This past week, Barclays Capital held an information session to provide students with insight to their internship program, recruitment policies, and job positions. For those who missed the session here is a quick overview. The topic was “A Day in the Life of an Analyst” which is the starting position for employees of Barclays Capital and of the majority of other financial institutions. Barclays Capital is the investment banking subdivision of Barclays Bank PLC, and it is further divided into two distinct sections, Global Markets and Investment Banking. Each section is then comprised of numerous “groups” which specialize in certain financial services. The Global Markets Division comprises of groups concerning commodities, credit, equities, municipal bonds, and foreign exchange. The Investment Banking Division is organized into numerous industry and product groups including communications, media, middle market, real estate, and technology.
As an intern, you are assigned to a specific group – in a division of choice – and for ten weeks you are a “first-year analyst.” However, Barclays first has you attend a five-day training session – basically a crash course in the financial field you are about to work in. The training session will cover the basics; still most knowledge related to the job will result from the experience gained during the “first-year analyst” group assignment. Whether you are on the trading floor with an equities group, or in the office with an investment group, the experience will be fast paced and exciting, and will require all of your energy.
One of the most interesting points of the presentation was the emphasis placed on the need for passion in the workplace. If you know that you will never have a passion for the market or investment strategy, then this is not the career path to take. It is far too demanding a job to enter into halfheartedly, and recruiters certainly recognize applicants without that sense of drive. Only those who take a true and lasting interest in finance will find success in this challenging field.
