Barclays Bank has developed a career café initiative which
it is taking around some the UK’s top universities to help it recruit the best
graduates.
The Barclays Career Café is an informal approach to the
graduate milk-round, which has been devised from student feedback that shows
that undergraduates want to talk to potential employers in a more relaxed
setting.
Students can receive general tips on selection procedures
on what companies look for in a graduate,
and existing members of the bank’s graduate programme will be on hand to talk
about their own experiences at Barclays.
In the interactive part of the café,
undergraduates can log on to a micro-site with more Barclays information.
"The careers cafes are an informal way for
undergraduates to find out more about Barclays, meet current graduates and pick
up general career advice about applications and assessment centres. They allow
us to meet potential recruits in a more relaxed environment than the
traditional milk round," said Stuart Podmore, marketing manager for
Barclays graduate recruitment.
The café will visit 13 universities before December, including London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham,
Nottingham and Warwick.
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Barclays recruits around 100 graduates a year.
By Paul Nelson