Spring week intern Review

I was very pleasantly surprised when it came to the insight. I initially thought, since it is a bank, that it would be all about boring finance and investment stuff and we wouldn't really get to know what its like to work at Barclays, however all the activities we did very either hands-on or directly with someone who works at Barclays and can give us information straight from the source.

We were placed in a really nice hotel which provided us with breakfast and a good lunch, which made me feel very appreciated and valued. After every talk/workshop there was an opportunity for you to ask questions if you did not understand something or wanted to find out more. All the employees I spoke with were very nice and willing to talk about basically anything and I never got the feeling that I am just a student in their big world.

During the first two days we did some personality assessment tests after which, depending on the personality type we got, we were given advice on how to talk with different types of people, what we should expect from them, what we should definitely avoid when talking to them and what are our main strengths and weaknesses and how to make the most out of them.

It was this part specifically that made this insight so interesting to me, as everyone I spoke with during the week was very approachable but also knowledgable and willing to share the information, not only in terms of working at Barclays, but general tips in life such as, what to do after uni, what to search for/ask for in a company or just little pieces of advice.

During our 4 day insight all our activities were very clearly prepared and presented to us through the Barclays app, so you could always know when you are supposed to start/finish and what activity would come next. Before talks we were usually given information about who the people are who will deliver the talk, so there was time for us to look them up and prepare more relevant and interesting questions.

At the start it was a bit rigid as none of us knew each other, but after the first icebreaker the atmosphere became much more relaxed and everyone started introducing themselves and making friends. When I came on the last day I spoke to basically everyone and knew quite a bit of them by name and the overall atmosphere was really enjoyable.

We were placed in a really nice hotel which provided us with breakfast and a good lunch, which made me feel very appreciated and valued. After every talk/workshop there was an opportunity for you to ask questions if you did not understand something or wanted to find out more. Everything we did was paid for us including the accommodation and travel so we did not need to worry about any of that.

During the 4 days we spoke to a lot of people from the company and did 2 work shadowing sessions. During the sessions we were directly at the workplace and had the option to talk to a lot of company's employees so I feel that I got good idea what it is like to work for Barclays.

Since the very first day it was made very clear that Barclays is a company that places a big emphasis on its values and it is not just something they put on a paper on a wall and not pay any attention to. Every employee I spoke to gave me the impression that the values of the company were explained and emphasised to them.

I really feel I got a lot of information when it comes to working at the finance sector and it was much nicer than I expected. I also realised that technology is going to be more and more important in every company and having technical understanding will be essential to be employable in the future.

We were placed in a really nice hotel which provided us with breakfast and a good lunch, which made me feel very appreciated and value. Everything we did was paid for us including the accommodation and travel so we did not need to worry about any of that. Also at the start we were given clear information about how we will be paid.

Yes, a lot.

Very enjoyable

Everyone could do what they like to, nothing specific.

Definitely