Summer Scheme intern Review

I did enjoy my time at Savills more than I expected to. The culture of the office was really welcoming and my team in particular were lovely. As work experience goes, I felt like I was given some interesting tasks that allowed me greater insight into the company. However, I did feel like I was also given some very boring tasks to complete as well (while I do realise that is just the nature of work experience).

I felt valued by my team and in particular my 2 graduate mentors. Sometimes the work that they gave me was important which indicates that they valued me as an intern. However, sometimes they often had little for me to do and I felt like I was pestering them to find things, as they had not thought of anything.

I was given a lot of support and guidance by my managers and mentors. Whenever I was given a task they would explain it fully and clearly. Similarly, before my presentation which I was very nervous for the whole team had advice and helped calm my nerves. I also had lunch with my manager and he imparted a lot of career advice.

I was more busy at the beginning of my placement, however, my work load dropped significantly by the 3rd week. However, during this time I began working on my summer project. I do realise that the summer months are more quiet generally, however, I did feel like I pestered my team a lot to find me things to do.

I felt like I was given the normally amount of responsibility that a 1-month long intern would get. Sometimes the work was important and had a deadline, whereas sometimes the work was filling in long spreadsheets with information from other spreadsheets. However, I do feel overall, that I helped my team with small jobs that made their jobs easier.

I am a non-cog student so most of the things I learnt during my internship were not very relevant. However, I feel like I learnt a lot about the property industry as it my first time working an extended period within property. The information I learnt will be very useful for the RICS accredited MSc I will undertake in the future. I also feel like most of the things I learnt were about work based etiquette and social skills.

The atmosphere in the Savills office was great. It is a very sociable office with friendly people. My team in particular were very friendly, from the managers all the way down to the other intern in my team. The office struck me as one that knew when to be professional but also knew when to have fun.

The internship was organised extremely well. I really enjoyed the talks that were put on by the Grad Recruitment team as they were very informative, but also offered a good opportunity to talk to the other interns. Similarly, the drinks and socials organised by the grad scheme were a great way to meet the other interns. I did find that the mid-placement reviews and the presentations both over ran.

The team was very nice and did have an interest in my development during my time here. They were concerned about my well being, especially when I was nervous before the presentation. They also made sure to explain things to me often as I am a non-cog student. However, I do not feel the company as a whole had a particular interest in me.

I think as a graduate surveyor Savills seems like the best company to try and work with. I have been told by various other interns that Savills is the best graduate scheme. Similarly, it is widely known throughout the industry. Also the rotation structure of the graduate scheme really appealed to me to help get the most experience for my APC. Also the chance to be able to learn my MSc while working at Savills is an extremely exciting prospect and one I will be focusing on.

There was good social scene amongst the other summer interns. We all seemed to get on well as a group at the talks and social events put on by Savills. The interns also organised a social on the second last day which is a testament to that. My team were also very sociable as I went to have lunch and drinks with them on a few occasions.

I am from London so I am used to it now. It also really helped that I lived at home so did not have to pay rent and meals. However, I do think that if I had had to live by myself and pay rent, the money I earned from the internship would probably not be enough to cover this cost. Also the West End and Central London are generally expensive so it costs a lot to socialise after work.

The nightlife in the West End and Central London is some of the best in the city. Was very fun to be able to go to all these restaurants and bars immediately after work. Also some of my friends outside of the internship work by so it was very convenient. However, these places were quite expensive so its difficult as an intern.

There were a few socials put on by the Grad recruitment team to socialise with the other interns outside of work. Also I went to have lunch and drinks with my team a few time outside of working hours. There was also the option to get involved in sports events but either I was not told about them, or wasn't interested.