Through the first rounds at Barclays? Here is how the superday works, who you meet, the technical and behavioral questions interviewers ask and when you hear back.
Key facts
- Before it: A phone screen, sometimes framed as a networking call, then one or two first-round interviews of 20 to 30 minutes. In New York Coverage/M&A (2026) the two first rounds were back to back and technical.6,4,7
- Interviews: Back-to-back interviews of about 30 minutes. New York Coverage/M&A ran two with very senior bankers (Mar 2026); New York investment banking ran several with analysts, associates and at least one senior banker (Feb 2026).6,5
- Format: The New York investment banking superday was held in person, with clear instructions sent ahead (Feb 2026). Barclays arranges a virtual assessment where it can if you are studying abroad, and often reimburses interview travel.5,1
- What it tests: Superday interviews lean behavioral: your story, why banking, why Barclays and detailed follow-ups on your experience. Technicals cover valuation, enterprise and equity value, accounting links and accretion and dilution.5,6
- How you are judged: Each interviewer evaluates you independently, and some interviews are mostly technical while others are almost all behavioral, so one strong interview does not carry the day.5
- Timing: For summer 2027, New York superday invites were out by late January or early February 2026, and the last Coverage superday in New York was on March 4, 2026.4
Barclays puts heavy weight on fit, and that shows once you talk to its people. Networking with your school's Barclays team has helped candidates reach the first round and later superdays.6,7,4
What the Barclays superday looks like
The rounds before it
After the SHL test, Barclays runs a phone screen, sometimes framed as a networking call, then first rounds in waves. In New York Coverage/M&A (2026) that meant two back-to-back first rounds of 20 minutes, both technical; in New York Sales and Trading (2025) a 30-minute phone first round.6,7,4
The invite
Superday invites follow the earlier rounds by a few weeks or more. For summer 2027, New York invites were out by late January or early February 2026; one New York Coverage candidate waited from late January to late February before a March superday.4,6,5
On the day
Expect back-to-back interviews of about 30 minutes. In New York (Feb 2026) the day was in person, with clear instructions sent ahead, and the interviewers were analysts, associates and at least one senior banker. A New York Coverage superday in March 2026 was two interviews with very senior bankers.5,6
What they ask
The behavioral part focuses on your story, why investment banking and why Barclays, with detailed follow-ups on your past experience. Technicals are standard: valuation methods, enterprise against equity value, accounting links, accretion and dilution, and in Coverage a capital structure question, what makes a good LBO candidate and a brainteaser.5,6
How it is scored
Each interviewer evaluates you independently. The technicals are not meant to trip you up; they confirm a solid foundation with clean, structured answers. Consistency and depth matter more than rehearsed lines.5
The rounds, by group
- Coverage/M&A, New York (2026) Phone screen, 2 x 20 min, 2 x 30 min
- A screener framed as a networking call, two technical first rounds back to back, then a March superday with very senior bankers.
- Investment Banking, New York (Feb 2026) SHL, HireVue, superday
- A HireVue after the test, then several 30-minute superday interviews in person a few weeks later.
- Sales and Trading, New York (Mar 2025) Test, 30 min phone
- A personality and skills test, then a casual phone first round with one interviewer.
Each row is one group's process, with the month it ran. The HireVue sits in the New York investment banking process; the Coverage/M&A and Sales and Trading processes went from the test to a phone screen and first rounds.5,6,7,4
Before your superday
- Your story in two minutes, ending on why banking and why Barclays specifically.
- Every line of your resume, with the detail behind it, since interviewers follow up hard on past experiences.
- Three or four stories, including a time you were uncertain and a team that went wrong.
- Valuation methods and their downsides, and enterprise value against equity value, in one clean answer each.
- How the three statements link, and when an acquisition is accretive or dilutive.
- What makes a good LBO candidate, and a simple capital structure question.
- One deal or IPO you have followed: how it was paid for and what could go wrong.
- The same facts and outcomes in every interview, because each interviewer scores you separately.
The questions
Barclays superdays lean toward fit, with technicals that confirm the basics. Expect most of the time on your story and experience, and the harder technicals in the first rounds.5,6
- Behavioral: A time you were uncertain, a team that went wrong, how you handle pressure.
- Fit and motivation: Walk me through your background, why investment banking, why Barclays specifically.
- Resume deep dive: Detailed follow-ups on each past experience, looking for depth and consistency.
- Technical: Valuation methods, EV and equity value, three-statement links, accretion and dilution, LBO basics.
- Brainteaser: A quick puzzle at the end of some interviews.
Which division question you get
- Investment Banking, New York
- Feb 2026 (summer 2027): several 30-minute interviews in person with analysts, associates and a senior banker; behavioral plus valuation, EV and equity value, accounting links and accretion and dilution.5
- Coverage/M&A, New York
- Mar 2026 (summer 2027): two 30-minute interviews with very senior bankers, mostly behavioral, with a capital structure question, what makes a good LBO candidate and a brainteaser.6
- Sales and Trading, New York
- Mar 2025 (summer 2026): after the test, a casual 30-minute phone first round before any superday.7
- Credit and Equity Research
- Dec 2025 (summer 2027): a credit research first round in New York in mid-December and equity research phone screens, ahead of superdays in the new year.4
- Capital MarketsBest guess
- Expect why capital markets and a recent bond or equity deal and how it was priced, on top of the standard technicals.
