Junior Project Manager Review

I manage the projects in the Business Banking sector at Barclays. This involves governance and planning, working with the teams to meet the project deadline within budget. It also involves risk management and being responsible for the project. Day to day I sort any issues the teams might have, host calls with them to get updates which then allows me to update my project plan to keep it update and to then update the project stakeholders on progress of the project.

I have recently passed my PMQ exam and so gained that qualification. I have also gained an Agile qualification by passing an exam. I have learnt about the project lifecycle and governance and more in general about the role of a project manager. With regard to personal skills, I have taken over the daily calls which means I have developed my communication skills with statakeholders in the project.

I very much enjoy my programme. I work in a casual, supportive environment which helps my daily work life. I enjoy learning about the role and gaining experience working with more experienced Project Managers. My team are also very supportive. It meets my expectations as it provides training as well as on the job work allowing me to practice what I am learning.

QA have very good tutors and mentors, however, the behind the scenes aren't very organised. On one of my workshops, they called everyone at 5pm on the Friday before the week we were supposed to be at the workshop with the new location. The apprenticeship team at Barclays are supportive and helpful, providing support where needed. The programme itself isnt very organised. Myself and another apprentice who was onboarded at the exact same time on the same programme, were given different end dates for no reason.

I receive a lot of support from my manager and team. He is very supportive and open to new ways of providing support. Any issues I have I can go to him about and he will do his best to solve or provide guidance on them. The HR team is also very helpful as well as my mentor. They are all easily accessible and open to helping.

My skills coach is very helpful, we have sessions in between our mandatory ones to check up on the portfolio. He responds quickly and is always open to dropping a quick call in when I need help. The tutors from the sessions are also very helpful and supportive. Many of them have sent extra work or resources to support after the workshop has ended and are always there for any questions.

Most of the things Im learning I can apply to my job role. Of course, some of the ways of working is different, as they are in each organisation but the general back bone is the same and learning the reasoning about it and how to do it has been very useful towards my job role. There have been multiple occasions where I have used what I have learnt in my day to day job.

There are some clubs held after work, however these are not that well advertised. There are professional networking events held on sit as well as social events which are held throughout the year. I have been to a few of these, some of which with my family as it was open to colleagues and their families and it was very enjoyable and well organised.

Yes

Barclays offer very good experience, as it is such a diverse and vast company, there is a lot of governance and extra experience you can get as opposed to working at a smaller company. The atmosphere at my site is also very relaxed and sociable. As an employer Barclays offers a lot of good incentives and benefits to being an employee.

The onboarding process can be quite lengthy and take a long time. I would recommend researching Barclays and the role you're going for, as with any application. There is an assessment day which I would say to be confident at. Try to make yourself stand out in a positive way, talk and connect with others on your breaks and at lunch.