Through Barclays I’ve recently become involved in a really rewarding volunteering opportunity with the Social Mobility Foundation. Their aim is to support high-achieving young people from low-income backgrounds into the top universities and professions, partly through a mentoring programme with young professionals. I was paired up with my mentee a couple of months ago and we’ve been exchanging lots of emails around which university to go to, what course to study, how to stay motivated during revision for A-levels, and how to start networking early on.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the first mentor-mentee meet-up in central London, which had an impressive turnout of well over a hundred mentors and mentees. It was great to put a face to the name and we covered much more ground than we could have over emails – we chatted about everything from tips for university interviews to our favourite books and inspirational films.

Having been to countless career events, been through lots of interviews (some great, some not-so-great…) and picked up plenty of tips and advice along the way, it’s more apparent to me than ever that there is so much valuable information that isn’t written in any book and often comes simply through experience. To be able to use all this advice to help those that really value it is incredibly rewarding. If you’d like to find out more about the Social Mobility Foundation, visit their website, http://www.socialmobility.org.uk/

This is just one of the many volunteering opportunities available to us here at Barclays, and I know others on the FLDP have been involved in a wide range of activities, from organising a charity fashion show to teaching not-for-profit organisations about accounting and finance (read more about that here).

As always, I tweet away @Barclays_Alex about all things tax and not tax. Have a read!

Alex

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Post tags: alex brenig-jones, fldp, mentoring, mentorship, social mobility foundation, tax, volunteering

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I am now over 6 months into my FLDP journey! To give a quick insight into the last month, I had two of my busiest weeks so far where I was responsible for gathering lots of financial information from dozens of Barclays Finance teams around the world, being the main point of contact for queries, tracking the project progress and reporting on this regularly, all to some very strict deadlines! That was then followed by two weeks away from the office, studying for my ACA.

Looking back at how I’ve progressed over my first six months, I’m amazed at how much I have personally developed in everything from my knowledge of finance and tax to my emotional intelligence (if you regularly read these blogs you’ll know the training I mean!). The responsibility I am given on projects is also rapidly growing. This has proven to be very rewarding on days when I can report that everything is ahead of schedule or when I figure out a faster way a process can be done, and challenging on days when my phone is constantly ringing with queries from around the world. Given the global scope of the project, I always know that when I come in every morning plenty of emails will have come in overnight from the likes of Singapore and Tokyo – Tax is very much a global business!

In other news, we recently have had a few graduates on secondment from an accountancy firm join the team for March and April, to help us with our biggest projects of the year. As I was taking them round the office introducing them to everyone in Tax, it felt like a long time ago that I was the one being introduced to everyone, trying to remember all the names!

I’ve also recently got involved in a mentoring scheme, though this time as a mentor. I won’t say anymore just now, but will definitely keep you posted as it should be interesting and very rewarding for me. Hopefully that’s given you a little insight into what’s been keeping me busy lately! As always, I am regularly tweeting away (@Barclays_Alex) and am always happy to answer any queries you have. Alternatively leave a comment below!

Alex

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Post tags: aca, development, fldp, Global, graduate, mentoring, responsibility, tax

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I’ve spent the last few weeks bringing my previous workstreams to a close and have now started in my new placement of Diversity & Inclusion.  My team looks to make Barclays a more diverse and inclusive organisation with respect to several areas: Gender, disability, LGBT, and the multicultural and multigenerational workplace.

An organisation as large as Barclays has an equally broad and diverse customer base.  If this diversity isn’t reflected across our workforce, there’s a real danger we can lose touch with what our customers want and how best to address their needs.  As my line manager says, “Employees are just customers who happen to work here!”

One of the main focuses of Diversity & Inclusion examines gender equality within Barclays, and on March 8^th, the 101^st International Women’s Day was celebrated at our headquarters in London and across Barclays sites worldwide.  Last week I was also fortunate enough to attend the launch of The Female FTSE Board Report 2012, prepared by Cranfield University School of Management and sponsored by Barclays. 

Lord Mervyn Davies and Theresa May, Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality, both spoke passionately about the business case for having a diverse organisation.  Research from several sources shows that companies which have a higher proportion of women on their boards enjoy a greater return on equity and capital.

