Sales Review

I really enjoyed my summer spent with Barclays. It was a challenging experience with a lot of learning, but I picked up a lot quickly and by the end of the internship I felt like I really was pushing myself to go further. The time certainly passed very quickly with the additional events that the interns were invited to!

I felt very valued by my team. I was given challenging work and was able to add my own suggestions. Whilst always being aware of the regulatory environment that we operate in, I felt like I had enough exposure in the bank to understand what the different teams were involved in. There were also numerous team events.

The HR team were fantastic and they were always there to answer any questions that I had that weren't relevant to my desk. They organised some great intern specific events and were a very useful point of contact throughout the internship - it was easy to just go and have a chat with them over a coffee just to say how everything was going so far and if there was anything that could be improved.

I was very busy during market hours (8am to 4.30pm),but this is to be expected when working on a trading floor. Day to day I was kept busy with work from my desk but also more long term intern projects, which provided a nice balance. During quieter periods, I was given independence to do my own research in areas that I thought would be useful for my work on my desk, such as reading research reports. I enjoyed being trusted to do what I thought was best.

I felt like I was given a really high level of responsibility, up to the limit of the regulatory restrictions. It is often difficult to judge how much work to give to an intern and how much responsibility they should have. I felt that as the work I provided was to the best of my ability, as the internship went on, I was given more and more responsibility. Responsibility was something that was earned not given, which is good in my opinion.

For the modules that I am taking for my final year of an Economics degree, it has helped enormously. It has given a great insight into the greater world of finance, something that my Economics course tends to omit as it is more theoretical than empirical.

Really fun atmosphere, on a trading floor, there is a buzz that you just don't seem to get anywhere else. Not what you would see on a film, but a very meritocratic system which I enjoyed.

HR organised the internship very well from start to the end, and any hiccup was usually sorted very quickly. The internship flowed very well with the other interns, which is quite an achievement considering there was a lot of us.

A week long training programme enabled me to hit my internship well prepared. Excel training was useful, as well as greater financial training for those who were not on finance related degrees.

I was offered a full time graduate position which I happily accepted.

I went on several drinks evenings with other interns, and I felt there was a good atmosphere among us.

Cost of living was high, but this is to be expected as it is London after all. Transport costs were minimal as I took the bus to work everyday.

Nightlife was good, I lived in a student area so there were plenty of areas to watch the world cup etc. at the weekends.

There were several networks that were run, and interns were encouraged to get involved in these where possible.