Barclays GRCB Technology

I asked a friend of mine for you after seeing your post. She did the GRCB program and now works in Barclays Wealth (technology). Mind you, she did her interview in 2007. Although I doubt it would have changed much (except the questions for the group exercise). Also for scenario based questions.... I think she's refering to Competency Based Questions. This is what she wrote:

[quote="Chucky's Friend"]

Assuming things are still the same the assessment centre for Barclays GRCB Tech is split into two half days. You do three activities in the day. The group of people there for the assessment are split into two pieces where one will do a set of activities in a certain order and the others will do them in a different order in a rotational kind of way. This enables the people conducting the interviews/exercises to deal with everyone.

For the first assessment centre I had:

A face to face interview
A group exercise
(I don't remember what I had for the third activity...I'm completely blank so I'm wondering whether we had a third activity this day...not sure)

For the second assessment centre I had:

A face to face interview
A group exercise
Individual presentation

The face to face interviews for both days weren't very different, just conducted by different people and I was asked more of the same questions. The questions are mostly scenario based so practicing scenario based questions really helped me prepare. Also I would have a quick research of Barclays current affairs and products as one of the questions I was asked was the last Barclays product I had seen or heard of and I went blank.

The group exercise on the first day was where we got two products, both bank accounts and we had to analyse them together and then promote them to the people monitoring us. Then we had to make a decision on which one we would choose and why it was a better option and present our ideas. For the second group exercise we were each assigned a country that Barclays could potentially open a market in. We had to promote our country and why Barclays should move into it to the other group members and then reach a consensus decision on which country Barclays should choose to move into and why.

The individual presentation was where you were left in a room for about 20 minutes and had to make up a presentation on: I was given the task to present about a project that I had taken part in. I could use anything in the room at my disposal. The guy then came in afterwards and heard my 10 minute presentation and then he asked me questions for 5 minutes.

That's about it :P

[/quote]

Hi chucky,

Thank you so much for your post! I I didn't get back to this thread for a while. I am having this assessment day in less than a week. However, all they told me is a whole day with individual activities. Could you please confirm with your mate that all the above 6 activities (in 2 half days) were in 1 day ? If that's the case it would be very stressful !

Thank you very much !

The first assessment centre was her first round interview which was held on one day.

The second round assessment interview was held on a second seperate day so yes two seperate days. They would never make you do two group exercises in one day. Even the IBS aren't that mean so I doubt would go so far. What did you first round consist of? Or are you having that now?

Thanks for that chucky,

I think they changed it this year. I had the online tests then the first round interview via telephone and the last one will be the assessment day. They say this is the final assessment. It is different from BarCap tho, BarCap has 2 assessment days.

I will call them on Monday for more info of the the day, tho I really doubt I would get anything more than "a mix of group and individual exercises"

Will keep you guys updated.

She applied to Barclays GRCB.

I have a phone interview for Barclays GRCB - Technology in a couple of days. Can you please let me know what to expect?
Thanks

Guys, I finally had the offer. It was pretty quick, less than a day since I finished my assessment day.

Teckky, check your pm.

petpig.. I might be heading to an assessment centre as well soon. Any info you can offer would be greatly appreciated - I sent you a pm as well.. Thanks in advance!

petpig congratulations on your offer. I have an assessment centre in a week and wanted to know a bit about it. Please share the details with me so that I am mentally prepared what to expect.

hey petpig Congratulations,

Please could you share what kind of interviews you went through for the assessment centre.
It would be great to know the kind of technical/individual interviews that take place.

Any one could enlighten us with his experience with the Baclays GRCB AC for Technology? Did I one had a technical interview? if so, what was it about?

Thanks guys.

what does AC stand for ? I had an interview lately with Barclays GRCB Technology ( Graduate Program). If this is the same one that you are talking about, it was more of a chit chat rather than an interview. When I arrived there I was told that first we will have business interview and we were all surprised because we had no idea what business interview would be. But again like I said it was more of a chit chat. The lady was really nice. She asked me few questions on my CV and then she generally inquired for my comments on few things. it lasted for like 35 minutes or so. So again there was nothing technical about the interview.

Hello Teckky

I have a telephone interview for Technology graduate scheme - Barclays GRCB. Would you please tell me what to expect?

Try practicing a few competency based questions. Google this and you would find loads of questions on it. Try to prepare examples of each. I remember i was asked ten competency questions and had to give different examples or scenario everytime. Also browse a bit through Barclays GRB division and know a bit more about what the program is. I hope this helps

Does anyone know what sort of salary/benefits to expect from the Barclays Technology Graduate scheme?

