Eunice Kormi

Summer Stars intern 2019

During my penultimate year of studies, I applied to the Taylor Bennett Foundation Summer Stars programme and was offered a placement at Barclays plc in their Corporate Relations function. Prior to the start of my internship, I was uncertain about my career choice after graduation and had little knowledge about corporate relations. However, the lecture week hosted by the Taylor Bennett Foundation team and internship changed this all for the better. I was able to get a rich insight into corporate relations and to network with professionals from different industries. Also, I was given the opportunity to network with like-minded people and develop new friendships.

Throughout my time at Barclays I felt that I could bring my true self to the workplace and was considered a respected member of the team.

This was particularly by contributing ideas to major projects and having professionals value my input. I gained exposure to the various teams within the corporate relations function and rotated around to areas including external communications, internal communications, government relations and brand activation. This programme structure was ideal for me as it helped give me a taste of what different parts of corporate relations entailed and broadened my understanding of the world of public relations as a whole. Ultimately, I found that my day to day activities were constantly changing to fit unforeseen events – it ranged from sometimes compiling daily media roundups on news stories, attending workshops or working on my group project (which was later presented to the corporate relations leadership team). Being in such an environment was challenging yet exciting because it always had me on my toes ready to act upon frequent changes, for instance financial and political ones.

Tips for incoming interns:

1. Learn from your mistakes
2. Ask questions whenever you’re given the chance
3. Network, network, network – show initiative and reach out to people
4. Apply the skills gained from your retail, voluntary and leadership experiences – they are relevant and transferable to the corporate environment
5. Always stay up to date with your commercial awareness and industry news

Overall, the experience was an amazing stepping-stone to the world of financial services and corporate relations, broadening my perspective and sparking new personal interests. Now, I look forward to returning to Barclays in the future to join their graduate programme.