Interview Question: Why Barclays? (2024)

Because at least it's not UBS?

Dude,

Being a fit for a firm's culture is a big deal and this trumps all DCF questions you will get. Do you admire one of Barclay's industry/product groups, do you like the groups deal flow, can you learn a lot from senior management on the team, do you like banging chicks with British accents, etc.

Talking about how well you've gotten along with the people you've spoken with is an important aspect of this answer. Something along the lines of, "I've had the opportunity to connect with x bankers at Barclays and I've honestly really enjoyed my interactions with them. I'm fully aware of the time commitment involved with this industry and so working in an environment where I genuinely enjoy the people is very important to me."

Use this to showcase the fact that you've done your due diligence and spoken with people. If they ask who, be prepared with a few specific people, especially if they're from the same group as the interviewer. As has been mentioned, the work itself is very similar across banks on the street with some exceptions. Showing that you connect with the people is a very good way to show communicate why you'd want to spend your countless working hours at that bank.

You'll obviously also want to mention the fact that they do well in xyz industry (sounds like you have a good example already with the way they structure their M&A deals).

Hi people, this is OP writing after getting an offer from Barclays. I took people's advice to heart and just spoke candidly about why Barclays. Here is what I wrote to someone who asked me that same question recently (I hope it helps):

"Why Barclays: although it may sound like BS, but people really was the answer for me. "People" was the reason why I was put through the accelerated process and ultimately decided to take the offer despite other interviews lined up. I'd really talk about what you felt about the company. My answer was that I have interacted with countless investment bankers in the past year and that Barclays people were the most helpful. They took interest in my success, coached me along the way, and always reached out to me first (to the point where I felt like I wasn't reaching out enough / wasn't scared of being thought of as annoying). If you had some similar interaction, talk about those and top it off with Barclays' global footprint and strong advisory business. This will make a lot of sense especially for the senior Lehman people (they had a great advisory business and now the balance sheet and the global support helps them). On that note, those senior people truly think Lehman had a great culture and do believe that they retained a lot of it through people. So really, people is not too shabby of an answer.

This will inadvertently lead to the question, "then why not BAML or JPM (where they both have the balance sheet)?" I gave a sh*tty answer imo, but my interviewer told me that because Lehman didn't have the balance sheet, they had to think creatively to score deals, and now that they have the balance sheet, that's more firepower. Plus, a lot of Lehman people and culture are intact in the Americas, so they retained a lot of the good things and just added the balance sheet to it."

why barclays? (Originally Posted: 02/22/2013)

interview tomorrow first round over phone sa. i dont have an answer for this since they aren't in a real good space. for s&t. any insights would be great.