Barclays Flashcards
Why Barclays
I would say I have 3 main reasons for applying to Barclays, which are: 1) I have spoke to a previous intern who had great things to say about Barclays, 2) I attended a networking event in late August which gave a great insight into Barclays, and 3) A slightly surprising reason but I really enjoy the Barclays Private Bank podcast.
Looking at these in a bit more detail, I have firstly spoke to Solomon Pervez who was an IBD summer analyst this summer. He spoke highly of the programme and really enjoyed the collaborative culture, and thought the support interns received was great. This is clearly an attraction for me, as I think its important to have a strong support network around you which can foster your development.
Secondly, I attended a Barclays networking event in late August which I thoroughly enjoyed. The event was really well run and had a plethora of people that spoke at the event, and it felt like Barclays really tried to give an insight into what life at Barclays is like, where as other companies did not seem to try that much. This really stood out to me, as it felt like Barclays really cared about helping me understand the business better and cared about my application.
Finally, I frequently listen to the Barclays Private Bank podcast, which has members of the private bank team such as Henk Potts and Julien Lafargue go through a weekly market outlook. I really enjoy the podcasts and find them really insightful, and I am excited about the prospect of working alongside the people that I listen to on a regular basis.
Why PB
- Opportunity to have a positive real world impact on people and their families whilst working in a markets related role
- Looking at it in more detail, I always grew up in a family that thrived off of helping people, for example grandparents in police force, mum charity shop, and I have previously volunteered. Therefore, I would like to work in a career where I can have a positive impact. IMPROVE
- On the other side of things, Growing up I have also always enjoyed learning about economics and finance, and have had side projects like manging my own investment portfolio and my trading and investing community. I have really enjoyed discussing the markets with others, and so always looked for career in this area
- Private banking unites these two angles, so seemed the perfect career area for me to apply to
What are Barclays values
Respect Excellence Integrity Service Stewardship
Time I have demionstrated one of Barclays values
Integrity: When I was at Marstons working on the bar, we got paid weekly. I remember one time where I had clearly been paid more than I had worked, and I brought this up to my manager. It turned out that someone had accidentally put down their hours under my name on the timesheet, and my manager appreciated my honesty and even bought me some food for it.
What does Private Banking do?
- Offers personalised banking services to high-net-worth individuals, including tax advice, estate planning, credit solutions and investment management. This is done by looking holistically at a clients assets and liabilities, managing their wealth holistically
Time you have shown teamwork
- Ethics presentation for Masters degree. Our group had to make a presentation on whether payment for order flow is ethical, and then have a question-and-answer session. We initially had a conversation of how we will allocate the work, and the other group members expressed that they would feel more comfortable doing the actual presentation, rather than focusing on the Q&A section. I wanted to make sure my group felt comfortable when presenting, so I agreed to this format of the presentation. I also took it upon myself to organise regular team meetings, so we could keep each other motivated. Our presentation went really well, and we came out with a result of 80%, which was the joint highest mark awarded to any of the 30 groups presenting.
Time I have shown initiative
- Time I have shown initiative is when setting up own trading and investing community. I wanted to meet others interested in trading and investing, so we could discuss the markets and different investment ideas but couldn’t find a good place. Also spoke with one of my mates who was having the same issue. We took it upon ourselves to set up our own group, where we now have over 130 members who regularly chat about the markets which has achieved our initial goal.
Time I have solved a problem
- Quant portfolio, where we were trying to build trading strategies that utilised technical analysis. We encountered an issue trying to code astrategy that utilised a trailing stop loss, and because trying to use a coding language that was very niche and not a lot of learning resources, we couldn’t sovle it. I went away and tried thinking about solutions, and thought that we could actually switch to a different language. Spoke to group and they agreed. Switched to Python as the support is obviously a lot more available, and has definitely made our lives easier.
When working on a deal and your line manager isn’t available, what would you do?
- Use initiative first, try find a proxy for the information or use precedent materials. Check with a colleague for a second opinion.
If you are having a busy day with lots of tasks, how would you approach managing these:
- Initially remain objective, organise tasks by using the urgency and importance. Need to find a balance between urgency and importance. Estimate the time required for each plus a margin of safety. Form a timetable. Begin each task, by breaking the task down into smaller chunks, and use these smaller chunks as a progress barometer. Use precedent materials to aid.
What makes you unique
I think the 3 things that I possess are Intellectual curiosity, Resilience and Entreprenuerial spirit.
Firstly, I always want to learn more about things, and improve my knowledge of a range of different topics. I am currently reading around behavioural economics, and I choose to pursue a masters to better understand the world of finance.
Secondly, I think I have a very resilient attitude. During my A levels I underperformed, which meant that I missed the grades required to accept my offer to read Economics and Management at the university of Oxford. I think to come back from this disappointment to perform so strongly at the university of york highlights my resilient attitude.
Finally, I think I have a very entrepreneurial mind, and am always trying to solve problems in creative ways. I think this is highlighted by my previous entrepreneurial endeavours with my trading and investing community and my clothing business.
