Internship Review at Barclays

The Role

Role Description

Worked on setting up a new function within the Technology Office for Financial and Risk services (E.g. Basel II Reporting, Credit Risk calculation etc.) to supply Architectural support to software projects.
Was given the task of collating an inventory of the bank's current applications and software used for this purpose, and then relating these to business areas. Had to work closely with senior colleagues from several business areas within the bank and organise meetings and present findings and analysis to management and external consultants.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Had to spend the first week or so getting used to the organisation, and its rather complex structure. Definitely gained a huge amount of experience and learnt a massive amount about the banking industry and the role of IT within the financial sector and Barclays Retail Bank especially.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Really was made to feel like part of the team, and not just an intern here to make tea, right from day one...

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Regular feadback from management, however they were often very busy people and not always available.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Sometimes I had to wait on others to get back to me so didn't have all that much to do, other times I was in the office until quite late and had a lot of things to get done...

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

For my relative level and experience, I felt that I was give a great deal of responsibility and became one of the key contacts for our new function to the rest of the bank. Was given a large amount of descision making responsibility within the department too.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Skills learnt were exceptionally relevant to parts of my degree and working in the IT industry. Plus a huge amount of the usual 'key skills' building (teamwork, working with differnent ages, communication, different point of views etc etc.)

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

Often plenty of people about to talk to and have a laugh with, but still very straight-jacketed and corporate. Often broke the day up with a wander around the area outside, but would have been pretty tough to stay in the same place all day.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Exceptionally well organised. Regular events and if you needed any help with anything, plenty of people to email or phone who would get back to you almost instantly!

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Had a day of a course about IT procedures, and several Master Classes with senior executives gave a good insight into the company and the financial industry. Well organised personal development plan made it easy to identify things to work on and improve.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

• Subsidised Canteen
• Subsidised/Company Gym
• National Travel
• Company Parties/Events

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Vast majority of interns (if not all) are offered graduate positions for the following year.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Great group of people. Several house-parties and some awesome nights out had in London!

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 0/10

It's London.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

It's London.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Depending on where you're based - several people I know were involved in sports clubs and teams in the company...

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Highly recommended, although I worked in the head office, whereas if you go for retail you're likely to be based in branches around London and not in Canary Wharf - not a problem for most, but I really liked being at the headquarters so bear in mind...

Review 39/62 for Barclays

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