Within the last year, the number of FTSE 100 companies without female board membership has dropped by more than a third from 18 to 11, a positive step to be sure, but what about the remaining 11?  At the launch Lord Davies made an appeal for this figure to be 0 by the end of 2012, and although just the tip of the iceberg, what a wonderful step forward that would be.

This year’s FTSE report can be viewed here.

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6 months has gone (so incredibly fast) and that means that I have started my 2nd rotation on the FLDP. I thought that I would give you a quick taste of what I have been doing in my first week and let you know how it is all going! I have recently joined the BIS team (Barclays Information Service) which deals with all sorts of requests to provide analysis and MI (Management Information) for projects going on at Barclays. You cannot help but have noticed the exciting launch of Pingit a few weeks ago (and if you haven’t… download it and give it a try – its amazing!!) and my new team is the key player in providing deep analysis and updates to the senior exec about the progress of Pingit and how our customers are using it.

My first week has been really exciting, but also incredibly demanding in many ways. I have joined the team at a time when the pressure is well and truly on due to our prime role in PingIt analysis and MI. I was a ‘fan’ of Pingit before I joined the team and I have loved getting closer into the detail of it – however, I have had to get up to speed with everything very quickly and a couple of late nights to start were to be expected!!

My main role last week was to take ownership of the production of the weekly Pingit analysis pack. This pack gets created, then the contents of the initial pack is discussed and revised at an analytics forum, and then after that it is published to the senior exec. The analytics forum is a great environment to discuss with other people outside of the immediate BIS team and gain perspectives on the analysis which people working closer to the project may not have had. I love the fact that I have joined a fast-paced team with full exposure to cutting-edge technology and the desire to achieve the best results. It was a tough first week to try and get to grips with everything, but as with all new projects, I already feel that when I come to produce next week’s pack that I will have a better understanding of what is required and will be able to do it more efficiently. I am excited to have joined BIS at this exciting time and I am going to try to hit the ground running and to make the most of all the opportunities I get.

I hope that for anyone who has been going through the application process it is going well and please do tweet me (@Barclays_AlexP) if you have any questions or want any advice.

Alex

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Post tags: New Rotation; Pingit

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Today was day one in Strategy. The puppet masters of the organisation were much less scary in person although a day of ‘meet & greet’ is a slightly more intimidating proposition when you are introduced to most of the people that work on that level. Thankfully I have been placed with another long-suffering Ipswich Town FC fan (for the second placement in a row) so we were able to gleefully beam over the convincing win at the weekend. Having someone else in the team who understands the tribulations of following Ipswich will make settling in much easier (and I dare say he will be delighted that somebody else in the team now understands the pain).

As stated, much of the day was ‘meet and greet’ however, in doing so, I was able to gorge myself with a number of conversations on Russian history – most pleasing although not entirely relevant. The team that I have joint have a wide remit which is both an opportunity and an issue: (a) fully understanding the team’s work, role and style is slightly more problematic given the breadth and diversity of it, (b) defining deliverables and applying metrics to my personal performance will be much harder in a fundamentally ‘ideas and influence’ role and (c) choosing what I would like to get involved in is rather troublesome. In truth, this last point is quite a nice problem to have but, having come from a business banking rotation, deciding which of the other areas I would most like to learn about is difficult.

I think I will be plumping for mortgages, at least at first, and examining the current/future propositions in that area. This should bring me up-to-speed with the mortgage strategy (that or the 55,039,235 slide presentation that I’ve been given to read…) and allow me to jump into actually considering strategy sooner rather than later. It’s quite a nice team to join as, simply, I am given my choice of areas to learn about and work in. This is a lovely luxury to have as a graduate and is one of the major benefits of joining a rotational programme. Similarly, being in Strategy seems like a fantastic place to develop a broader knowledge of both the customer offering (e.g. what do we offer our customers) and the direction of the business. This second of these is very interesting from the perspective of developing ‘leadership traits’ and is something that I can hopefully understand a little better during this rotation. Speaking of which, I’d highly recommend the interview with Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, in the current issue of The Economist – really insightful stuff.

I think this will do for the time being. I am going to endeavour to update both my blog and Twitter on a much more regular basis now that I am more ‘settled’ in Barclays. It would be delightful if you, as the reader, could do the following:

1. Subscribe to my blog
2. Like my blog – this would be a lovely (albeit non-compulsory) gesture
3. Post comments / questions / requests for blog topics (or similar)
4. Let me know what you like / dislike – this content is for your benefit after all!
5. Follow me on Twitter @barclays_CD – I’m a newbie Tweeter so it would be wonderful if you could help me increase my following
6. Check out the other Hub blogs and posts 

Super. 

xx.

