Investment Banking Summer Analyst Review

I truly enjoyed my time at Barclays Investment Bank as everyday there is something new going on and everyone around me is genuinely kind and supportive. They did not treat me any different with an official employee so I am able get exposed to a wide range of business areas the team is involved in. In addition, there are a lot of events organised for summer interns such as networking events, MD breakfast, Factset training etc. I expanded my banking professional knowledge through attending all the events. HRs and all the managers have put a lot of efforts to make this internship a great experience for us.

The atmosphere within the team was phenomenal - every member of the team was very supportive and the projects I was assigned were very interesting. I manage to build fairly good relationship with every member in the team – not just professionally, but outside of work too. I had catch up sessions with both the MD and Directors on the team. I also had the opportunity to learn various deals and do a lot of tasks with different members of the team.

My buddy was being extremely supportive to me. Whenever I have queries he would pause what he his doing and help me. The other analyst on my team also acts as a buddy to me and teaching me a lot of things every day. Also, my line manager has given up a lot of time to teach me various deals with different structures to ensure I gain a better understanding of the business we do.

I am quite busy throughout the day. I come in at 9am and finish at 10-12pm. The hour is long but I don't feel the day is long at all. Everyday my schedule is quite full including some conference calls and meetings to attend and making meeting note summary.Also I do a lot presentations for the team and MD, and I create spreadsheet for certain deals. All the tasks are very meaningful and I think I am gradually adapting to the working lifestyle and the workplace etiquette now as well as building up some industry knowledge.

A huge amount of responsibility has been given to me. I have joined numerous conference calls and meetings, attended more than five client meetings - including one with the CEO of the client company. I have also been asked to draft official term sheet and write e-mail directly to clients. I have been involved in quite a few live deals and I really feel like I am being valued and have been given real responsibility.

I believe I progressed a lot in Excel spreadsheet skills and presentation skills from the training received in the first week and daily tasks. More importantly, I have gained a deeper understanding of the industry and the business we do. From all the client meetings and conference calls, I learnt how to behave in front of clients and act as an ambassador for the firm. Also I grasped the essential interpersonal skill which is required to build up the trust with colleagues and clients. Those skills I have gained here will definitely help me throughout my career.

Every team members are very kind. They spent time every day to catch up with each other on their weekend and holidays. But when everyone is working, it is very intense.

Very well-organised. Nine week summer internship in total,First week is training. Then we spend six weeks in our primary team and two weeks in second cohort. This gives us the opportunity to get to know two different teams and explore other areas.

The first week is training. Barclays hired an external company to conduct the technical training. I found it very informative but the pace is too fast that I couldn't really follow.

Barclays has a very bright future as it will have a new CEO soon. The strategy will be more focused on the Investment Bank side of the business. I personally think it is a perfect for a junior banker to join the firm.

Yes all the interns are very friendly, we have lunch together quite often. However, we haven't had any chance to go out for a drink together as everyone i very dedicated to work at their desks.

The canteen is quite cheap, even Starbucks in the canteen is heavily subsidised. Canary Wharf rent is expensive, but the salary should be more than enough to cover the costs of living in Canary Wharf.

I work in Canary Wharf, there is no nightclub here but a lot of bars around. Our team went onto a team drink on roof terrace in a bar which was fantastic.

I get the option to be involved in community work.