Kelly Lynch – Analyst, Compliance Risk Review Team, New York

Many of the other 2009 graduates and I had a unique experience in the recruitment process. While I knew of Barclays Capital as a successful British bank with a reputation as a preferred employer, I had initially agreed to work at Lehman Brothers. It was only one month after my internship that the epic bankruptcy occurred and Barclays acquired Lehman.

While I did not specifically aim for a career in Compliance, I had contemplated the possibility of pursuing a career in Law for many years. I was placed in the Compliance department once the Grad program began. Strangely enough, this outcome has been extremely beneficial to me and has shaped my experience. After getting actual experience and talking with people on all ends of the spectrum, I have a better idea of the type of higher education I may want to pursue.

I am currently a part of the Compliance Risk Review team. The main function of this role is to support my team in performing compliance reviews of both our branch offices and business desks. I began by learning how to perform our analyzing and testing of adherence to Compliance policies piece by piece and assisting the other group members on their reviews. After building upon this knowledge, I was able to pair up with a colleague to perform several reviews from the initial planning stage to issuing the final report. In addition, there are various ad-hoc projects and administrative responsibilities that I have been able to take on as I assimilated into my position. Some of these duties include updating MIS reporting, tracking and following up on outstanding review action plans, and maintaining the group’s digital shared working spaces.

One of the aspects of my job that I most appreciate is that I am not confined to a routine. While I generally work consistent hours and have ongoing responsibilities, each day I am usually faced with a variety of tasks. I spend most of my time working with my team members, going through the data and testing in the scope of whatever review I am currently working on, requesting information and corresponding with the appropriate contacts, and fulfilling my regular duties. In addition to often attending work related meetings, I have become a part of a volunteer committee and the Disability Champions Network for Barclays employees.

Compliance Risk reviews serve to proactively identify areas of regulatory risk and to independently provide the Firm with reasonable assurance that the businesses within the FINRA registered branches have established and maintain adequate controls to properly comply with Firm policies and procedures, as well as SEC rules and FINRA regulations. Additionally, reviews satisfy Barclays Capital’s requirements under NASD Rule 3010 and NYSE Rule 342 regarding branch office inspections as well as NASD Rule 3012 regarding testing and verification of supervisory systems. Essentially, my team works both with and for the business. We provide an internal line of defense to mitigate the potential for risk and external findings.

I have the most interaction with the other members of my team; however, I am in communication through emails, meetings, and calls with individuals of all levels across the firm on a daily basis. It really depends on the project in which I am currently undertaking and what desk or area of the business is involved. I also have a great deal of interaction with the other elements of Compliance, both in requesting materials and learning about their processes.

I like that I am constantly presented with the opportunity to learn new information. The changing face of regulation in the industry always keeps things interesting and gives Compliance as a department something recent to consider, problem solve, and apply. Additionally, I like meeting and working with the representatives from both our many desks and Wealth business and understanding how they operate. Ultimately, however, one of the best aspects of my job is the individuals that I work with each day. Being surrounded by a supportive, intelligent, and fun group of people can truly make the difference in a work environment.

The graduate program definitely provides the opportunity for exposure to both individuals and business lines across the industry. Also, through training and networking I had access to individuals who have a deep breadth of personal and professional experience on which I could draw to aid in forging my own career path. Two areas of training in particular have stood out to me. In the realm of professional education, learning about different working styles within the workplace was not only interesting and provided self-awareness, but it also had a very functional component. Additionally, product knowledge courses on the underlying causes of the credit crisis and economic turmoil were poignant because of their relevancy and application.

Strong writing, interpersonal and analytical skills are critical, Additionally, technical proficiency is useful and it is invaluable to be adept in the MS Office suite, particularly Excel. Finally, it is important to be a team player and extremely focused on detail.

I have indentified the need to adjust to multiple personalities and working styles as one of the biggest challenges. When you are the most junior member of a team with the least amount of experience, you are usually going to work with many more experienced colleagues. It is really useful to be able to assess and adapt to the styles of those around you, in order to best leverage your time with them and the knowledge they have to offer. Through being flexible, positive, and reliable in interacting with others, I was able to demonstrate my desire to take on more work and responsibility. This attitude gave me the opportunity and enabled me to perform two on-site reviews at our regional branch offices. During the reviews of our Wealth business, I had to engage in interviews with the Investment Representatives and Branch Managers, which I found to be an exciting and challenging experience.

Barclays definitely promotes graduates taking the initiative and becoming involved with the wide array of volunteer and diversity opportunities. The firm is made up of a diversified workforce that comes together to create a culture of individuals dedicated to the success of not only the business, but the person as well. Barclays’ desire to grow and evolve as an investment bank extends into its dedication to create diversity, inclusion, and awareness to attract the best candidates and promote positive change that begins internally and extends outwardly from there. The culture both encourages and supports volunteerism and charitable giving, which is a truly wonderful vehicle and asset for its employees and all organizations involved. While I have only been working for almost a year, through Barclays I was involved in an ongoing mentoring program for a high school sophomore and a team of us were supported in running a marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society.

While the competitive compensation is an incentive in itself to work here, for me the upstanding and innovative culture makes it the most desirable. Barclays Capital fosters an environment of learning and growth in all aspects of its business. From the start the firm is very dedicated to the training, developing, and retaining of young talent in order to gain fresh perspective and build on its legacy of success. As I mentioned before, Barclays has a strong commitment to philanthropy, which was a major selling point for me. With the recent expanse in size and industry since the acquisition in 2008 and its culture full of attractive attributes, Barclays Capital is an ideal environment for launching a career.