Sarah Coyne

Transcript

Why did you decide to do an internship with Barclays Wealth?

I did my internship with Lehman, but what attracted me to Barclays Wealth was the open architecture platform. It was senior management and how committed they were to building more junior resources on the team. I also really liked the fact that you were responsible for building a business and for getting clients, but you did it within the context of a team. It meant you had a lot of help and I thought that would be best for me, because at the end of the day, that’s what’s best for your clients.

Can you describe what your internship entailed?

We spent the first couple of weeks mostly in training. Really learning about the platform, learning about the organization, learning about what it takes to be successful in this business. And then, as the internship progressed, we spent less time in training and more time on the floor with teams either doing research projects or going to clients meetings. I listened in on phone calls and, towards the end of the program, we actually did a lot more deliverables – we had a big presentation we needed to do for a mock client family. We also had a number of other research presentations that we had to deliver on.

What support and training did you receive?

The training was very focused on different areas of the firm, as well as different areas of the market. We had a number of people come and speak to us from different areas of Barclays, so you got a very good sense of drilling down into the firm, different areas and how they’re useful to you if you come back full-time, and where you fit in that organization. And then we got a lot of training on the different markets, what our views are as a firm on where the markets are going, and who we would look-to to answer those questions for us once we’re on the floor.

What qualities do you need to be a successful Summer Sales Associate?

You really need to be outgoing, you need to make sure you ask a lot of questions, you really need to be engaged, thoughtful, and to think about what you’re learning. But you also need to make sure that this is the right spot for you. It’s a tough business, if you’re not in the right position and in the right organization, then it’s going to be a lot more difficult for you than if you’ve picked the right place.

How would you describe the experience of working at Barclays Wealth?

As an intern, you really want to get the job if you like the firm, which I did. So, I would try to make sure I was the first one there in the morning and that I worked really hard. I wanted to be there at night, because I didn’t want to miss anything.

I really wanted to make sure I was doing a good job for my team, that I was learning everything in class and also doing a good job on my own projects. So it’s very busy, but it’s definitely a lot of fun and you’re networking throughout the organization. You have a lot of help in the sense that you have teams, senior mentors and peer mentors. Really anyone in the organization is accessible to you, so you can reach out or go to meetings if you have questions or you just want to get a better sense of how things work for different teams.

Why come to Barclays Wealth for your summer?

I think wherever you go you’re going to get a lot of training, but here you really get to spend a significant amount of time on the floor and working with different teams.  From what I’ve heard from people who’ve spent their summers at other firms, that’s not always necessarily the case.  And in this job, once you’re full-time, you’re on the desk and you need to build your business. So I think it’s very important you get to spend enough time on the floor to really understand what people do on a day-to-day basis, and you’ll get that here. If you’re focused and you’re excited about the markets and you’re excited about working with families, it’s the best place to be.

Why did you decide to return to Barclays Wealth full-time?

The reason I decided to join Barclays Wealth full-time was the opportunity that we have as a firm, the opportunity that I would have as a junior person in that firm to really make a difference, and the access to senior management. I think that’s extremely compelling and, at the end of the day, if I have a large client, the head of the office will come to a meeting with me, no question.

It really is your own business. So you develop your own clients, you figure out what your business is going to look like. Once you’ve built a business, you really have a tremendous amount of flexibility. I have a family so it was very important having the flexibility to be my own boss – and also in the sense that if you do well for your clients, there isn’t really a cap on what you’re going to make.



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