To sum up, I think the qualities mean that I am a person that always strives to learn, isn’t afraid of setbacks, and will try and find creative ways to solve problems, all of which would be useful qualities as an intern at Barclays.
Tell me about a time when something didn’t go to plan (Team Project)
- Final expedition for DofE Silver award. I was in a group of 6, and we had to do an expedition for 3 days and 2 nights. During the day we had to walk a pre described route, and then we would camp in the evening. During the third day one of my team members actually twisted his ankle quite badly, and hence could not properly carry the weight of his rucksack. We knew that to receive your award you had to complete the expedition, so if our teammate couldn’t continue, he wouldn’t receive his award. All of the group wanted to find a solution, and I suggested that we could split up the weight of his stuff between each healthy group member, which would allow our teammate to continue. We all ended up completing the expedition with time to spare, which I think was down to our strong teamwork and willingness to help our team member out.
Tell me about a time when something didn’t go to plan (Individual)
- Missed offer to stuidy economics and management at university of Oxford because I underperformed during my a levels. This was clearly disheartening experience, but wanted to make the most of my opportunity to study at uni of york. , so had to enter clearing. Had to make a decision between multiple different universities. I decided to make a ranking system to try and take the emotion out of the decision making, as I recognised I was upset and so wanted to make sure I made a rational decision. Ended up ranking the universities by factors such as course content, university reputation and location. Found my top university, then asked my parents for their insight as wanted a second opinion,. They agreed with me, and hence I went to the university of York. EDIT TO ANSWER Q
Example of how communication skills have improved a situation
HEC Paris. We were completing a group presentation, and one member of the group wanted to split the presentation into chunks for each individual to focus on, even though some group members expressed that they did not feel comfortable with the material. Instead, I suggested that we completed the tasks in pairs, as this would allow us a better chance of doing them to a high level, and everyone would feel more supported during the tasks. By focusing on the positives of my approach, she later agreed to do this, and our presentation went really well.]
Team conflict
I was working with two others on YouTube channel. We were having a discussion about which content to make and there was some disagreement. However, I suggested we narrowed down to two options and then go away have a think and then vote on it; we ended up unanimously voting the right way and everyone agreed the right decision had been made. We ended up making both anyway!
Time used creativity to solve a problem
- Quant portfolio, where we were trying to build trading strategies that utilised technical analysis. We encountered an issue trying to code astrategy that utilised a trailing stop loss, and because trying to use a coding language that was very niche and not a lot of learning resources, we couldn’t sovle it. I went away and tried thinking about solutions, and thought that we could actually switch to a different language. Spoke to group and they agreed. Switched to Python as the support is obviously a lot more available, and has definitely made our lives easier.
Example of working in a team
- Ethics presentation for Masters degree. Our group had to make a presentation on whether payment for order flow is ethical, and then have a question-and-answer session. We initially had a conversation of how we will allocate the work, and decided to allocate work up based on what we believed to be peoples strengths. The other group members expressed that they would feel more comfortable doing the actual presentation, rather than focusing on the Q&A section and I wanted to make sure my group felt comfortable when presenting, so I agreed to this format of the presentation. I also took it upon myself to organise regular team meetings, so we could keep each other motivated. Our presentation went really well, and we came out with a result of 80%, which was the joint highest mark awarded to any of the 30 groups presenting.
Market Sizing questions
Start with population then work down
Tell me about something you are reading at the moment
Behavioural economics, misbehaving by richard thaler. I find it fascinating how by understanding human psychology we can make better decisions. Currently looking at how people value things more if they currently possess them. This explains why people hoard things that they know they don’t need but want to hang onto just in case.
Whats happening in news rn
Cop26, affect sustainable investing. US inflation, but inflation around the world is becoming more prominent. Is inflation transitory? Evergrande crisis and china regulatory angle –> How will this impact the Chinese market as a whole.
Tell me a time you worked under pressure
Exams, had 24 hours to do them. Opened paper to find questions were significantly harder than expected. Split questions up into smaller chunks and identify what was actually being asked. Make a plan for each question and identify resources I need. Worked through the night as wanted to achieve best result possible.. Didnt finish any exam before 2am, and actually stayed up all night on my last exam to get it done.
Tell me a time you acted as a leader
A time I showed leadership was I was attending the HEC Paris Investment Banking and International Finance summer school this summer. As a part of the Summer School, we were assigned groups that frequently had to complete tasks together. In this particular scenario we had to make a case study on how we would value a company. No one was familiar with the case, so I nominated myself to be group leader. In this role, I was responsible for allocating tasks to other group members, completing the introduction and conclusion and making sure the presentation was cohesive and well structured. In addition to this, I also organised regular check ins to make sure everyone was working on time. Luckily, all of my group was incredibly hard working, and we had little to no issues. Our presentation went really well and the summer school leader noted that everything linked together nicely, and was very strong throughout.
