Which system does Barclays use?
Barclays' main careers site routes candidates into a Workday-hosted application platform for professional and experienced-hire roles. See our [Workday vendor page](/ats-systems/workday) for how the platform itself works generally. Barclays' early-careers (graduate/intern) recruitment appears to use a separate platform, Avature, based on a live URL pattern found associated with Barclays — we couldn't independently confirm that page's content, so we're stating only the URL evidence, not describing Avature's early-careers flow as fact.
Verification: Barclays' official careers homepage, search.jobs.barclays, links directly to barclays.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/External_Career_Site_Barclays, and individual live job postings resolve on the same Workday-hosted domain (e.g. barclays.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/External_Career_Site_Barclays/job/...).
Where Barclays applications happen
Barclays' main careers entry point, search.jobs.barclays, links directly into a Workday-hosted application platform (barclays.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com) for professional and experienced-hire roles — a live, currently-resolving URL pattern we tested directly. Graduate and internship recruitment is promoted from the same search.jobs.barclays hub but appears, based on a URL pattern associated with Barclays in third-party university career-centre listings, to route through a separate platform, Avature; we couldn't load that page's content directly (blocked by the site's own access rules), so we're reporting only the URL evidence rather than describing its flow as confirmed fact.
Barclays' careers privacy policy names Barclays Execution Services Limited as the "data controller" for recruitment data specifically — a narrower, functional designation than the group's principal listed entities.
Experienced hire: application, assessment or phone screen, interview
Barclays' own experienced-hire process page sets out a clear sequence: an online application (contact details, education, work history, CV upload); then either online assessments — described by Barclays as "carefully designed to see how you align to our Barclays Values and ways of working," up to an hour, completable on mobile, tablet or computer, with practice tests offered beforehand — or, for some roles, a roughly 30-minute telephone interview covering experience and technical skills; then a face-to-face or virtual interview assessing motivation, values alignment and working style, which may include role plays, case studies or presentations depending on the role; and finally documentation/vetting checks that vary by location.
Barclays doesn't name a specific assessment-platform vendor on this page, so this page doesn't attribute one — claims naming particular products circulate on unofficial prep and coaching sites, not on any Barclays-owned page we could verify.
Graduate and internship recruitment: two assessments, then an assessment centre
Barclays' own internship/graduate application page describes the funnel as: an online application (with a linked hints-and-tips guide); two short interactive assessments described as showing "how you might perform in the workplace, and your typical or preferred ways of working," completable on mobile or tablet — with an additional technical skills assessment for technical programmes, such as the Explorer Developer route; and an assessment centre (in person or virtual) of "two or three stages, including a motivational interview with a member of the leadership team." Barclays states it hosts "most of our assessments on a digital experience platform" without naming the underlying vendor.
Barclays also runs a separate, earlier-stage pipeline for students roughly two years from graduation, the Discovery Programme (UK, Americas and APAC), feeding into the later internship and graduate intake — worth applying to if you're not yet eligible for the main scheme but want an earlier foothold.
Barclays' direct policy on AI tools, and its own candidate tips
Barclays states plainly on its careers pages that "third-party AI tools are not permitted during your Barclays interview," naming transcription and meeting-assistant bots specifically, with a stated consequence: any detected use "will result in your interview being stopped and your application withdrawn and may also impact your eligibility to apply for future roles at Barclays." Treat this as a hard rule, not a soft suggestion — prepare and answer live, unassisted.
Barclays' own hints-and-tips page adds specific, quotable advice: adapt your CV to each role rather than reusing one version ("Adapting your CV/Resume to each role you apply for will help get your application noticed"); explain in your own words why your experience is relevant rather than copying language from the job advert or Barclays' own site; for video interviews, find a quiet, private space ("put a sign on the door if you live with others") and dress as you would for an in-person interview; and on assessments generally, "it is best to be yourself, and respond honestly."
Values, and reasonable adjustments
Barclays' recruitment pages explicitly reference alignment with its published purpose and five values — Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship — as the basis for assessment and interview evaluation. Barclays states its purpose as "working together for a better financial future," and defines each value in its own words (for example, Integrity: "we operate with honesty, courage, transparency and fairness in all we do"). We found no official Barclays page naming a specific competency-test acronym (some prep sites reference one) — only these five published values are confirmed.
Barclays documents specific reasonable adjustments available at any stage of its process — through the application form or by emailing yourresourcingsupport@barclays.com — including extra time on assessments and interviews, pre-assessment briefing calls, adjusted font size and contrast on online assessments, and completing assessments by video call instead of online. Barclays states Disability Confident Leader status under the UK Government's scheme, which guarantees an interview to disabled applicants who meet the role's minimum criteria.
Preparing your application: the checklist
Every item follows from the documented process above — nothing here is folklore.
- Apply through search.jobs.barclays, which routes experienced-hire candidates to a Workday-hosted application (barclays.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com) — see our Workday vendor page for how the platform works generally.
- Adapt your CV to each specific role rather than reusing one version — Barclays' own hints-and-tips page states this directly.
- Budget up to an hour for online assessments if you're not routed to a phone interview instead — Barclays frames these as testing alignment to its values and working style, not technical knowledge.
- Never use third-party AI tools (including transcription or meeting-assistant bots) during a live Barclays interview — Barclays states this explicitly and treats it as grounds to withdraw your application.
- Prepare to discuss the five Barclays Values (Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence, Stewardship) and how your own working style aligns with them — the assessment and interview stages are both built around this.
- If applying to the graduate or internship scheme, expect two short interactive assessments plus an assessment centre with two or three stages including a leadership-team motivational interview; technical-programme applicants get an additional skills assessment.
- For video interviews, use a quiet, private space and dress as you would in person — Barclays' own guidance states this directly.
- Request reasonable adjustments early if you need them — Barclays documents a defined process (application form or yourresourcingsupport@barclays.com) and guarantees an interview to disabled applicants meeting minimum criteria under its Disability Confident Leader status.