Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the Summer Scheme with Savills and feel I have gained an invaluable insight into the industry. I have been able to work within a number of divisions including Property Management, Retail Agency, Valuation and Development whilst being invited to come on a number of site visits.

To begin with, as I think with any Internship, I was given some simple tasks to complete in order to judge my knowledge level and improve my confidence in the systems used. As the month went on I was given more responsibility in terms of the tasks assigned as documents would go direct to clients. I felt like the work I did was valued and that I was helping with my colleagues workloads.

The structure of the summer scheme is impressive and there are dedicated people assigned to ensuring that you are always able to make the most of your time at Savills. I was able to ask any question I had to the senior members of the team and had talks and appraisals with both the HR team at the head office and the team I was working with in the office.

I was always occupied by something and if I wasn't given tasks by the team that day or out on a particular site visit/meeting, the HR team assign a task for you to complete during your time there. Often I was reading through reports and leases which improved my knowledge and confidence in the subject and allowed me to apply what I had learn about the topic at University.

I was given more and more responsibility as the summer scheme went on and feel like the team was able to trust me more. Though I was doing a lot of comparable work and so on this is necessary in order to comprehend the markets in the area, and I was trusted to go out and gather information about certain buildings within clients portfolios the team was in need of.

The summer scheme has given me a great insight into the work I will be hopefully be doing in the future and also an insight into the culture and work ethic of Savills and their employees. I have learn valuable skills such as communication, improved confidence and knowledge that can only be grasped by taking full advantage of the internship. It will assist my studies as I will be able to fully apply what I learn to how this can be used in employment

Generally the atmosphere in the office was good and lively with people unafraid to talk. The teams are sat together and this meant I was able to ask questions when needed. People were friendly and chatty especially when making coffee though not distracting but there is also a professional nature and I was always able to concentrate and work.

The internship is very well set up and organised with help and advice always available. Within the computer system I was able to access the 'Summer Scheme' page and could communicate with other interns in this method. The company had also arranged various talks and presentations about the different divisions and the APC that I was able to attend, which was very useful and was a way of finding out about other sectors that I hadn't considered before.

I received basic training as to how to use the company's compute systems and input systems though I think to fully grasp and become more efficient with them I would have had to work there a bit longer. We were invited to attend training talks and having spoken to graduates about the APC ect. I have a improved my skills. The company clearly invests a lot of time and effort into its Summer Scheme students and means we are able to improve vastly.

Savills is a company I feel that I can identify having experience the culture of the firm and therefore working for them in the future is appealing. They have a good reputation for graduates reflected in the general attitude of graduates I met and how they were mostly positive about their work. There is also a wide range of divisions that you can specialise in with a huge amount of support in general and for the APC.

The social side of the job was good and by going for lunch and drinks I was able to feel more comfortable with the team and those I was working with. Graduates seemed to be more keen to entertain and were good fun. I also played football for Savills at tournaments and was invited to quiz's and the like. There were sadly no other placement students in my office which was perhaps a slight downfall but this didn't affect the social aspect.

The cost of socialising was fairly cheap with a number of good places to eat lunch and go for drinks nearby at a reasonable cost. Fortunately I live nearby to the office so didn't have to face the full force of the living costs but understand that the city has a reputation for being fairly good for young professionals living in the area and is not extortionately expensive.

Living nearby was a bonus and the nightlife is vibrant with plenty of options. There are a number of bars and clubs within the city centre which is not far from the office at all with plenty of people from surround firms and there always seems to be plenty going on each night, but I don't think this was something that was paramount to the team that I was working in.

There were a few and I tried to make the most of them, playing in a football tournament that Savills were invited to which was good fun and allowed me to meet people in other divisions that I would not have otherwise met. This is also a good way of getting to know people outside the company who work in the same area and profession, good for improving your network of people.