Finance Summer Intern Review
by Barclays
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.2
-
The Company
3.1
-
The Culture
3.3
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
The placement is really what you make of it. HR lay on a range of networking events and theres talks from different departments on a weekly basis. With such a large cohort of interns the social aspect had been good and I felt I really benefitted from undertaking the placement.
My team have been really nice and willing to help with my learning and development so I could not complain at. Speaking with other interns I've only heard the same.
I had weekly feedback sessions with my manager. Here I was given praise alongside points for improvement. I found it best to be prepared with my own views going into these sessions as refelcting on my own performace did make me realise where things could have gone better or what I had done well.
Initially it's really hard to add any value to your team due to not having used the systems before so in the first few weeks not busy at all. As the programme progressed though I was able to take on more responsibilities and there are other aspects such as charity projects that left me working long days nearer to the end. It's really about being considerate about your teams workload and taking advantage of the time they are able to offer by being fully engaged when working with them.
By the end of the placement I was running processes for my team like any other member. A lot of it comes down to your excel ability which almost everything is based around.
Working in an office environment is a skill in itself so what you'll pick up from just turning up for 9 weeks should not be underestimated. This has mainly focused around timing keeping and organisational skills and planning your workload around collegues and other teams commitments. With regards to my studies bankings entirely different to economics so not much benefit to that.
The Company
The placement had a good structure with the right mix of actual work, outside projects and learning sessions.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
One of the worlds leading banks so for sure somewhere where I would consider working.
The Culture
Yeah with such a large intake there was always people to do things with.
Expensive, I go to university in London anyway so was expected. Canary Wharf itself isnt any more expensive than any area of London though.
My placement was in London so probably the best but most expensive in the country.
Yes theres a range of sport and social clubs, about 50 in total I think. the networks large and its easy to get involved.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
August 2015