The Capital Markets line is our best guess from the banking questions above and the unit's work on equity and debt origination.
Using Barclays's values in your answers
Barclays asks every colleague to show the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship, and the Barclays Mindset to Empower, Challenge and Drive. Its postings name both.3
- Respect
“Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship”3
Team questions where people disagreed. Show you listened before you pushed.
- Integrity
“our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right”3
Judgment questions about a shortcut or a mistake you owned.
- Excellence
“Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship”3
Resume deep dives. Show the standard you held your own work to.
- Challenge
“the Barclays Mindset - to Empower, Challenge and Drive”3
A time you were uncertain, or questioned a plan that was not working.
- Drive
“the operating manual for how we behave”3
Why banking. Show what you did on your own to get here.
The value names and quotes are Barclays' own, from its postings. Matching them to questions is Intervyo's advice: use one as the reason your story matters, rather than reciting the list.
Example questions and how to answer them
Technical"What is the difference between enterprise value and equity value?"5
- 1Define each: equity value is the value to shareholders; enterprise value is the value of the core business to all capital providers.
- 2Give the bridge: from equity value, add debt, preferred stock and noncontrolling interest, subtract cash.
- 3Say which multiples go with each: EV with revenue and EBITDA, equity value with net income.
- 4Close on why: enterprise value is independent of capital structure.
Tip: Asked at a New York investment banking superday in February 2026, where interviewers wanted clean, structured answers rather than tricks.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Written by Intervyo as an example. Equity value is what the company is worth to its common shareholders, so for a public company it is the share price times diluted shares. Enterprise value is the value of the operating business to everyone who funds it. To get from equity value to enterprise value I add debt, preferred stock and noncontrolling interest, and subtract cash and non-operating assets. Because enterprise value does not depend on how the business is financed, I pair it with EV/EBITDA or EV/revenue, and equity value with P/E.
Technical"When is an acquisition accretive or dilutive?"5
- 1Define it: accretive if the buyer's EPS rises after the deal, dilutive if it falls.
- 2Give the quick test for an all-stock deal: compare the buyer's P/E with the price paid as a multiple of the target's earnings.
- 3For cash or debt, compare the target's earnings yield with the after-tax cost of the cash or debt.
- 4Add what else moves it: synergies, new interest expense and amortization of intangibles.
Tip: Asked as a conceptual M&A question at a New York investment banking superday in February 2026. Show the rule, then one quick number.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Written by Intervyo as an example. A deal is accretive if the buyer's earnings per share go up afterward. For an all-stock deal, if the buyer trades at 20 times earnings and pays 15 times the target's earnings, it is buying earnings more cheaply than its own shares cost, so the deal is accretive before synergies. For a debt-funded deal, I compare the target's earnings yield, the inverse of the purchase P/E, with the after-tax cost of debt: at a 15 times purchase multiple the yield is about 6.7%, so if debt costs 4% after tax, it is accretive. Synergies help, while new depreciation and amortization from the deal hurt.
Technical"What makes a good LBO candidate?"6
- 1Start with cash: steady, predictable free cash flow to pay down debt.
- 2Then the balance sheet: low existing debt and assets that can support borrowing.
- 3Then the business: a strong market position, low capital needs and room to cut costs.
- 4End with the exit: a realistic buyer or IPO path in five or so years.
Tip: Asked as a light technical at a New York Coverage/M&A superday in March 2026. Keep it to four points and one example company.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Written by Intervyo as an example. A good LBO candidate can carry a lot of debt and pay it down. That means stable, predictable free cash flow, low capital spending needs and a balance sheet without much existing debt. A strong market position and some room to improve margins help, because they raise cash flow during the holding period. Finally, there needs to be a believable exit, a sale to a strategic buyer or an IPO, in about five years. A mature consumer staples business usually fits better than an early-stage tech company.
Behavioral"Tell me about a team that went wrong."6
- 1Set the scene in two sentences: the team, the goal and the deadline.
- 2Name what went wrong honestly, including your part in it.
- 3Say what you did to fix it, in the first person.
- 4End with the result and what you do differently now.
Tip: Asked at a New York Coverage/M&A superday in March 2026 that was mostly behavioral. Interviewers follow up on detail, so pick a story you can go three questions deep on.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Written by Intervyo as an example. In a four-person valuation project for my corporate finance class, we split the model by statement, and three days before the deadline the pieces did not tie: the balance sheet was off by about $40 million. I had built the cash flow statement and had not checked it against anyone else's work. I called a two-hour session, we traced every line back to the income statement, and found a working capital sign error in my section. We submitted on time and got an A, and I now insist on a shared check tab from the first day of any group model.
Fit and motivation"Why Barclays specifically?"5,2,3
- 1Name something specific: a group, a sector strength or a deal Barclays worked on.
- 2Connect it to your own experience or interest.
