Investment Banking Summer Analyst

Was referred by a previous boss to the group head at Barclays who was very accommodating. The whole processed moved much faster than at other places. In the first interview it was the associate and analyst from a particular group who were very nice, started with behavioural for 10 minutes and then moved in to technical/market based (I had an investment analysis job previously so they expected high level responses). Those questions lasted for about 20 minutes. The last 10 minutes was pretty conversational, allowed me to ask some questions about Barclays and their group. Followed up with them, received a neutral/nice response and that was about it. Compared to other experiences I've had it was about averagely pleasant, people there seem nice but extremely professional almost to the point of coming across as boring or too serious. In the end I was biased going into the interview as my heart was in S&T where my interviews were going better and this was for investment banking. I'd say if you want a serious investment banking summer experience, the Diversified group is busy, and some of the other groups that leverage their relationship to London (Barclays headquarters) get some big deals. Barclays has also been marching up the league tables as many of you may know, especially after buying Lehman's business at the bottom. All in all a good business with good prospects and very smart people working there. If you get an interview - be confident in the first round and be prepared for the second! I've heard you will get on average 4 interviews with MDs and they will grill you on hard technical situational and the odd brain teaser.