Insight Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Savills and I am sad to be nearing the completion of my programme. Looking forward however, I believe this experience has well equipped me for applications to future internships and post graduate study. In the future I will be sure to take any opportunity to work for or with this company again, based on my experiences this week.

I felt extremely valued in my time working with Savills. Despite only being with the company for a week, I feel that I was trusted with responsibility almost immediately. This came in the form of tasks and research I was asked to complete by my mentor. In completing these tasks I felt like I was adding something to the teams work and in turn felt valued.

While I was given tasks to complete, if I was unsure or needed assistance it was always extremely forthcoming. This was true not only of my mentor, but also other members of the team I was working within. I had no real prior experience of the property industry and therefore the guidance I received was extremely useful for me developing this knowledge.

Next year I plan to embark on a masters in Real Estate and therefore the knowledge I have received in my placement will be invaluable when adjusting to this new area of academia. Furthermore I am now have a much more comprehensive understanding of the industry, which I hope will aid me in securing a place to study and places of future graduate schemes.

I believe the week was well structured. A great degree of flexibility was given to my mentor, which I thought was a positive thing, as this allowed him to work normally and me experience what everyday work is like. There were several planned events during the week including social drinks and a lunch, which I found to be extremely helpful. Here I was able to talk to members of different teams and ask about their experiences of their time with Savills.

I found the general atmosphere in the office at Savills to be extremely welcoming and friendly. The working environment was relaxed and I also had apt opportunities to socialise with members of various teams outside of the office. While I was given work and responsibilities I was not placed under undue pressure and I felt I could easily approach other members of my team if I needed assistance.

I was only at the company for a week, but I felt the team dedicated time to me to ensure my understanding and basic knowledge could flourish.

I believe the insight was a close reflection of the working environment at Savills, which I found to be useful in assessing whether I would want to dedicate my future to a career in property. Obviously I did not experience the full work load of a student on track to take an APC examination, however I believe I did gain an accurate insight to what the job entails on a day to day basis.

I believe this programme was effective in helping me understand the working environment and culture in a large firm.

The content was extremely valuable. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to speak with members of teams outside of mine. This allowed me to gain an understanding of their area of work. Having a diverse knowledge of different sectors I hope will allow me to decide what specialisms I may be interested in. This week has assured me that property is the sector where I want to pursue a career and I am now eagerly eyeing places on summer internships and a masters course to further develop my skills and knowledge.

I was reimbursed for travel, accommodation and lunch up to £100 for the week.

Yes at both a lunch and casual drinks. I was also given the opportunity to go out on visits with another department as a result of the networking lunch.

They were extremely fun and helpful. I met many graduate surveyors after work one day for a drink. In this relaxed environment it was easy to socialise and gather information and advice concerning future career and post grad choices. I was also able to talk to directors and other employees higher up in the company, expanding my knowledge of their roles and what they expect of graduates.

Yes my mentor was active in organising both casual drinks with colleagues and a networking lunch with a number of directors.

Definitely, it is a perfect chance to develop your knowledge of an industry in a short time span. Along side this you get the chance to network, work on real projects and enjoy a friendly working environment within a leading firm. I see being able to add a leading firm such as Savills to my CV to also be a massive bonus for future prospects. More importantly than this however is the fact that, on top of adding this to a CV any student lucky enough to be selected will be able to talk of the real knowledge they gained and the responsibilities they were entrusted with.