Intern Review

The team that I worked with put a lot of effort into ensuring that my experience was valuable and enjoyable. It was clear that they understood that if interns had a positive experience, they'd be highly likely to come back. The placement was well organised, with a few networking mixers, optional additional events and intern training sessions to enhance our experience.

As an intern, there is only so much value that you are adding to the team and their work. Having said that, my colleagues were always ready to praise and give credit when I had completed a job well or had presented myself with confidence during a team meeting.

With every task that I was assigned throughout my 4-weeks, it was clearly explained what I needed to do, where to find the information, and who to speak to if I needed further assistance whilst completing the task. They also always took the time to explain why I was completed the task, why it was important for the team, and how it fits into their work cycle. Additionally, every member of the team was always happy to explain anything about the industry that I might not understand, or to give me an overview of a deal that they were working on and what they hoped might happen with it in the near future.

On my first day I had little to do apart from read some research documents and familiarise myself with the team's track record. As someone who had worked before, I did feel that the first day was quite light, however I do understand that the team did not want to overload or overwhelm on the first day. For the remainder of the internship, I always had plenty on my to do list as I was proactive about asking the team to send anything my way that I might be able to help with. Work load was not so heavy that I felt stressed or needed to stay late.

I carried out work that was in a similar vein to what the graduates on the team do on a day-to-day basis; it was clear that there was a difference in work type between a pre- and post- chartered surveyor. This gave me a great understanding of the type and level of work that would be within my remit throughout the graduate scheme. For the most part, the type of work that I carried out during the internship either involved researching and updating market reports, or assisting inspections (taking notes and photographs).

Exposure to terminology and discussing different asset types was extremely useful for me as a newcomer to the industry and I believe this will be useful throughout my Masters. Additionally, the network that I created at Knight Frank were all incredibly friendly and willing to help, with many asking to keep in touch and to feel free to contact them for any help I needed with my Masters tasks and assignments.

The atmosphere was generally friendly, with colleagues from other teams regularly chatting with one another whilst moving through the office and socialising in the kitchenettes. Senior colleagues always seemed happy to chat and there wasn't too much of a barrier there from what I experienced. Compared to other offices that I have experienced, there was a stronger feel of professionalism.

Very well organised during the internship, with specific networking and training events set up for interns throughout, as well as optional general events that graduates, etc may be attending. The only let-down was the IT side of things; I didn't get a computer log-in until the end of my first week and I didn't get my building access pass until my second week - more of an IT/logistics issue.

We were given a full introduction to the company and what they do when we arrived on our first day, as well as an ice breaker/introduction to one another. In terms of training, we were given an entry level session whereby we understood the different personality types in an office and how we can best communicate with them. We also discussed our awareness of how best to present ourselves in an office environment through body language and general communication.

Very appealing. The graduate scheme itself appears to be really well structured with a lot of support from your team who have all been through it before. The pass rate for the APC seemed very high; this is of course mostly based on the individual, however Knight Frank appear to provide lots of training sessions and reviews with HR and graduate mentors to ensure that you are keeping on track which shows that they care about your development and progression. The company overall has an excellent reputation and there are so many teams that carry out different work that exposure to potential future roles is wide and varied.

Interns arranged a few evening social events throughout the 4-weeks amongst ourselves and had 'farewell' drinks on the last day of the internship. Everyone was very friendly and keen to make the most of the experience and meeting others who are in a similar place in their life. Many of the group were attending the same Masters course starting this September so it was a great opportunity to meet fellow students before enrollment.

Expensive area (Marylebone) with a lot of temptation! There are plenty of high street chain options for lunch, e.g. Pret a Manger, Tesco, Sainsburys, Itsu, Boots, etc, as well as chain restaurants like Zizzi. Marylebone itself has a lot of medium to high end restaurants which are, for the most part, quite expensive (for an interns budget). Pubs and bars in the area are priced medium-high.

Very much a pub scene from what I saw, especially amongst the graduates, who would then tend to head to other areas after about 11pm. There are plenty of areas nearby that do have a later / more active nightlife such as Soho and Farringdon that are popular with young professionals or people tended to head to the areas that they lived (and it seemed that most graduates live in Fulham or Clapham, which have plenty of places to go to).

There were many casual social opportunities with graduates and the team. I was disappointed to have not been able to attend the summer party that took place and was attended by my team and the whole floor I was working on. Not my team's fault at all, but a shame that this wasn't extended to 'non-permanent' staff as it would have been a great networking opportunity for potential future permanent employees.