Investment Banking Summer Analyst

Being from a core school, Barlcays held recruiting events throughout the fall on my campus. I attended these events, speaking to people from Barclays to get a sense of what differentiated the firm (i.e. what they might like to hear in an interview). Outside of that, I did little in the way of communicating with the firm. This was unusual, but I heard that the firm was going to select the 24 students they wanted to interview based on research with professors. Therefore, I chose to spend my time focusing on school work and networking with well-connected professors. This worked out. I had one 30 minute interview on a Friday with a Director from a product group. Then, I was offered a chance to come back for the second round, along with about half of the other candidates who received first-round interviews, via a call from my campus recruiter. Then, I was invited back for a second round, which consisted of two 30-minute interviews with two other directors from the investment bank. I received an offer via a phone call that night from the final director who had interviewed me.