How An Assistant Vice President Launched His Career with WayUp

There is no one set path to your dream job. As you move through life, college, and your early professional career, new avenues will appear and opportunities will begin to show themselves.

While there are several places to look for these new avenues and opportunities, one place that a lot of early career candidates are using to find jobs is WayUp. One individual who used WayUp to find his dream job is Louis Smith, an assistant vice president at multinational universal bank, Barclays.

Recently, we got the chance to chat with Louis to hear all about how he went from intern, to analyst, to assistant vice president in just three years. In our conversation, Louis mentioned some career tips and insights into the job-hunting process, what his internship was like, and why he loves working at Barclays so much.

The Job Search

In late 2018, Louis knew he wanted to explore finance, work in New York, and thought that it would be cool to work at a bank. He knew what he wanted, but he didn’t necessarily know where to find it. What he ended up doing, and now recommends to current job seekers, is find out everything he wanted out of a job – industry, location, position, etc. – and narrow down the search as much as possible.

Luckily, WayUp provided him with the perfect place to do that.

As a lot of college students, early career professionals, and job seekers will find, it can be hard to figure out what kind of job you want. What made things easier for Louis was scanning the market with WayUp, finding out what he did and didn’t like from job applications and filters, and shooting his shot from there. Eventually, he came across Barclays and their summer analyst internship.

An Internship of a Lifetime

While Louis had past job experience, his summer banking internship at Barclays in 2019 was his first major job in an office setting. Besides the fact that he was working in Manhattan, just a few blocks away from Time Square, and doing what he had always wanted to do, Louis didn’t really know what to expect during his summer at Barclays.

As it turned out, Barclays’ summer analyst internship was the perfect combination of exploration and support. Louis was able to explore new territory, learn new concepts, and make significant contributions to the business all at the same time. 

Whether it was financial analysis and modeling or valuation and client due diligence, Louis’ time during Barclays’ summer internship program exposed him to the world of corporate banking and all the opportunities that existed within it. Something that made his time at Barclays even better, however, is the culture, environment, and people at Barclays.

What Makes Barclays Different

The finance and banking industry is massive. That means that there is no shortage of places to work and grow your career. However, each of these institutions has something that sets them apart. For Barclays, it’s the culture and people that make their company stand out so much.

For Louis, going to work meant he would be surrounded by people who don’t just care about performing their jobs, but uplifting and helping one another grow as well. In turn, this helped him appreciate his own role at the company and stay motivated to contribute to the company’s goals as well as his own.

A Community Perspective

While this people-forward mindset is certainly prioritized at Barclays, it goes a step further with employee resource groups. These employee-led organizations, whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organizations they serve, have proved to have enormous benefits for employees.

As is the case with the employee resource groups at Barclays, Louis has certainly gained a lot with his involvement in the Black Professionals ERG. Specifically, as it pertains to his interactions with people he didn’t normally get to interact with.

Additionally, Louis’ involvement in the Black Professionals Group has also allowed him to take on new roles and responsibilities. From leading panels and hosting discussions, Louis has been able to grow his skills in massive ways all while demonstrating his capabilities and competence in front of senior stakeholders. Once an intern but now an assistant vice president, Louis attributes part of his success to experiences like this.

What Will Your Path Be?

Although Louis Smith’s path to success was ideal, there are several different routes young professionals can take to achieve their goals. What every ambitious individual should take from his story is to make the most of the opportunities available to you.

If you’re looking for new opportunities that could very well be the jumping-off point for a lucrative career, create your WayUp profile today and check out some of Barclays’ open roles.