🎯 Nilay's Barclays Summer Internship Interview Experience (Pune Office)

📌 Introduction

I am from PICT Pune, and in September 2024, I had the opportunity to interview for a Summer Internship at Barclays, Pune. The process was challenging yet exciting. Here's a detailed breakdown of my experience! 🚀

Resources at the end

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📝 Direct Interview

I got in through Barclays Hack-o-Hire 2024 🔗 LINK, their yearly hackathon for second-year and third-year students. My team and I ranked in the top 25 among 1250+ teams, which resulted in us getting a direct interview without an online assessment (OA).

This was a great advantage as I didn't have to compete with hundreds of candidates for an interview via OA. I received an early confirmation (2 months prior) that I would get a direct interview, giving me a head start to solely focus on interview preparation. 🎯

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🏆 Round 1: Technical Interview

• Mode: Offline
• Duration: ~20 mins
• Interviewer: VP @ Barclays 🔗 Mr. Pradeep Tripathi

I was prepared to talk extensively about my projects, experience at Hack-o-Hire, and core CS subjects (OOP, DSA, DBMS, OS, CNS), along with LeetCode-style questions if needed. However, since it was early in the day and due to Mr. Pradeep’s friendly nature, the interview felt more like a tech enthusiast café conversation than a formal interview. No DSA or SQL questions were asked, which is fairly uncommon for tech interviews.

For 20 minutes, we only discussed emerging tech, interesting technical details, and my interest in Barclays. I didn’t perceive the talking points as questions—it felt like a nuanced discussion instead. ✨

📌 Talking Points:

1. Our Educational Backgrounds 🎓

   • I started the interview by greeting him by his first name, which is part of Barclays’ culture (Sir is highly discouraged). I had noted his name during the pre-placement talk that morning, which earned me instant brownie points. I had also checked his LinkedIn profile for additional talking points.
   • After introducing myself and summarizing my last two years at PICT Pune, I directly asked him about his education, which he was very interested in discussing.

2. My Experience at Hack-o-Hire 🚀

   • Since I had thought extensively about this beforehand, I provided a genuine perspective rather than blind praise. This elevated my human element in the conversation.
   • He then asked, Would you like to join Barclays?—within just 5 minutes! This made me feel like I couldn’t fail, even if I deliberately tried. Everything after this was just talking.

3. My Projects and His Projects 🔍

   • I discussed my projects, and after some elementary questioning, I flipped the conversation by asking about his career projects.
   • Since I had researched his LinkedIn and knew about his documented projects, I was able to engage in an insightful discussion.

4. AI and Modern Software Development 🤖

   • We discussed how AI is transforming software engineering.
   • He had started with IBM mainframes and limited internet access, whereas I code using LLMs without lifting a finger—a generational shift we both found fascinating.

5. Finding the Maximum Integer in a List 🔢

   • He gave me this super simple coding question, possibly just to keep the interview formal. We both knew that technical interviews are about coding, so he lowballed the question.

✅ Cleared this round and moved to the final interview! 🚀

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🔥 Round 2: HR + Core Tech 👾

• Mode: offline
• Duration: ~1 Hr 30 mins
• Interviewer: VP @ Barclays Mr. Shashank

📌 Discussion Points:

• Introduction & Hometown 🌍

  • This turned into an extended discussion about both of our hometowns.

• Project Discussion 💻

  • Whatever you mention in your resume is your question sheet—nothing outside of it will be asked.
  • My Kafka experience was tested with tricky questions about producers, consumers, and consumer groups.
  • I was also asked to draw a data pipeline involving Kafka and load balancers (it’s a blur now ).

• Java 🏗️

  • Barclays is a major Java shop, so Java knowledge is highly valued.
  • My interview revolved around OOP concepts and low-level system design (essentially, designing classes and structuring them using OOP).

• Behavioral Questions 🤝

  • I was given zero-sum game scenarios, where there was no clear solution benefiting both parties.
  • The goal wasn’t to solve the problem, but to explain my approach using corporate thinking.
  • Some questions included:
    • A time when I worked in a team and resolved a conflict.
    • A situation where I couldn't get things my way—how did I handle it?
  • These questions are designed to simulate stressful situations, so it’s important to stay calm and composed.

✅ This was a smooth discussion, mainly assessing my core tech skills, communication, confidence, and cultural fit.

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🎉 Final Outcome: Selected! ✅

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📢 Key Takeaways:

1. Look out for Hackathons 🔍 (most companies have a yearly hackathon nowadays).
2. Be on top of tech trends 🚀 (system design, AI, changing paradigms, etc.).
3. Read technical books 📚 (to have sound technical conversations).
4. Revise your projects & work experience 🏗️ (be prepared to explain them in depth).
5. Prepare for behavioral questions 🗣️ (the STAR method helps structure answers).
6. Be confident & communicate well 💪 (clearly explain your thought process).

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💌 Special Thanks:

1. Shreya Hiwarkar 💙 (who told me about Hack-o-Hire weeks before others).
2. My Team @ Hack-o-Hire 🫂
   • Ketan Bajaj
   • Aditya Uttarwar
   • Soham Deshpande

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🚀 Final Words

I hope this helps anyone preparing for a Barclays internship interview! Best of luck! 🍀🔥

Resources:

1. My Resume
2. Hack-o-Hire PPT
3. Hack-o-Hire Post on LinkedIn