Intern Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship with Savills. I was based in the head office in Margaret Street, London and spent four weeks working within the valuation department. I had previously undertook work experience before with Savills so I had an idea on the kind of work I'd be doing but it was even better than expected and I'll defiantly be applying to other internship and graduate schemes in the future.

I feel that I was valued to a large extent by my colleagues. this defiantly grew with the amount of time I had been undertaking the placement. This is most likely due to the fact that everyday I was learning something new and becoming more valuable. By the end of the four weeks I felt as though I was just another member of the team which was really nice.

Throughout the four weeks I was given a large amount of guidance and support for various employees within the company. This started with being assigned a mentor who supports you from your first day to the last. Your mentor is usually a graduate within your team and they are there to support you with anything from "how to write a report" to "where is the best place to go for lunch". There is also the HR team as well as other team members who are always willing to help.

In regards to being busy, I would say it was the perfect balance. Throughout the four weeks I always had something to do and if I had finished a task and had nothing else to do all I had to do was speak to my mentor or other members of the team who immediately send me over work. Also the HR team set you a handover project which is sent to the next intern in your team. so if you ever didn't have much work you could make a start on this.

Responsibility is always something that I worry about when undertaking work experience / internships however I was pleasantly surprised at how much responsibility I received during my time at Savills. I would be set pieces of work that were later checked and sent off to the client as well as having deadline that I had to meet. Although it's important to note you receive more responsibility the further into your internship that you are.

I am currently studying a degree in property and therefore the knowledge and skills developed during my internship will become very useful in my degree studies as well as interviews and my career. Many skills you develop during the internship are very transferable to your degree as well as everyday life. These skills include communication, time management and professionalism as well as many others.

There was a great atmosphere within the office. This actually surprised me as its such a large office full of many hard working people however there is great team spirit between departments and there is very much a "work hard, play hard" attitude which was inspiring to be around. Also during my internship there was various external factors which could be perceived as negative on the property market as a whole but during the spirit the office still seemed very optimistic.

The internship was very well organised throughout the four weeks I spent there. There was many events organised that were enjoyable and beneficial. This included many department overviews from directors in different teams as well as many networking events which is crucial to succeeding in this industry. We also took part in walking tours of London as well as auction house days.

In my experiences the company do invest in you as a person and assist you in developing. Many members of your team take time out there busy days to explain things to you and also set you specific jobs to improve your development. Also the department overviews give you a broad understanding of all that the company has to offer and assists you in deciding where you may want to end up.

In my opinion your employment chances are defiantly enhanced by doing the internship as its the best form of interview for getting to know you. During the four weeks you are assessed in various different ways including numerical and written tests along with the quality of your work and your networking skills. However, its important to note the property industry is a very competitive industry and there is no guarantee of a place on Savills graduate scheme.

The social scene was very good between both colleagues and fellow interns on the scheme. In regards to my team, I have been on two social events with them after work along with watching some of the big sporting events occurring during the internship. Where as I would meet up with all the other interns for lunch.

Seeing as I was working and living in central London living costs were extremely high. Large expenses for most interns included accommodation as a large group of us don't live in London as well as transport daily and socialising costs. This was always something I knew and expected working in London so it didn't come as a huge shock.

There is a good nightlife within London, particularly in close proximity of the office. Savills head office is located 2 minutes from Oxford Circus station and that means Oxford and Regent street are within very close proximity. This is a huge tourist destination and equates to a very busy and exciting nightlife. a large proportion of the nightlife in London is "pub culture".

Being in London there is always something to do. Whilst doing the internship Savills organised various networking events with other interns both within and outside the company, however this many consisted of chatting and drinks. I would imagine there is many sports teams in the local area but I wasn't here long enough to really investigate this.