Insight Programme Review

I found the Insight programme very enjoyable. It was a very positive experience because it enabled me to come into contact with different areas of work within Rural Surveying. I had read about the profession and met people working in the field, however the Insight Programme really gave shape to it and helped me to better understand what is involved.

The feedback I received from colleagues on my work was positive. I appreciated the fact that I was given real tasks, relating to actual clients and projects, enabling me to learn by doing (as well as observing). I came away with the feeling that my input was valued and helpful both to me and to people I was working with.

The quality and quantity of support I received was excellent. I think assigning a specific person within the company as a dedicated mentor works very well, as I was in doubt about who to turn to if felt I needed further guidance. I also feel having a mentor of a similar age to me which does give a different dynamic. The mentoring I received was excellent, she went out of her way to explain concepts and client work to ensure I had as full a picture as possible when doing discrete pieces of work. Other staff were similarly helpful and informative, happy to share their knowledge with me and genuinely interested in why I was on a work placement with the firm.

The usefulness of the placement in an academic context is not relevant to my situation, as I have completed my first degree and have yet to enrol on another. However it did help me to appreciate what key skills are needed, and build on these if I decide to pursue a career in this field.

In my view this was a well structured programme. I think it struck the right balance between having certain pre-determined events during the week e.g. meet & greet, drinks after work, debrief sessions and allowing for the local team to determine themselves what was most appropriate for the insight student to get involved in. My mentor also proactively contacted other colleagues to explore if there were individual shadowing opportunities, so I had a rough outline to what I would be doing during the week, and something 'set' to prepare for each day. I therefore enjoyed an interesting mix of desk-based research, team meetings and client visits. This had the added benefit of making me more confident about getting stuck into other tasks as these arose.

My overriding impression was that it was really pleasant place to work, the people were friendly, informative and considerate. Being an open place office, I had the benefit of seeing how different divisions interacted with one another and converge at certain times on client business. Although it was a busy week for my mentor and the Rural team, I feel every effort was made to involve me wherever possible so I could get the most from my time there.

There was a conscious effort to expose me to different clients and areas of work, which helped me to better understand what the job would involve. I think much more training and development would be challenging given the limited timeframe of a week.

Again, a longer period of time would probably give a more rounded picture. Nevertheless I did get a much better sense of what a full time role would involve from observing how issues which arose were dealt with, and by working closely with a trainee within the company.

I really don't think that I was there long enough to get a real feel for it, but I did observe that strong people skills and professionalism were very important. Work experience across different firms working in the same field would probably help in this regard as well.

The content of the week was certainly beneficial in terms of fleshing out what I had read about from module descriptions, university prospectuses and company websites. I had a good feeling about the profession in terms of the variety of work that the role involves. As this has been the first proper work experience I have secured, I would like to gain further experience before making any firm decisions.

I hope to be reimbursed expenses.

Yes within the time constraints of a working week I was able to attend a workshop and meet other employees from a different office, as well as have discussions with more senior colleagues on journeys out to visit clients.

The networking opportunities were quite good given I was only there a week. After-work drinks were a nice touch as was the fee-earners lunch provided a more informal backdrop to ask questions and find out more about how colleagues had got into, and on within the profession.

I had some sense of this from chatting with my mentor but at the time I was more focused on understanding what the role itself involves!

Yes, without question if they were considering working in property or surveying profession.