Tell me about a time you helped someone
Time I helped someone was when I helped one of my friends learn econometrics. One of my friends was struggling with econometrics and he knew that I had done well in my own previous econometrics modules. Asked for some tips to prepare for his exam. I organised a call to help him through the basics as I feel it is important to help others to try and make a positive impact, especially as people have previously helpt me. He really appreciated me going the extra mile, and sent me a message on his results day to say that he did better than expected, and he thought a lot of that was due to my help.
Tell me about a time you were adaptable
- Quant portfolio, where we were trying to build trading strategies that utilised technical analysis. We encountered an issue trying to code astrategy that utilised a trailing stop loss, and because trying to use a coding language that was very niche and not a lot of learning resources, we couldn’t sovle it. I went away and tried thinking about solutions, and thought that we could actually switch to a different language. Spoke to group and they agreed. Switched to Python as the support is obviously a lot more available, and has definitely made our lives easier.
Tell me about a time you demonstrated excellent customer service
An example of providing customer service was when I was working as Bar Staff at Marstons. As part of the role, when a customer was ordering we had to inform them the average wait on food, in order to minimise customer complaints. In this scenario, I had Informed customer only 20 minute wait on food. My manager quickly informed me that the kitchen has just received a sharp influx of orders, and the wait was actually 35 mins.
I realised that I had informed the customer the wrong time, and that I needed to explain to the customer the situation. Had to go and explain to customer who appreciated my honesty and thanked me for coming and updating them rather than just letting them sit there wondering where their food was.
When the customer came to the bar to pay before she left, she reiterated how nice her meal was and that she appreciated my proactivity and high levels of customer service.
Tell me about a time you communicated something in a written format
xx
Tell me about a time you were resourceful
- Time I have shown initiative is when setting up own trading and investing community. I wanted to meet others interested in trading and investing, so we could discuss the markets and different investment ideas but couldn’t find a good place. Also spoke with one of my mates who was having the same issue. We took it upon ourselves to set up our own group, where we now have over 130 members who regularly chat about the markets which has achieved our initial goal.
Tell us about a situation where your communication skills made a difference to
a situation?
A situation where my communication skills made a difference is during my time as a referee. I am a qualified FA football referee, and before the pandemic, I used to frequently referee U18 and below football games. In this scenario, maintaining effective communication is key, especially when penalising players through fouls or cards. I always try and explain to players effectively what they did wrong, and why I have deemed that tackle to be a foul, and I think the players appreciate my forthcoming attitude as it helps them understand how I am refereeing the game. I have previously been recognised as one of Worcestershire’s leading FA referees, and have previously been assigned as referee for cup finals as a result.
Tell me about a time you have processed a lot of information quickly
AmplifyME event where I was participating in sell side trading. In the event, I had to emulate a sell side trader, where I had to communicate with clients, process orders they were sending through clients whilst making sure I was managing my risk effectively. Additionally, we had virtual news filtering through that was affecting the market, and so I had to account for these when executing positions. We got graded on a variety of things, such as profit and loss and disruption our trades caused to the market. I actually finished 6th out of 134 participants, and finished 2nd for profit and loss, which I think is testament to my ability to process information quickly.
Tell me about a time you have demonstrated good customer service.
Example - Bar Staff at Marstons.
Scenario -
Task - Informed customer only 20 minute wait on food. This was incorrect, and was actually over 30 mins.
Action - Had to go and explain to customer who appreciated my honesty and thanked me for coming and updating them rather than just letting them sit there wondering
Responce - Learned that you should always be honest and keep clear communication with customer even in light of mistakes.
How would you go about making new relationships?
Initially, I would have informal conversation with new colleagues on the project to introduce myself, as well as learn about themselves and their strengths. I think it is important to have some level of familiarity with my co-workers so then everyone then feels more comfortable to speak up and have a discussion.
Additionally, I would get involved with a lot of different projects including ones that are related to work, but also ones outside of them. I know Barclays have a strong focus on stewardship and improving the world around you, so I would like to get involved with some of the volunteering events that Barclays put on and I would meet a range of people across the business through these.
Tell me about a time you persuaded someone
A time that I had to persuade someone to accept my point of view was during the HEC Paris Investment Banking and International finance summer school. During the summer school, we were split into groups to complete various tasks, including answering questions or making presentations. For this particular task, our group had to complete a question set of 12 questions, and one member of the group wanted to split the presentation into chunks for each individual to focus on, even though some group members expressed that they did not feel comfortable with the material. Instead, I suggested that we completed the tasks in pairs, as this would be a good compromise between the two approaches. Also, this would allow us a better chance of doing them to a high level, and everyone would feel more supported during the tasks. For the most part everyone was supportive of this, but an objection that was raised was whether we would still be able to complete the task on time if working in pairs. By focusing on the positives of working in pairs, and explaining that it doesn’t really matter if we completed all the questions if the quality wasn’t very good, all group members agreed to follow my suggestions, and we completed every question to a high level, being the only group to do this.