© charliedonnelly for Barclays Future Leaders Development Programme, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: consumer requests, fldp, Leadership, rotations, strategy

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On Boxing Day 1950, then schoolboy Johnny Haynes made his Fulham debut, but who was the match against?

 Post your answer as a comment below (not forgetting to register with your email address!) or send a tweet to @barclaysgrads with your answer adding the hashtag #PremierGrads. You can also enter via our Facebook page here. A winner will be selected at random from all the entries received by Monday 27 February. Good luck!

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Post tags: barclays premiership, competition, football, fulham, tickets, wolverhampton wanderers, wolves

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The last few weeks have been great. I’ve really enjoyed combining my role in Product & Proposition with Acquisition. Its great to see both the development of products and services and the process to sell these to our customers. I’ve been progressing work on a number of fronts which means long hours but also the sense of achievement when a project is delivered. Last week I delivered Support Packs to our Senior Barclays Business Managers after weeks of data and support pack development. I presented to a team of Senior Barclays Business Managers on Friday and the data went down great. I’m now looking forward to hearing about some great stories of how this data has helped us help more customers.

With under two weeks left of my current rotation I’m working hard to ensure all is delivered and passed over to another member of the team. It’s been such a steep learning curve in my first placement and one I’ve greatly enjoyed. I’m looking forward to moving into my new role in Barclays Retail Bank in Voice of Customer.

Over the next couple of weeks I am involved with a number of Charity initiatives. On Friday I will be competing in a Table Football Competition to raise money for Canine Partners whilst next week I will be participating in a mixed Netball competition. I’ve never played Netball before so I have no idea what to expect – however funds raised will be going to the Accounting for Africa Charity another great cause!

My next blog will be after starting my new role so check back to see how my next role goes.

Cheers

Mike

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Post tags: Accounting for Africa, barclaycard, Barclays Retail Bank, Canine Partners, Charity, michael nevins, ukrbb

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• The first thing to note, although it may be a bit cliché, is that it has gone SO quickly! It only seems like a few weeks ago that we all met up in 1CP for the first time and then headed off to Sandhurst for our induction training. But since then I have been on the steepest of learning curves and have taken in so much information! I have been introduced to scores of people at Barclaycard and made a great start building a network that should help support me in the future, even if I don’t end up working in the same department again. Make sure you take some time to take a step back and realise what you are doing and be proud of it.
• I have learned a great deal about time management and about prioritising work to make sure that the most important work (for the most senior stakeholders) gets done first. This is essential in a busy job like this as there will always be multiple things on the go and it is really important to remain on track with everything you need to deliver. This goes hand-in-hand with how important computer organisation is; File every document away with a logical name in a logical folder, read and prioritise your emails so you’re not caught out and on that note – reply to your emails. Don’t be one of those people who is notorious for not replying!
• Take time to reflect on your personal and work achievements, as well as the things that haven’t gone so well. Writing a blog for the FLDP has helped me to facilitate this relatively easily as I constantly think back about the previous week to analyse in my head how it has gone. But it is even more powerful to get something down in writing so that in 12 months’ time when I look back, I can see how things have changed and can use what I learned at the time to help inform my future decisions.
• Grab every opportunity to gain new experiences whilst you can. Being on the FLDP is a great reason for asking to sit in on a meeting that you might not otherwise be invited to, or work with senior leaders who want to help in your development. Approach the senior people and most of the time they will be more than happy to sit and chat with you. Listen to everything that they have to say and learn from them. Being in a senior position does not mean that every single thing they you will agree with, but you can certainly learn from it.

These are just a few things that I have thought of, but I can honestly say that these last 6 months have been an amazing experience. I have enjoyed all of the challenges, the training, the work, the new experiences, the long days, the short days, the citizenship work and the new colleagues and friends I have made.

I cannot wait to move on to my next rotation to start something completely new, but it is also sad that I have to leave my team that I love working with… Bring on rotation 2!!

