Summer Intern Review

Overall, a really great internship programme that provides not only a great level of professional development, but personal development also. During this time, I had the opportunity to work on meaningful projects and contribute to team success. The internship provides the opportunity to gain a greater insight into the values and ethos of the company and discover whether your skills and personality are in line with Savills.

During my time here, I always felt valued by my team and fellow colleagues. As I grew in confidence and ability, my line manager provided me with more responsibility and a great workload, which demonstrated that my work brought value to the team. I was always treated as a valued member of the team and from day one; I was invited to team events and social events after work.

My colleagues were always extremely approachable and I felt that I had a number of different people who I could turn to for support should I need it. By operating an ‘open door’ policy, Savills has created a culture whereby everybody is wiling to collaborate on ideas and share knowledge. In turn, I felt comfortable reaching out to a variety of different people, even if they did not work in my immediate team.

Due to the summer months tending to be a quieter period, there were some days that were quieter than others, but overall I found that I always had a steady stream of work. This was a mixture of project work that I was working on with my team and a number of intern related activities. I was expected to complete a written report of my time at Savills so I also had that to be getting on with.

As mentioned above, as I grew in confidence and ability, the level of responsibility that I was given gradually increased. Once I had demonstrated my ability to my line manager, I was trusted with more work and began to lead on projects. Overall, I was pleased with the level of responsibility that I was given, however, during the final weeks, I would have liked to have been given more.

The skills and knowledge that I have learnt throughout my time at Savills will really be invaluable in both my degree and future career pursuits. Studying Real Estate at University, I had the opportunity to put into practice the theoretical knowledge that I have developed over two years and the knowledge I learnt on the internship will be beneficial in final year, especially when writing my dissertation. Furthermore, I developed many transferable skills that will greatly benefit me in any future career path.

I really enjoyed the general atmosphere at Savills and there was a good balance between work and play. Whilst everyone was hard working and driven in their career goals, there was also a very sociable element to the firm, with most people socializing after work, especially on Thursday and Friday nights!

Very good organisation overall! At the beginning of the placement, I was provided with a timetable of all relevant events and activities, which allowed me to prepare. Furthermore, I was put in touch with my team before hand to introduce myself and discuss up coming work. Throughout the placement, there was good communication from the HR team and I was clear on the next steps for graduate recruitment.

Good level of investment in personal development- my line manager was particularly supportive when I came to this aspect. We had weekly meetings to discuss my work, but he also took the time to discuss my future career prospects as well as personal development. He set me specific tasks that would help with my development, such as presentations and confidence building exercises.

Prospects of working for Savills are extremely appealing. Throughout the placement, interns are encouraged to apply for the graduate programme and we were provided with all the information we needed to know about this. We had the opportunity to speak to many graduates throughout the placement, who all had very positive things to say about the scheme, which is very well respected in the industry.

Very good social scene here! The Real Estate sector is notorious for its work hard/play hard attitude and Savills did not disappoint!

The cost of living in London is very high and the offices of Savills are in a particularly expensive area of the city so I would recommend finding a cheaper area of London to live in, or live on the outskirts and commute. The cost of socializing is also very high, however, I always found my team to be generous when it came to pay for drinks etc. When I went out with fellow interns, we would always try to find cheaper bars or placing offering good happy hour deals.

Central London- great nightlife!

Yes, including charity and sporting events