Barclays visited my college for summer internship ( BA3 intern role ) in third week of November 2021.

Round 1(Online Test):
First there was a MCQ+coding round. In which there were 30 MCQ questions. MCQs were focused on Java and servlets. MCQs were based on following topics.

• Java
• C++
• Python
• Servlet
• SQL
• MongoDB
• OOP

Then there were 2 DSA questions. I would say leetcode medium level. Test was conducted on Hackerearth. Unlike other companies visited before, Barclays MCQ has a very good weightage.

46 people were shortlisted after this round.
Then there was a Technical+HR interview.

Round 2(Interview): My interview was on 19th November, Time: around 45 min.

Interviewer was a friendly person. Interview was held online on Cisco Webex. In Barclays interviewer is generally one of their VPs.

following questions were asked to me

• Tell about yourself in brief
• Tell me about hackathon you won and that project
• Tell me about any of your team project
• Explain that project further
• How you maintained security of project?
• Few counter questions on project

Then he turned to behavioural questions

• Tell me about situation when you were instructed to strictly follow the rules
• Tell me about situation when you have difference of opinion with colleague
• Tell me about your mistake from which you learnt
• How you build connections with people, How do you feel while talking to a stranger for first time?
• Have you done any extra work beyond what is expected to be done?
• Do you have any questions for me? ( I did asked 2 questions here to him, for which I had already researched about the company on internet )

after this interview 13 people were selected. I was one of them:)

My tips:

• Practice DSA questions on gfg and leetcode
• After a point you get stuck in DSA, mostly after arrays and strings ( Dw, happens with everyone and with me too ). So I started learning from this great playlist on DP by Aditya Verma . also I used to search topic wise videos on Youtube and watch one with most views or likes. You can also watch this MIT Introduction to Algorithms Playlist to form understanding. However practicing on leetcode and gfg is also equally important as learning new topics( or actually slightly more important I would say ).
• I asked seniors who have been placed or have done internship in that specific company. They were really helpful. My other friends who were selected as summer interns at Credit Suisse, Deutsche bank and UBS also guided me very well about interview process.
• You can try a mock interview with one of your friend that also works great.
• Know your projects well so if interview went in that direction you can speak about your project and explain it.
• Have strong CS fundamentals. DSA, OOP, DBMS ( important for banks and fintech ), CN, OS. Though in my interview I was not asked anything on CS fundamentals. It depends on interviewer. Check out InterviewPrepResources and PlacementPrepGuide for Quick revision. Also Javatpoint is a blessing to CSE students to learn topics in short amount of time for interview prep. Just search topic name and javatpoint on google.
• It is important to talk and have a human conversation with interviewer. They are friendly to candidates. And have confidence that you are a good candidate. If you yourself believe in your abilities then you will prove it to interviewer very well.
• For Barclays read their RISES values. These are mentioned on their website.
• Be thorough with your resume.
• Read geeksforgeeks archive related to the company.
• Be confident in an interview.
• Here you have to sell yourself so don't be shy to talk about your good work and achievements. I think it would be a plus if you could show them one of their values in your behavioural Question-Answers ( Not mandatory but good to have if it comes spontaneously ).
• It is important to ask a good question at the end to the interviewer. That shows your interest in company.
• Be prepared for “tell me about yourself” as first impression matters.
• Last but one of the most important tip would be, have patience, before Barclays I didn't cleared first round (Coding round) of 3-4 companies in a row but I still had confidence in myself and that is why I think I could explain it well to interviewer. So have confidence. I know this can be hectic period for you, but focus on preparing rather than worrying coz worrying does not make any difference but working does. I too tried to do that. Give your 100%.

All The Best!

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