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Post tags: alex philip, barclaycard, reflection, summary

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Helping others has been the most satisfying aspect of my career here so far. In reviewing my first placement I have benchmarked any projects/work against the question: will this help make lives better?

This is a simple yet powerful question to refer to and has helped shape my first five months at Barclays. It got me thinking about personal development and self-awareness. In reflection, I can now see that I have worked on projects that have allowed me to display and develop skills and characteristics that I felt I needed to improve upon. Whilst on the Future Leaders Development Programme (FLDP), there is always a pressure to succeed; this may come from the FLDP team (who have invested so much time, effort and resources into the cohort), from your Line Manager and team or from yourself (or a collective of the above). For most readers, this will apply to the selection process or to new joiners, if the latter, then substitute ‘first placement’ for ‘Assessment Centre’ below.

The best thing you could possibly do during the Assessment Centre is seize the moment – you are unlikely to have this chance twice. Where appropriate be commercial and apply this knowledge, manage your personal presence, impact and relationships, structure answers and be concise. Quality over quantity and emotional intelligence with cognitive intelligence are impressive characteristics. Be imaginative, be bold and be yourself (this is the most important of all for me).

When at work, it is sometimes difficult to balance the amount of time invested in your task orientated work versus your development, learning and reflection. Being able to step back, think and change has been something that I have had to do repeatedly during this placement. Thankfully, this thinking has allowed me to create and imagine new solutions or perspectives that have helped enrich the depth and quality of my work. I’m probably over-critical of myself at times (it’s a Virgo thing) but I think that you have to be prepared to do this in order to succeed; this likely applies to elsewhere as well as Barclays. During the selection process, it is never too late to change and improve. Being aware and self-critical during this process will reflect well upon you and will help you make the most of the opportunity presented to you.

From the perspective of a candidate or soon-to-be colleague, there are a number of things that could probably be read into the above. Personally speaking, I think the following are worth noting:

• Do I know my weaknesses and am I prepared to explore them?

The absence of application in developing areas where you are not quite so strong will strangle your development. I found this something that was hard to take but acceptance of this has helped me inordinately. My new found love affair with Excel is evidence of the degree to which flexibility and commitment to learning can broaden your prospects in the workplace. Thanks to this, I’m now seeing projects that I have worked on and driven come to life – these are helping both customers and colleagues. The pleasure in receiving feedback from frontline staff that your idea/project is enriching their’s and their customers’ experience is amazing. Better than any praise one may receive is the knowledge that your ideas and initiatives are making a positive difference.

• Next up, does this fit with my values?

I am not prepared to work on a project if it does not fit or conflicts with my values. Unless you are prepared to compromise on those ideas and beliefs that form such a part of your psyche, you would also find it hard to support a project that you do not believe in. This leads into a wider (and more valuable, less stream of consciousness) point: simply doing the work because it is there and needs doing is not enough, you need to engage with it, believe in it and drive it. This boldness will add such value to your work that it would be very difficult to deliver in its absence.

• Finally, where will this take me?

Future sight is important in selecting and driving work today. A knowledge of the needs of small business in the East of the UK is little good if you do not deliver on these needs with a view to their needs tomorrow. For a candidate or new joiner, I think this translates into ‘where will this career take me, where do I want to go and why do I want to go there?’ By considering (not necessarily answering) these questions you will better prepare yourself for the changes you will experience in your expectations, experiences and ideas. By having an idea of the future, be it a dream or a goal, you will instinctively steer your current self along currents of value.

Self-awareness is one of the key requirements to succeed in any organisation and, by knowing yourself, your goals and your direction, hopefully you will be able to lay strong foundations for your future, whatever and wherever it may be.

Also, finally, check out the recent videos on the Hub giving you an insight into the selection process from the perspective of the assessors – this is a really useful resource!

Ciao,

Charlie

© charliedonnelly for Barclays Future Leaders Development Programme, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: assessment centre, charlie donnelly, excel, fldp, learns

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Which year did Stoke City win their first (and only) major trophy?

Post your answer as a comment below (not forgetting to register with your email address!) or send a tweet to @barclaysgrads with your answer adding the hashtag #PremierGrads. You can also enter via our Facebook page here. A winner will be selected at random from all the entries received by Sunday 19 February. Good luck!

© barclaysgraduates for Barclays Future Leaders Development Programme, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: barclays premiership, competition, football, stoke city, swansea, tickets

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