Hello people, any Barclays Technology (GRCB) assessment day coming up in near future?

Hello

Having recently received an offer from Barclays, I am writing my assessment centre experience.

The first exercise was aptitude test. First was numerical test; quite easy. However, I must say the calculator provided was very small and handling it was difficult. Second was fast track problem solving. I didn't do well but in hindsight, I think it's ok. We were provided with five sets of cards. Each set had a pattern. We had to identify the pattern and fill in the answers. Both these tests would go for about 1.30 hrs.

After this was lunch. That was not part of the assessment and you can chat with current graduates. My advice is that just feel free and ask questions. I do think we were assessed on relationship building.

Following this was the business line interview. I was a bit apprehensive about this because it was mentioned as technical interview in the email I received. However, all I was asked was what I mentioned in my CV. So, just relax and make sure u know everything in your CV. It was more of a relaxed discussion rather than a formal interview. But, make sure u have some points about commercial awareness and how it is affecting the department u r applying for. My interview lasted for about 1.15 hrs.

After a short break, we had group discussion.
There were three products. We had to decide which product to market, and identify the strengths, weaknesses of the chosen product. We were provided with an A4 sheet with bullet points about all three products. Also, a booklet with a few emails. We had 5 min to read, about 30 min to discuss, and 5 min to present. My advice is just quickly go through the A4 sheet product description marking strengths and weaknesses. If you have time, read the first page in the booklet. Otherwise, go to the emails in the next pages. Those emails contain some valuable criteria for deciding the right product.

While discussing, be calm and collected and make it a discussion rather than arguing. Don't overtalk. In my group, there were three persons who kept on talking and arguing. If this happens to u, try to get into the discussion, slow down the pace, and try to drive the team towards deciding a solution. Keep the last five min to write ur points on the clipboard provided and allocate tasks for the presentation.

While presenting, try to be precise and communicate clearly. Make sure the assessors get your point even if you talk fast. Only 3 of us were able to talk as we ran out of time. So, try to finish it within the stipulated time.

Try practicing a few competency based questions. Google this and you would find loads of questions on it. Try to prepare examples of each. I remember i was asked ten competency questions and had to give different examples or scenario everytime. Also browse a bit through Barclays GRB division and know a bit more about what the program is. I hope this helps

Andrew,

Hi,
Recently I've applied for a job in barclays grcb(technical). Can u tell me what is the criteria for getting short listed for interview. Please check out my Resume . I've taken part in tons of programming competitions and won many of them . Will that help me in any way? . Let me know.

Hi everyone.

I have an AC for the Barclays GRCB Technology programme coming up. Just wanted some advice really. Anyone had the AC this year who can provide an insight into the competency interview and group exercise. There's a lot of great advice above, but the group exercise's covered above don't really have an element of technology in them.

Just need to know what to expect.

Thanks a lot!

Hi petpig

Hope this message is not disturbing your holiday before start off. But I would really appreciate that you could also describe what the AC is like?

I spent years extra in university for PhD and now found that my Head really suffers from Permanent Damage.

I will have a AC for Technology GRB Barclays as well soon.

Thank you!

Thanks SSK for sharing. Is your role also in Technology, GRB, Barclays?

Anyone else got an AC for this role? As far as I know they've already done the last one. I got an offer for this after my AC - thanks to all the contributors to the thread. Will post a detailed overview of my day next week sometime.

Congratulations Logik. It would be very interesting to see what you will say about the day. Thanks millions!

Whens your A/C? (PM me if you don't want to say on here)

The following is a thorough breakdown of the Barclays Technology assessment centre day. Hope it helps.

Barclays GRCB Technology Assessment Centre

Location: Knutsford, Cheshire (UK)

Duration: 1 day, around ~10am – ~4pm

Structure: 3 activities, 7 tasks

You day will start at around 10:30 and it’s likely that you’ll be asked to travel up to the Barclays facility in Knutsford. You’ll be briefly greeted and probably meet the other candidates in the waiting area.

Activity 1: Tests – Numerical & Logical.

You'll be asked to sit a numerical and logical test, similar to the one you sat online. The numerical test is relatively easy and you're against the clock more than you are the difficulty of the test itself. You're provided with all the material you'll need – pen(cil)/rubber/calc/notepad/answer sheet/booklet, so you need not bring any additional tools with you on the day. You won't be allowed to use them either way. The test comprises of 20 questions and you have 20 minutes in which to do the paper.

