Internship Review

I found the experience very helpful and thoroughly enjoyed my week.

I was given roles of responsibility such as measuring properties, reading floor plans, and conversing with clients.

My mentor gave be advice on the graduate scheme, the general practice of a surveyor in valuation, and talked me through the documents involved in valuation, which I now have a greater understanding of.

By seeing the modules I do at university in practice I have cemented my understanding of how I will be using my knowledge gained from my degree as a post graduate and surveyor.

I was able to visit three sights within the week. I was also given a timetable of talks a week prior to my placement starting.

The atmosphere in the office was friendly and positive; all members of the leisure team (that were present) introduced themselves and gave me a clear indication of their role in the department. It was clear that all the Savills employees that I met were passionate about surveying and passing on there knowledge to new people on the scene such as myself.

My mentor spent a reasonable amount of time explaining the tasks I was given and answered all questions I had about the tasks. If I made a mistake or needed help during a task everyone on the team would immediately take the time out of there busy day to help run projects through with me. I often asked what members of the team were doing and they were all happy to explain their jobs with me and even gave me additional tasks or reading related to this.

During my placement I was lucky enough to shadow surveyors on several large tasks. On my first day my mentor and members of the leisure team clearly explained to me the role of a valuation surveyor in the leisure department. I understood that often depending on the size of the property it can take 14 days to value a site. I learnt that prior to visiting the site the appropriate research which can be done through various sites.

Because I now have a greater understanding of the day to day activities of a commercial surveyor I am confident that this is this is the career path I would like to take. Since starting my placement I have given a lot of consideration into pursing a career into surveying in leisure (should the opportunity present itself). I am intrigued by the variety of sites that leisure entails and the placement has inspired me to look at all aspects of surveying as a career.

Due to Covid-19 there were obvious limitations regarding the safey of networking in large groups. Given the present circumstances I was given a fair amount of opportunities for networking meeting three of the four directors of the department I was working with. I feel like I have got to know the team I am am working with well and will definitely look forward to seeing them all at networking events or interviews in the future.

I was able to have in-depth discussions with employees and everyone seemed pleased to meet me and teach me about there roles in the office. I was able to understand the variety of career paths employees had taken to achieve their RICS accreditation or status within the company.

Obviously due to the current circumstances social events are limited as of present. However, I was lucky enough to gain an understanding of the 'normal' activities for employees 'pre-covid'.

I would definitely recommend the summer scheme. The scheme felt tailored around my career and educational development.