Finance Summer Intern Review

The internship was both challenging and enjoyable, keeping me engaged throughout the whole duration. It was a great opportunity to gain an insight into a Banking/Finance career whilst working in an energetic environment.

There is a great working culture at Barclays. All employees are really willing to devote time to the interns and include us in any staff events. I felt extremely included in my team.

My line manager and mentor both set up weekly catch up sessions with me to address my progress and give me the opportunity to ask any questions I had. Senior management were also very willing to meet with me to speak about their roles and provide advice.

Aside my daily tasks at my desk there were other aspects interns have the opportunity to get involved in such as networking events, panel discussions, video conferences, team and director meetings, work shadowing and a group Citizenship Challenge. There is always something to do!

I was assigned objectives which enabled me to be directly involved with the team's role as well as get an insight into the other teams. My responsibilities were varied giving me the opportunity to use a range of software, have an active role in meetings and incorporate my own ideas and creativity. It was satisfying to see how my work was adopted and valued

As an Economics and FInance student I have seen how the concepts I have learnt so far are applied in the industry, making me more confident in these topics. I have also learnt a significant amount about the industry which I have now chosen my final year modules around. Additionally, I am more confident in office and computer skills which I will utilise in the future.

From the day I started everyone in my team were very inclusive. There was a good balance between work and social, making it an enjoyable place to work. On Fridays everyone has the chance to dress down.

I was impressed with how well planned out the internship was. We were organised many events by both my team and HR which I was informed of at the start. These included networking events, learning sessions and meetings. At the start we were also set objectives which gave us a clear idea of what to work towards during our time here. HR was always keeping us up to date with news and responded immediately to our queries.

Within my team I was provided with training on the area they work with, through online workshops and shadowing. HR also organised learning sessions for us where directors of various teams gave us an insight into their department. Having the opportunity to speak individually to directors in other areas also increased my perspective of the organisation.

From the internship, there is the chance of being offered a place onto the Graduate scheme. This is something I hope to do if I secure a place.

Those interns that chose to met after work every Friday. We would organise to meet and do things in London over the weekend too. Many people commuted from home so not everyone got involved.

Being in London, everything was more expensive that other areas. However it was a paid internship meaning the accomodation and costs were affordable.

London offers lots of places to go to which the interns went to on weekends. However they tend to be expensive.

There are always sport and voluntary activties you can get involved in. My team were very inclusive and informed me of anything going on.