the local bars most nights after work, and every Friday we would have a great night out. There were also several events organised by Barclays itself which made us get to kno each other better. There was a great mix of interns, and we all had a lot of fun together during the placement.

I didn't live there, as my usual residence was local enough, but, being in London, it was rather expensive. The bars suffered from being usual London Prices. Luckily, however, the amount we being paid during the internship was large enough to cover this, and still have a fair deal left over.

The office was surrounded by bars which were often frequented by the office workers. As well as this, central London was only a short tube journey away, and so we often visited there as well. There was always a great deal of fun to be had in the evenings.

We had several community events (such as the 'Climbing Everest' challenge which involved a team of colleagues climbing the height of the head office building 57 times to match the height of Everest), as well as social events, both those organised by the company and by ourselves.