Planning Intern Review

I really enjoyed participating on the summer scheme as it was a great opportunity to discover more about my department (planning). Having not come from a property/planning background, this was a great opportunity for me to gain an insight into the industry, but also to how Savills operates as a business. I was able to see a variety of aspects of the role of a graduate planner (planning applications, appraisals, statements, planning history research) but also had the opportunity to attend meetings and other outside events.

I definitely felt welcomed into the team, and as the weeks went on was gradually given more work/opportunities to learn more about the different aspects of a graduate planning role. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and ensured that I had enough work to be getting on with throughout the placement.

The levels of support were also really good. I was designated a graduate mentor who was my main point of guidance, but I also had support and the opportunity to learn from more senior members of the team too. An appraisal to reflect on my experience and work performance was set up in the last week of the placement with two senior members of my team and that was also a really useful opportunity to hear about how I was doing.

I definitely always had enough tasks/projects to be completing, but never to the point where it was unmanageable. I also had the opportunity to ask for more/less work depending on the workload.

I was treated and assigned similar tasks that a graduate planner would in the department. This meant I was actually being given tasks for live projects which I was really happy about, as it meant my contributions were actually going towards tangible outputs. It also meant I had the opportunity to develop my ability to organise and work to deadlines as there would be someone waiting on the work I was doing.

For me it was a really valuable opportunity to engage first-hand with the skills and tasks that would be expected of a graduate planner. Having not studied/worked in the sector previously, it boosted my confidence in my ability to enter the profession and will definitely help when applying to graduate schemes in the future and in completing my accredited masters course.

The general atmosphere was very focused most of the time with staff working independently on their work. However it was also flexible in terms of friendly conversation/if you needed to ask someone a question.

Very well organised. Lots of departmental talks to learn about different aspects of the business, lots of social activities to get to know the other interns and lots of support from the graduate team in terms of helping with any problems/questions.

Definitely clarified the process and logistics of undertaking the graduate scheme and the benefits of doing the scheme at Savills. Always felt very supported and welcomed - generally very positive and willing to help/guide through any technical or professional skills that would be needed.

Definitely keen to apply to the graduate scheme after very positive experience.

Very social, lots of organised social activities and great opportunities to get to know other interns.