Summer Scheme Student - Building and Project Consultancy Review

I have been really impressed by the organisation of the summer scheme and have found the activities put on by HR not only beneficial, but relevant and interesting. Having a structure to the month gave me a sense of purpose and equally enabled me to build friendships with other interns who I'm sure I will cross paths with in industry.

It was the little things that made me feel a valued member of the team, from the acknowledgement whenever I walked into the team space and the frequent tea offers when someone was going to the kitchen. There were times that I felt like a spare part, but being proactive and taking an interest in the team paid off - tomorrow I am going white water rafting with the them!

I know this is anonymous, but I want to make a big shout out to [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] who was a fantastic mentor. Even though he was very busy on various projects, he always found time to check up on me and made me feel really comfortable, particularly in my first week. While our interactions have subsided over the month, what I found really great was how approachable [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] was and no question or request was too much for him. He truly is an asset to your firm and someone who is a fantastic young representative of the Savills ethos. In terms of the rest of the team, all members were more than happy to answer any questions or queries, regardless of how busy they were, which was really appreciated.

Some days were busier than others and I did have to spend a lot of time chasing work. This is understandable since I appreciate that sometimes finding work for an intern to do can be more time consuming than the time it would save having someone else helping out. While initiative is encouraged, aside from the summer scheme events organised by HR, I didn't feel the team had much for me to getting involved with aside from the first week.

I never felt out of my depth with any task given to me. Some tasks I found challenging, whereas others were more mundane. Towards the end of my placement, I was asked to do a solo site visit to collate a schedule of condition of broken floor tiles at a property. While this was a straight-forward task, I was really proud that my team trusted in my abilities enough to represent the firm, liaise with the building manager and deliver what was needed from the schedule. Overall my level of responsibility was relative to the short period that I was working within the team, so I am sure if I was staying on longer that responsibility would have increased.

The scheme has given me a very good insight into the firm, the different sectors and the graduate scheme. Savills is a firm that I am keen to be apart of once I graduate this December. Skills wise I have picked up more industry experience/lingo that simply cannot be taught in a classroom.

Atmosphere was great in the office. The team were always chatting and having a joke and people from different teams would often pop over. It was a very approachable environment and that made it easier when ever I needed some help or advice.

Very well organised. I've covered this in a previous response, but HR were quick to respond to emails, helpful and all the events that were put on were valuable. There was a real range of activities from rounders in Hyde Park, departmental overviews, cultural city walks, to the Fee Earner lunch that I am attending this afternoon. Being regularly involved with other interns also helped, since there was always a network of like-minded students thatI could message or meet for lunch etc.

I did request to be on-boarded onto a 'meeting minutes' workshop, but HR said that my team would need to fund this training. Since it was not feasible for the team to pay-out this fee for a 4-week intern, I missed out on this opportunity. This was disappointing because I felt that workshop would have really benefitted me, especially as I was frequently asked to take meeting minutes and developing this skill was something I really wanted to achieve on the placement.

Very appealing! I am really keen to work for Savills once I graduate and the summer scheme has only made me more eager to impress. Having an insight into what could be my future workplace and also the quality of the APC training are great selling points. Fingers crossed!

Yes, we have a summer scheme group chat that meant we were all able to communicate and organise lunch/drinks. While the interns were a little stand-offish at first, after the first social drinks but on by HR, the alcohol certainly helped subside any awkwardness.

Expensive, but it's London after all, so it is expected. I am living at home and contributing 25% of my income towards rent, but whenever I was out with the team, drinks were always paid for and I managed to get through the placement only buying one round - yay!!

Great - it's London.

Yes, plenty. Not so much with internal Savills activities, but lots of summer scheme events were put on/drinks with other interns. We seem to have a good relationship with Cushman & Wakefield, since we often met up with their interns for drinks after work.