Summer Intern in Risk Review

I really enjoyed my internship at Barclays. It was my first job that was enough time to really get involved and have time to settle in. The people were very helpful, anyone (regardless of position) was genuinely happy to give you advice or talk you through what it is that they do. I feel like I’ve learnt so much if I compare now with what I knew on my first day.

My manager was very good at showing me how I added value to certain projects. He was very encouraging to make sure I did tasks that (1) I was interested in and (2) that were of genuine use to the team. I attended working group sessions; I helped contribute to processes and had my own presentation/project which I presented towards the end of my internship. All of which was material that they could use after I have left. They were happy to help and most people around the office were really friendly & approachable.

My manager wanted me to be working on an area of interest and to make sure I got what I wanted out of the internship. I worked mainly in one area of the team which was interesting. He was always happy to set time aside and give honest feedback. He was encouraging to make sure I got the most out of the internship. He pointed me to the right people if I need advice about anything.

The flow of work really depended week to week. When I had my presentation I had less than two weeks to prepare & present it so I was much busier during these two weeks as I had a deadline with a lot to complete before it. The first few weeks were quieter as it was important for me to come up to speed with lots of regulatory documentation to be able to help. There were also periods where HR had organised sessions for us and a few fell quite close together. It depended on people’s holidays – we were encouraged to speak to Directors/managing Directors and two that I really wanted to speak to were on holiday for two weeks which meant I had to wait until they came back and when my manager was on holiday there was a limit to how far we could complete tasks as we had to wait for his approval. However, using the slightly quieter times I was able to do my own investigation into roles in the banks and speak to people I was really interested in hearing from. I’m glad for having the time to achieve things and speak to people that I wanted to.

I was given enough responsibility that I was able to prove that I could complete jobs on time & add value to the team but not so much that I felt out my depth. I was involved in one of the main projects that was going on in our department and that was interesting. Also valuable in the sense I got to see how project groups worked together.

The work I’ve been doing and the skills I’ve developed aren’t specifically helpful to my degree. However I would say that this experience has guided me towards the kind of job I want to do and experience in a financial institution. I found the environment quite overwhelming on my first week or so but it has allowed me to settle in and find out how the work place operates. Being able to speak to employees across the bank has allowed me to see what kind of jobs exist that I wouldn’t have even thought of. The experience of finding out about roles/processes and learning has been invaluable. I was also able to investigate different areas of my department and decide which part I think would suit me best.

The environment in my office was quite quiet. People generally worked on their own but there were lots of interactions between employees in different teams. Compared to some of the floors which are much louder, my floor was definitely quieter. Although, everyone was very approachable and lots of people chatted as it was quite relaxed. Different periods of the days tended to be louder for example the morning was quieter than around lunch time.

I would say that the overall work placement was organised. They had work for me to do when I arrived, and an idea of the sort of thing they wanted me to achieve by the time I left. There was however flexibility in the schedule so I could do more of what I enjoyed and tasks which arose unplanned. There were some periods of work when I would have liked to be more busy but often it came down to processes and waiting for approval for restricted access. From what I experienced it wasn’t very consistent across the internship although lots of different teams within different areas of the bank function differently which is to be expected. There was only one mainstream networking event with all the interns throughout the summer; I would have liked to have had another few sessions. However, I did join a few networks myself during my time here and I attended lots of networking events not necessarily just for interns which was really beneficial and insightful. Towards the end of the placement it would have been useful to speak to HR about next steps.

I accessed a few of the company’s online resources to do with training. I learnt more about my division in particular and about their policies. I’m not aware of any training resources which would have aided my work. They did spend time with me, giving me feedback and when I asked for some time with Manager he always accommodated for it. They were encouraging with my work. Lots of people from various departments and within my team were more than happy to spend some time sitting down with me going through what their role involves and that was really useful to me.

Future employment with the organisation is appealing. I’ve enjoyed my time here and would like to come back and have the chance to start my career here. I liked the working environment and everyone I’ve met has been generally accommodating to my level of knowledge and has tried to enhance my experience. However, I’m not totally sure what the graduate scheme involves yet.

My team went out for lunch together a couple of times but mostly my social life was with the other interns. Lots of people found that there weren’t many socials. I met up for lunch/coffee with people I met throughout my time and went out a few times for drinks. I think it depends upon how the other interns in your group are because we didn’t have much interaction with the other interns across different departments.

Cost of rent was very expensive as I was in London. Cost of living/socialising wasn’t too bad – as long as you go to the right sort of place. The food at work wasn’t too expensive which is where I bought lunch & sometimes breakfast.

Nightlife was great in London. Really enjoyed going out. There is lots of variety in the type of night out and I really enjoyed my time in London. I’d say there was something to do for pretty much everyone.

Most of my involvement outside work was networking events held by various networks within Barclays. I went to evening events for the women’s diversity network. Those sessions were firstly usually useful for lots of tips and also a good way to network and get to know people right across the bank that you otherwise wouldn’t have met. There are as much opportunities as you are willing to involve yourself in. Lots of sports clubs etc.