- 3Show you know the people: someone you spoke with and what they told you.
- 4Tie it to the culture: Barclays puts weight on fit and teamwork.
Tip: Why Barclays specifically came up at a New York investment banking superday in February 2026. Barclays describes itself as one of the only non-US full-service rivals to the biggest US banks; say why that matters to you.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
Written by Intervyo as an example. Three reasons. First, the Energy Transition Group: I grew up in Houston and spent last summer on a solar developer's finance team, and Barclays advises across the whole energy value chain. Second, the platform: as a full-service bank headquartered outside the US, you see cross-border deals that a purely domestic bank sees less of. Third, the people: the two analysts I spoke with in your Houston office both described a smaller class where interns get real work, and that is the summer I want.
More Barclays superday questions
Technical
“Two companies have the same revenue and EBITDA but different implied enterprise values. How can that be?”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“Rank the four valuation methodologies from highest to lowest, and explain control premium.”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“Why is an LBO a floor price?”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“What happens to free cash flow when net working capital goes up?”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“How do the three financial statements link?”5
Investment banking, New York, Feb 2026, superday
Behavioral
“Tell me about a time you were uncertain.”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, Mar 2026, superday
“How do you handle pressure?”5
Investment banking, New York, Feb 2026, HireVue
“Tell me about a time you changed a team's plan when it was not working.”
Best guessOur expectation from the superday focus on teamwork and follow-ups
Fit and deals
“What M&A deal or IPO have you been following? How was it paid for, and was there any risk from the leverage?”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“How does your own business or project connect to investment banking?”6
Coverage/M&A, New York, 2026, first round
“Walk me through your background.”5
Investment banking, New York, Feb 2026, superday
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How long to hear back after the superday
Superdays run in waves from late January into March, and decisions come within a fairly short time after the day.4,5
Jan to Feb 2026 (summer 2027)
Investment Banking, New York
Superday invites were out for a superday at the end of the month; San Francisco applicants were still waiting.4
Feb 2026 (summer 2027)
Investment Banking, New York
Superday invite a few weeks after the HireVue; a decision followed within a relatively short time.5
Jan to Mar 2026 (summer 2027)
Coverage/M&A, New York
No word from late January to late February after two first rounds, then a place in the last March superday and an offer.6
Mar 2026 (summer 2027)
Coverage, New York
March 4 was the last Coverage superday in New York; by then some applicants already had offers.4
Some first rounds still run in March for later candidates, so a quiet February is not always a no.4,6
Best guessExpect a decision within about a week of the superday. If two weeks pass, send your recruiter one short, polite note and keep preparing for other banks.
What happens after the superday
Online application
One application a year, worldwide, on the Workday posting for your office and division.1
SHL online assessment
Done. Sent within minutes to a few days of applying: timed numerical and logical reasoning plus judgment questions.4,5
Video interview (some candidates)
Done, if you had one. About 30 seconds to prepare and one to two minutes to answer, mostly behavioral.5,4
Phone screen and first round
Done. A phone screen, then one or two first rounds of 20 to 30 minutes, often technical.6,7
SuperdayYou are here
This page. Back-to-back interviews of about 30 minutes with analysts, associates and senior bankers.5,6
Offer
Usually within a short time of the superday; top interns are invited back as full-time analysts after graduation.5,2
First round vs superday
At Barclays the first rounds carry most of the technical weight; the superday tests fit with senior people.
Format
How technical
Pretty technical in Coverage/M&A: WACC, valuation methods, working capital, LBOs, IRR and MOIC.6
Who
A screener framed as a networking call, then the first-round interviewers; networking with your school's Barclays team helps you get that far.6
FAQ
How many interviews are in a Barclays superday?
Two or more back-to-back interviews of about 30 minutes. New York Coverage/M&A ran two with very senior bankers in March 2026; New York investment banking ran several with analysts, associates and a senior banker in February 2026.6,5
Is the Barclays superday technical?
Partly. Expect valuation methods, enterprise and equity value, accounting links and accretion and dilution, with clean answers expected. The superday leans behavioral, and the first rounds are usually the more technical step.5,6
Is the Barclays superday in person or virtual?
The New York investment banking superday was in person in February 2026. Barclays arranges a virtual assessment where it can if you are studying abroad, and often reimburses interview travel, so ask your recruiter.5,1
When are Barclays superdays?
For summer 2027 they ran in waves from about late January to March 4, 2026, the last Coverage superday in New York. Expect a similar window in early 2027 for summer 2028.4
Superday at other firms
Sources
Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 5, 2026.
- 1Barclays: FAQs
- 2Barclays: Internships - Investment Banking
- 3Barclays (Workday job site): Banking Analyst Summer Internship Program 2028 Houston
- 4Candidate discussion on a public forum: Barclays 2027 Summer Analyst Program (from Dec 2025)
- 5Candidate report on a public forum: Summer Analyst interview, Investment Banking, New York (Feb 2026)
- 6Candidate report on a public forum: Investment Banking Coverage/M&A summer internship interview, New York (Mar 2026)
- 7Candidate report on a public forum: Sales and Trading intern interview, New York (Mar 2025)
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