Leaders wanted at Barclays

It has been a turbulent time for the financial services industry over the past two years. Indeed, senior bankers have not been particularly popular. However, it appears as if some firms are taking the right steps to create a new style of working in finance and changing the focus to leadership and adaptability. I spoke with Nicki Lorains of Barclays to understand how they are looking for leaders.

During 18 months of turmoil and disaster for The City, Barclays own position and reputation during the recession has remained relatively strong; it appears as if a new type of graduate was needed for the 21st century, and Nicki was quick to explain the underlying traits they look for in a candidate.

"We are looking for leaders, first and foremost," explains Nicki, "leaders who can show they have a diverse range of experiences with the ability to respect others. We want leaders and top performers who have interests in a wide array of extra-curricular activities."

Her passion and desire to create leaders for tomorrow is quite clear from her voice, and even more evident from the schemes for interns and graduates being run at Barclays Global Retail Bank. The bank has moved away from the traditional methods of assessing graduates, and is changing its direction, looking for a more holistic approach to find a new type of graduate. "We want graduates who are the top performers amongst their peers, but who also have learning agility (a term Nicki uses often to describe adaptability), students with the ability to analyse different scenarios and quickly understand the situation, and learn from it," says Nicki. And Barclays is also looking further afield for these talented individuals. "We don't just look for graduates in finance or accounting related disciplines; we want individuals with a breadth of experiences, whether that be working in an office or volunteering in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. We want graduates with the right skills, but also with passion, and respect."

With so much media attention focused on ethical behaviour in the financial services industry in recent times, Barclays is seeking to rebalance the situation by giving their graduates a sense of community spirit.

"If you look at our internship and graduate roles, we provide opportunities on community involvement, and our recruitment schemes are designed to ensure successful candidates get a full range of social and work-related experiences. We want graduates to learn by doing, not watching."

Needless to say Barclays is popular, in fact really popular amongst graduates, and so one would expect to find an extensive obstacle course for people to manoeuvre through to be a part of the intake. "With the number of graduates wanting to work here, we'd be irresponsible not to. We need to make sure that the mentality and passions of the candidate match that of Barclays, and we need them to display the right attributes that only the individual can build themselves."

One of the traits that Barclays is looking for is commercial awareness. But Nicki explains that Barclays does not define commercial awareness as simply understanding economics or accounts: "Of course that's an aspect of it, but the real knowledge comes from understanding how the world works, and with people as a major variable, it's certainly more than knowing dry academic theory. We want a thirst for knowledge."

"All experiences, and the way you develop your knowledge, has value, and at Barclays we ensure that we use all experiences to their full potential. Students need to show us a passion for learning not just during their final year at university. Some of the best candidates have been building skills since they were in college, before most of them even knew what they wanted to do with their lives! These skills are paramount whatever you do in life."

Whether or not the opinion of the common man changes about financial services and the thousands who choose a career in it, one thing we can be sure is that Barclays is doing everything it can to ensure tomorrow's bankers are more than money makers; they are first and foremost members of society, each with a duty to lead it to a better and more ethical future.

Vinay Trivedi