After the numerical you'll do a logical test. You can't really prepare for this and you probably won't have seen anything like it before. You're given 7 questions problems to solve, and have 35 minutes in which to solve them. Each problem is a set of cards with information on them and each question has about 20 cards that you have to analyse. You need to spot trends/patterns on the card and fill in the missing gap on a few of the cards. Work quickly for this as you'll be surprised how quickly the time goes.

You probably won't finish either of the above in time, if you get half way through each then you've done quite well so don't worry. If you do finish then even better! You'll do a practice for each of the tests before the real thing so don't worry.

Lunch (around midday): You're provided with drinks and sandwiches. Senior employees and recent graduates at Barclays will also come down to meet you and chat – get involved! It's not assessed but it's a good opportunity to meet people. I spoke to a few managers and really got along with them. I even met my interviewer and really liked what he had to say about the organisation, so it's worth mingling all you can to pick up on small tips. The people are all interesting and fun to be around. Lunch is short lasting approximately half an hour. Make sure you eat something as well as you won't see any more food until 4pm.

After lunch you'll wait for a short while whilst your interviewers prepare themselves for the interviews.

Activity 2: Interview – Competency, Technical, Business Awareness

You'll be introduced to the business line and the interviewers line of work – listen carefully and be attentive as you don't want to later ask a stupid question that they've clearly talked about already. The 3 interviews will be done by the same person, and you might or might not notice when it changes from one to another as it flows in a nice way from one to the other. This process will last about 60-90 minutes in total depending on whether you're a no hoper to whether you're a good candidate.
You'll be asked for examples of teamwork, leadership, motivation, and the other usual topics for the competency interview.

The technical interview will require you to just talk through what you can do in technical terms, and perhaps provide an example or two about what you've done. If you say something don't be surprised if your interviewer starts digging and asks you a (technical) question. They're not stupid and will probably know what you're talking about, even if you don't!

The business interview will test your commercial awareness – so make sure you know what's happening with Barclays and identify a trend or two that you're comfortable to talk about and be questioned on. I found the business interview to be fun and interesting as it was more of a two way process.

After the interview I found myself having a chat about banking technology and the like. It was on an informal basis and quite relaxing. They're not there to grill you, just to learn more about you – it's a two way process so just relax and enjoy it.

Activity 3: Group Exercise – Problem Analysis and Discussion, Presentation

The third activity will take place after everyone has had their interviews. You'll be given three products to analyse and you'll need to decide as a group which to put to market. There'll be additional information that you need to consider, such as client needs and specifications – this should be considered when deciding on the product. You have 5 minutes to read the brief, ~8 pages.

After reading the brief you'll have 20 minutes to decide on a product and prepare a presentation. Each person will have at least one person watching them around the room; not sure if it was in fact 1 person watching two people. There were about 10 Barclays employees present. They're looking to see how you work in a group and what your contribution is – listen to others but also make sure you can voice your opinion. After someone speaks you'll notice someone else will try to talk so it's about being heard and getting involved. Don't just talk rubbish either; the assessors can tell if you don't know what you're talking about!

You'll have 5 minutes to present your findings to the audience. I've read elsewhere that not everyone had to talk, but on my day everyone managed to get a word in. It was quite stupid as ~7 people were all trying to talk in the space of 5 minutes. Give the presentation a structure and make sure you know your part. The presentation will be followed by 10 minutes of questions by the audience. This part isn't about getting the answer right, but more about showing your logical thought process as to why you took certain decisions and said certain things. As this too is a group activity, make sure you get a chance to contribute.

This activity should last about an hour in total, including the introduction and closing from HR.

You'll be briefed on the next stages of the recruitment process and handed some expense forms to fill in and return to Barclays should you require your travel expenses reimbursed. You'll hear from HR within 48 hours whether successful or not, and you'll be given some detailed feedback for all stages of the process.
In general, the process is good. I enjoyed the day and Barclays arranged transport from the station to the centre and back for all candidates. All I can really say is be yourself, relax, and enjoy the process. They already know what they're looking for and I don't think there's actually a stereotypical candidate in this instance.

Feel free to ask any questions. I’m not trying to give too much away to preserve my identity but I'll be happy to PM you if you want.

Thanks trillions Logik! A lot of people will actually relax and enjoy themselves in this process after seeing messages by you and others. What your said reminded me that this was going to be some fun rather than going through some kinds of exams. Will PM you after all these. Best wishes for now.

