Paolo Zeppetelli

How did you get started in your career?

What got my career started was working part time at Woolworths and 3 mobile as a salesman for two and four years respectively while I was at university. When I graduated, for approximately two years, I did internships at the National Autistic Society, Civil Service, an international relations think-tank, a criminal justice think-tank and a six-month work placement at Goldman Sachs. I then got accepted onto Barclays’ 2009 summer internship programme where I worked in the branch network. I was then offered the opportunity to go on the graduate programme the following year, after which I accepted a permanent position in the middle of 2012 in the Global Diversity & Inclusion team.

What drew you to Barclays?

What drew me to Barclays was my general fascination with individual behaviour at work and what communication, resources and interventions can be used to change their mindset and behaviour to increase their well-being as a customer or employee. When I was applying for Barclays and then subsequently arrived at the head office and had my interviews, I felt that Barclays had the right environment for me achieve this.

How do you manage your disability at work?

I manage all diversity metrics reporting and quality checks for all the different businesses and countries that make up Barclays. I am very lucky in that my current line manager (the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Barclays) knows a lot about the characteristics of Aspergers Syndrome and so is able to manage my disability really well without me having to manage it.

How has your employer helped you to do well at your workplace?

My employer allowed me to have the reasonable adjustments that I required during the interview stage of my graduate programme. During my early rotation period, they allowed me to also have an awareness session on Aspergers Syndrome with my new team and some colleagues from HR so that they were aware of the reasonable adjustments that I required.

How would you describe the culture at Barclays

The culture at Barclays is definitely starting to become more inclusive, particularly with regards to hidden and non-physical disabilities, such as mental health, where awareness and understanding has increased over the last two years. In March this year, our Chairman hosted our disability event which shows just how serious Barclays is taking this issue!