This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. Everybody I worked with was really friendly and made my experience great. I also developed a lot of my skills such as presentations and also networking - something I have absolutely no experience in. Everyone working at Barclays was always ready to take out time to sit down with me.
My managers always made me feel valued. I was able to ask them questions whenever I needed to and they would always make time for me. Everybody I encountered/also worked with also made me feel at home within the company. They would always make time for me whatever the reason.
I was always given a lot of support throughout the internship. My manager would spend some time with me every day to catch up and find out how I was doing. Whenever I needed some extra help, I could always go to her and she would take out the time to help me
I was given a list of projects do do for the duration of the summer. This way along with daily tasks etc. if my line manager didn't have a specific task for me to do, I always had my projects that I could get on with in the meantime. This way, I always had something to do and was kept busy.
I was given responsibility right from the first day at the desk. I sat in for meetings and took minutes on the first day and from there on, I had other tasks such as creating presentations decks for senior colleagues which shows I had a lot of responsibility during the placement.
I think the internship mostly helped develop my soft skills - skills that aren't directly taught to you during your degree but are very useful throughout your life. I improved my presentation skills and learned to collaborate on group projects with conflicting schedules. I think this will not only help in my working career but university and my personal life too.
The Company
There was always a fantastic atmosphere within the office. Everybody was so friendly and happy to help. People were so motivated and collaborated well to complete goals/projects. I really enjoyed being in the workplace and looked forward to going to work every day. It was definitely somewhere I'd like to return to.
The programme was very well established. There was a schedule for meetings etc throughout the placement that were set up with different directors within the organisation. We set up objectives at the start and worked towards them during the placement. At regular points, we would go over our progress with our managers.
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
The Culture
Unfortunately, being in Canary Wharf in London, socialising in areas nearby was always expensive but because of the atmosphere it was always worth it every now and again. Thankfully, I also really liked everybody I worked with so it added to the fun and made the experience worthwhile so it wasn't too bad.
There were many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. There were different networks we could sign up to and go to their events. At one point, Barclays had a fundraising abseiling event if I'm not wrong? So, there are definitely a lot of opportunities to get involved outside of work.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Commercial Banking
London
July 2019