Summer Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Cushman and Wakefield and by the end of it I felt a valued member of my team. The office atmosphere is good with people working hard yet still having time to help each other on projects. I also had the opportunity to get out of the office and attend meetings and events, which gave a real insight into the working life of a quantity surveyor.

I was working on a spreadsheet that would be referred to for the following year therefore I believe my colleagues valued the work I was doing. I was also asked to assist on other projects in addition to my main task.

I was welcomed into my team and had a meeting at the start of my internship to discuss my goals for the four weeks. This was extremely helpful as I kept these in mind throughout my time and in my final review meeting I had achieved them all. I was offered plenty of support from my team and they were always happy to give up their own time to help with a specific type of software of answer any questions I had about their jobs and the company.

At the start of my internship I was given a main project to work on which was to update a spreadsheet on housebuilder information, which would then be used to advise local authorities or clients on the current state of the market. As well as this main project I assisted on other smaller projects undertaken by other teams in the office. This was good as it offered a bit of diversity with the work I was doing but meant I was never stuck for something to do as I could always return to my main project. I also had the opportunity to attend meetings and external events which broke up the working day. I never felt overworked but felt that the days went quickly as I always was occupied with a task.

I was given responsibility to work autonomously on an important housebuilders spreadsheet which will be used for the coming year. I also assisted on a project to locate a site for a large development, I was trusted to use company software appropriately in order to complete this task. I also attended a “Property and Construction Seminar” and was trusted to represent the company appropriately during the networking time before and after the event.

Studying a non-cognate degree it is unlikely that this internship will help too much with my studies. However, the final internship presentation has improved my presenting skills which I will use when presenting my dissertation poster to my professors and peers. The skills I developed will hopefully assist me in my future studies should I pursue a RICs accredited Masters.

The general atmosphere in the office was good, people worked hard yet still had time to chat to each other. If I ever needed help with something colleagues were happy to give up their time to help out, and I noticed that graduates also received help from colleagues for their ongoing APC work. The office was occasionally not very busy due to people being out in meetings or on valuations, but this was to be expected considering the company.

I think the internship was well set up and particularly enjoyed the induction day at the start of the internship in London. This was a great chance to talk to graduates across many different departments in Cushman and Wakefield, and get an idea of what the graduate scheme was like. I also liked that I had to decide clear aims and these were then checked at the end of the internship.

The induction day featured talks on personal branding, professionalism amongst other things, but all of which was very relevant to the transition from University to a full-time career. I believe there would have been more opportunities in the London office, however I still had the chance to attend external events which developed my understanding of the regional property scene. Cushman and Wakefield also took the regional interns down to London for the induction and paid for accommodation and travel.

After my internship I would love to be offered a place on the graduate scheme. The graduates I spoke to received lots of support and the regular rotations really helped them with their APC work. Non-cognate graduates also valued the study days they were given to work towards their Masters- which I admire.

The interns were invited out for drinks with the graduates, who were all very welcoming. From speaking to the graduates they liked the social scene in the office, however I think during my four weeks it was a quiet time.

Manchester is very affordable for renting and going out, compared to London especially. I would have done the internship even if it wasn't paid so spending on rent, travel and drinks during the four weeks didn't bother me.

Manchester has a very good bar scene for drinks after work.

Once again I think London had more out of office activities such as sports teams however graduates did mention staff parties and networking events that they attended.