Barclays — Technology Developer Intern | Interview & Internship Journey

I’m sharing my journey with Barclays, from the recruitment process to my two-month internship with the Network Automation & Tools team within GTIS (Group Technology Infrastructure Services).

The journey started with the Online Assessment in August 2025 and eventually led to an internship at Barclays in June 2026, where I got the opportunity to work on real-world projects and gain valuable industry experience.

🏢 1. Company and Role

• Company: Barclays

• Role: Technology Developer Intern

• Internship Duration: 15 June 2026 – 7 August 2026

• Team: Network Automation & Tools, GTIS (Group Technology Infrastructure Services)

📝 2. Recruitment Process

The recruitment process consisted of an Online Assessment followed by two interview rounds.

📅 Timeline

• 💻 Online Assessment: 9 August 2025

• 🎤 Interviews: 25 August 2025

• 🚀 Internship: 15 June 2026 – 7 August 2026

The overall process was:

Online Assessment → Technical + Behavioral Interview → Technical Interview → Internship

The exact structure of the interview rounds may vary between candidates, depending on the interview panel and the direction of the discussion. Both rounds can include technical and/or behavioral discussions.

💻 3. Online Assessment

📅 Date: 9 August 2025

The Online Assessment was conducted on HackerEarth and consisted of:

• 20 MCQs

• 5 SQL Questions

The assessment covered a fairly broad range of Computer Science fundamentals.

📚 MCQ Topics

The MCQs covered the following areas:

🔹 Programming & Language Fundamentals

• C/C++ data types

• Strings

• Java

• Inner classes

• Pseudocode

• Output-based questions

🔹 Object-Oriented Programming

• OOP concepts

• Inheritance

• Abstract classes

• Interfaces

🔹 Programming Concepts

• Bit manipulation

• Bitwise operations

🔹 Database Management

• DBMS concepts

🗄️ SQL Section

The SQL section consisted of 5 queries and was relatively straightforward.

The questions mainly involved:

• JOIN operations

• Subqueries

The SQL questions were not particularly difficult, but understanding the requirement and constructing the query could take some time.

Overall, the OA tested a wide range of fundamentals rather than focusing on a single subject.

🎤 4. Interview Experience

My interviews were conducted on 25 August 2025.

I had two rounds:

• Round 1: Technical + Behavioral — approximately 1 hour

• Round 2: Technical — approximately 40 minutes

The interviews were largely centered around my resume, projects, and core Computer Science fundamentals.

🧩 Round 1 — Technical + Behavioral

⏱️ Duration: Approximately 1 hour

The first round started with a discussion around my resume and projects.

I was asked to explain my projects in detail, followed by questions related to the technologies and concepts involved.

The technical discussion covered:

1️⃣ Projects & Resume

• Detailed discussion of projects

• Technical implementation

• Questions based on the technologies mentioned in the resume

2️⃣ OOP — Object-Oriented Programming

• OOP concepts

• Understanding of object-oriented principles

3️⃣ GitHub

• Questions related to GitHub

• Discussion around repositories, development practices, and merge conflicts.

4️⃣ 🌐 Computer Networks

• OSI Reference Model

• Networking concepts

5️⃣ 🔐 Computer Networks & Security

• Fundamentals of networking and security

The round also had a behavioral component, making it a combination of technical discussion and conversation around my background and experiences.

🧠 5. Round 2 — Technical Interview

⏱️ Duration: Approximately 40 minutes

The second round was primarily technical.

It again began with questions about my projects, followed by questions from different areas of Computer Science.

1️⃣ Projects

• Detailed discussion of projects mentioned on my resume

• Technical decisions and implementation details

2️⃣ 🗄️ DBMS

• Procedures

• Cursors

• DELETE vs TRUNCATE

3️⃣ ⚙️ Operating Systems

• Paging

• Address translation

4️⃣ 💾 SQL

• SQL query-writing questions

5️⃣ 📊 DSA & Complexity

• Time complexity analysis

The discussion moved between topics depending on my answers, rather than following a fixed set of questions.

I don't remember the exact questions that were asked, but the interview broadly covered projects, DBMS, Operating Systems, SQL, and problem-solving fundamentals.

🏁 6. Joining Barclays

After completing the recruitment process, I eventually joined Barclays for my internship on 15 June 2026.

Starting the internship was a very different experience from preparing for an interview.

Until then, most of my technical learning had happened through college courses, projects, assignments and personal learning. The internship gave me an opportunity to see how those concepts fit into an actual enterprise environment.

I was part of the Network Automation & Tools team within GTIS.

🌐 7. My Internship Experience

One of the main highlights of my internship was getting the opportunity to work on DNS automation.

Before starting the internship, my understanding of networking was primarily from an academic perspective. Working with DNS in an enterprise environment gave me a completely different perspective on how something as fundamental as DNS is managed in a large organization.

The work involved much more than simply writing code.

I got the opportunity to understand the existing problem, explore different approaches, discuss possible solutions, and contribute to a real-world automation solution.

This was one of the most valuable parts of the internship because it helped me understand how engineering problems are approached in a professional environment.

🤝 8. Working with the Team

Beyond the technical work, one of the most memorable parts of the internship was the people I worked with.

Being surrounded by experienced professionals gave me an opportunity to observe how teams collaborate, discuss technical problems, review ideas and approach challenges.

The supportive environment made it easier to ask questions, learn from others and gradually become more comfortable working in a professional setting.

It also helped me understand that engineering isn't just about writing code. Communication, collaboration, understanding the problem and taking ownership are equally important parts of the work.

🌱 9. From College to the Corporate World

The biggest takeaway from the internship was experiencing the transition from college to the corporate environment.

In college, we are often given a clearly defined problem and expected to build a solution.

In a professional environment, understanding the problem itself can be a significant part of the work.

The internship gave me an opportunity to experience that difference firsthand — understanding context, exploring possible approaches, discussing ideas with teammates, implementing solutions and learning through feedback.

It pushed me outside my comfort zone and gave me a much clearer perspective on what it means to contribute as an engineer in the real world.

🎯 10. Final Outcome

My internship at Barclays concluded on 7 August 2026. It was an incredibly rewarding and memorable experience.

After completing my internship, I was fortunate to receive a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) from Barclays. 🎉🚀