Summer Scheme Student Review

I have really enjoyed my summer scheme placement. I have had an enjoyable time both in the work I've been doing and with the people I've been working with. The drinks and directors lunch were also really enjoyable. I have enjoyed a taste of my future lifestyle by practicing the day to day life of a graduate surveyor.

I felt valued by my colleagues as I was always thanked for the work I had completed. I was keen to do work which was valuable for them also, so the work I did seemed to contribute to their work and thus I felt my work was valuable and valued. Taking tasks off my colleagues and assisting them was great, and I hope they valued the work I did for them also.

There is a lot of support whilst on this internship. When given a task I was always supported in terms of learning about the background of the work, and often they would give me tasks they thought would be helpful for my experience. My graduate mentor was really helpful in answering any questions, whether about the task in hand or the graduate scheme. The directors showed their support for me by coming to lunch with me.

I was given the perfect balance of work to do. I particularly liked being given multiple tasks at the same time and having to prioritise them and organise my time to complete them. I also had time to read property news, look over planning policy, and create a handover document for the next intern.

I had a good amount of responsibility considering what is appropriate having been there for a month. It felt important for me to get the details right and to be thorough so that my colleagues weren't using incorrect information/had good work from me to build upon in their work. I was really pleased that one piece of my work was sent direct to a client, I emailed the team weekly with a database search and I saw some of my work in a report also.

I feel much more confident (and excited!) about starting my real estate masters now that I've had experience of the job. Skills such as comparable searches are fundamental, and even more general skills such as being able to communicate with your team and being able to prioritise work have been great. The networking skills and learning to feel comfortable in an office and making connections with people are all amazing skills I'm so glad I've honed whilst here.

The office is fairly quiet but I enjoyed conversations with my team and I really enjoyed meeting new people fairly regularly! There is not much on the floor banter or a massive community feel, as I feel the departments operate largely separately, but it is nice to see that friendships exist within the office and it was a really welcoming and friendly place to work. I think it was a good balance of being quiet so you could focus on work but having nice conversations with people in the office also.

It was brilliantly organised. I like how there is a central graduate team that oversees and organises everything. They catch up with you and keep you informed about things and are there to answer any questions you may have. My graduate mentor was brilliant in giving me work. Having the structure of departmental overviews was really valuable as well. I liked that the graduate team were in contact with my team to ensure a directors lunch and after work drinks were organised, as well as to ensure all admin was done.

We had departmental overviews several times a week that informed us of different departments in Savills, which 'trained' me in terms of informing me of possible future departments I could work in, and about Savills more generally. When given a task, I felt that the person giving me the task was always keen to ensure I knew the background of the task and to explain theory such as planning documents or processes/techniques used for valuations etc. Having the directors lunch is great for talking to senior employees within the company. I really valued talking to graduate surveyors at drinks and in the office about their day to day work and especially about their APC. It gave me a really valuable insight into the process of doing the APC.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are really appealing to me. Only having been here for a month I feel like part of the company. I am excited to apply for their graduate scheme. Savills comes across as a friendly, committed and entrepreneurial company, and so working here is really appealing and experiencing working here has been so valuable in confirming that this is the company I'd like to work for.

There weren't any fellow placement students here when I was here. However I had drinks during one lunch with a group from the office which was really enjoyable and valuable to talk to different people from the office. I haven't experienced a massive social scene whilst being here but I'm aware that the team have common hobbies and that there are friendships within the office.

Definitely cheaper than London. Pubs aren't as expensive as other places. Not very many cheap lunch outlets.

Pretty poor, not a real city nightlife. Some bars and nice pubs but the nightclubs are nothing special.

There weren't any opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work apart from the designated drinks and lunch with the directors.