Summer Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on the internship programme with Cushman and Wakefield. It was incredibly insightful and has given me a strong focus going into my final year at university. I had the pleasure of meeting such a great variety of people, both from within the team I was placed, and fellow interns.

From my first day I was welcomed wholeheartedly by the team I was placed with, as well as the HR team. I can honestly say that over the six week period the working environment I was in was incredibly friendly and collaborative. I was asked for my opinion and carried out work that carried significant responsibility, which provided me with a strong sense of being valued by my team. Furthermore, my team always ensured I understood everything that was said to me, and were incredibly patient through explaining matters I was not familiar with.

I was given a great amount of support and guidance by my Directors, they ensured that they went through even the smallest detail in depth in order for me to completely understand it; which I was incredibly appreciative of considering how busy they were. Moreover, they also allowed me to try and come to the conclusions on my own first, and work through the motions myself before offering their input, which I found to be highly effective in aiding my learning and understanding.

I was doing something different every day, which I really enjoyed. I alternated between site visits and office work. This meant that no day was the same and there was no repetitive nature to anything. Everything was project specific and I was kept busy enough to never be doing nothing, but not given an insurmountable amount to do.

I was given a moderate amount of responsibility, being tasked with drafting project programmes, timelines and appraisals, which would then be checked by my Directors. I appreciated this level of responsibility as it helped me to work through processes logically, and I felt I was able to contribute something of value. It was also a great way of me illustrating my capabilities and knowledge of the subject area.

The skills, experience and training I received during my internship was outstanding. I could not recommend the experience I had enough. It has not only strengthened my ambition to pursue a career within this field but also has significantly enhanced my understanding of the property and construction industry. I was taken around sites that were remarkable and was able to witness first hand the process of works and what is involved in delivering projects to unique time, cost and quality standards.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the office. It had the perfect combination of friendliness, professionalism and mutual respect. It was exactly the type of environment I would wish to work in full time. I also felt completely comfortable talking to and asking for help from anyone as everyone was incredibly approachable and willing to help.

My internship was very well organised internally; there was never a time when I was left with nothing to do and my Directors always had something for me that would aid my learning and understanding from the experience. This ensured that no time was wasted and I was able to get the maximum out of my experience with the company.

The company invested heavily in my personal training and development. As I have previously mentioned; I was given a high level of attention in ensuring that I received the best experience and training during the time frame I was interning. All bases were covered in my development, ranging from my understanding of the industry and company through to honing my analytical and technical skills.

Future employment prospects with Cushman and Wakefield are incredibly positive, as I was fortunate enough to be offered a graduate role with them which I readily accepted.

There was good integration amongst the interns on the scheme, with numerous socials being organised both by the company and ourselves. Everyone on the scheme was likeminded and we all got along very well. I am in fact still in touch with a few, which is evidence of the strong integration we were able to get.

The cost of living and socialising was averagely priced, however it could have been construed to some as high due to the cost of London. As I am from London originally I am used to the higher prices and therefore the places we went to as a group of interns were mid range price wise.

The nightlife was great, with one of the offices situated in the West End this gave ample opportunity to explore different places to go at night.

There were several opportunities to get involved in activities outside work, including sports activities such as Netball, Rounders and Baseball, as well as social activities such as Ping Pong and Crazy Golf. This was the benefit of being located in London, the options of activities to do outside of work were endless which made socialising less repetitive.