Glad it helped. After my Barclays AC I was so eager to try and get some more AC's because it's actually a lot of fun. You learn a lot on the day - about yourself and other people - and how to handle situations. Keep applying and going through the process, it'll only help you :). Good luck.

Hi Guys i have a couple of things to say
First Logik thanks a lot for your help.

secondly pandaGUI i also have an AC to attend on the 2nd of August at the same place logik stated. is that where you also have your assesment centre?

Thirdly logik according to the letter of invitation we where only told about a group interview , commercial knowledge and a short interview. do u think we would be given numerical and logic tests?

Finally do guys think it wud be cool if i called and asked what we are to expect on that day. pls reply ASAP :)

thanks guys

I think you should Ring and ask incase

soo you can prepare :)

kk thanks ronny786

You could ring them, but just prepare for all the above and you'll be fine.

Retype this message just in case it did not show... Our AC are different Myde. But I think we can prepare for atitude tests if have time just in case. I tried to call them and got a reply that all the information were already contained in the invitation letter. Anyway good luck to your day and hope they work out for both of us.

Thanks everyone for ur help. pandaGUI i hope so too and good luck to u too. i ll give u guys feedback after the AC.

BTW pandaGUI any ideas on wat to read concerning issues that barclays is facing? i found their annual report for last year but not for this year

So guys i called them and i was told there would be no numerical tests or any thing like that but just team activities and presentations :)

I too have the AC early August. Can anyone tell me or know where to find out the ratio of candidates to the actual number of positions barclays are employing? It seems very odd that Barclays have been doing these AC's for a few months now and letting the successful cadidates know within a few days - wouldn't it make more sense to do all of the AC's then let all of the successful candidates know at the same time?

well i think everyone's AC is quite different from the other and u could actually ring them to find out how many positions they have available. where is your own AC

For Tech, I head 2000 apps for 20 positions last year. Dno about this years figures.

I did ring them last week and the only info the guy gave was that in this AC there was between 70 and 100 people depending on who confirms. my AC is knutsford.

thats d same place as me. well wen i called a lady picked she said there are about 22 positions available and about 70 people

Logik, can you tell me where they post information like that? would be interesting to see! 2000 applicants with a 1% success rate is very steap indead.

Thanks Logik for the extremeley helpful experience.

Myde, I am also attending the assessment centre on 2/8. So theres no numerical and logical tests? And when you said there were 22 positions and 70 people. So is there going to be 70 people that they are interviewing next Mon?

TheMallet: The real life ratio wont be 100:1. Bare in mind people who apply for Barc GRCB don't put their eggs in 1 basket. I've made over 25 applications in the last few weeks, and if 100 people made made 25 applications the average applicant:job ratio would be a mere 4:1..

Yeah am sure about the no logical and numerical tests. u can also call to find out. am also sure about the 22 positions but the 70 applicants am not quite sure because when she spoke i thot i heard like 780 people but then i assumed that we cannot be that much but after what logik wrote about 1000 applicants, it might just be that she said 780. so am not sure on that one. BTW wat papers or articles are u reading regarding issues that barclays are facing?

Yeah am sure about the no logical and numerical tests. u can also call to find out. am also sure about the 22 positions but the 70 applicants am not quite sure because when she spoke i thot i heard like 780 people but then i assumed that we cannot be that much but after what logik wrote about 1000 applicants, it might just be that she said 780. so am not sure on that one. BTW wat papers or articles are u reading regarding issues that barclays are facing?

Wow! 780 applicants and only 22 positions, thats tough! Do you know how may people are going to be in our assessment? I willl try and ring them tomorrow for full details.
Are you going to be driving down?
Current issues - I've been reading the FT for the past few weeks and there is nothing relating to current issues that Barclays are facing. I guess we can research about what the Banks in general are currently facing...like the interest rates and inflation. What have you been looking at?
I'm pretty nervous as I have never been to an assessment centre.

no i wud be taking the train. i tried reading FT too but nothing and i also read the interim report for the first quarter. never been to an assessment centre either but am hoping that we would be fine. i think u shud definitely call to confirm the actual amount of applicants. let me know wat u find out after calling them

Can I just say, WHAT A PILE OF SH!TE the internet is for researching Barclays! there is soo much information to be absorbed in such a small amount of time! infact if it was not for the excellent members of this board I would have given up a while ago. I mean cummon, I'm a Computer Science graduate applying to a technical job not finance yet I'm here sifting through 1000s of pages of utter trash that in most cases contradicts with other sources!

P.s Hope your all well :s