Bright Network member Berke talked to us about his journey, from doing a spring week and summer internship at Barclays to being offered an Analyst role in Equity Research at the bank. Here’s how he found the application process.
The first hurdle
The Spring week application followed a fairly standard pattern – submitting my CV and cover letter, online tests, a telephone interview and finally the assessment centre.
Looking back, the assessment centre for my Spring Week was the toughest part of the whole process. I had never done one before so did not know what to expect. To gain some insight I spoke to the people in HR and other students who had already gone through the process, and I would recommend anyone applying to do the same.
On the day, half of the candidates had to re-do the numerical tests. There were also interviews based on my skillset and they really focussed in on why I wanted to do a spring week with Barclays.
Moving forward
I did a couple of spring weeks but felt I really clicked with Barclays. They gave me an introduction to all the front office positons, which helped me identify where my strengths lied.
Having successfully completed the spring week, I was fast-tracked to the assessment centre for the Summer Internship. This was a bit trickier than the previous one, as we had a group exercise and the interviews were more technical. However, by this point I had got a strong understanding of how the process worked and what Barclays were looking for.
The summer internship allowed me to get my teeth into work which actually moved things forward and gave me a fantastic opportunity to show them what I could do. At the end of the internship, I was delighted to be offered the graduate analyst role.
Berke’s top tip
In first year I networked a lot at career fairs and would always follow up with the employers I met with an email after the event. I also tried to talk to other interns who had done the spring weeks and summer internships. This and doing lots of research about the company and the sector as a whole would be my top tips for those keen to get into investment banking.
Have you recently secured a graduate role or internship? Let us know - we'd love to share your success.
