Building Surveyor Intern Review

The internship placement was like nothing I expected. I must admit, I was a little suspicious at first, as I had never been abroad on programmes such as this one. My suspicion was quickly removed after I had my first Skype interview with the programme coordinators and then another one with the company I was interning at. I am not sure I can condense my entire experience into one small review. I will therefore quickly summarise: I had the best time both in terms of work experience, cultural immersion, and getting to know new people that I will likely stay connected to for life. I learned many valuable lessons and gained an insight into the culture of Hong Kong. The programme is incredibly efficient and everything went very smoothly. I must say it was excellent, and nothing went wrong - that being said, the apartments were a little small for Western standards, but I cannot complain.

I felt valued by colleagues during the majority of the placement. However, initially the team weren’t wholly prepared for my arrival, so I wasn’t given a lot of work during the first few days. Once I had proved myself I was given more valuable work and tasks that were more fulfilling. I was also able to attend the team away day which was a fun day and helped me to form relationships with my colleagues and other interns.

In the first couple of days I was shown, in depth, how to use many of the key systems that the valuation team used regularly. By being taken aside and shown properly how to use it I was able to grasp a keen idea how things worked quickly. There was never an issue if I did struggle to find something or was stuck on something either my line manager or another member of my team would come and help me out, in fact they encouraged questions to make sure that I was comfortable with the work I was doing and not finding things too hard.

I was fairly busy on a daily basis. I was given different tasks by different colleagues. We were set a presentation task during the internship which did allow me to keep fairly busy.My line manager made sure he didn't pile too much on my plate at once but if I had finished a certain task, it was just a case of using my initiative to ask other members of the team whether they had any tasks for me to complete or to help them with something.

As an intern I wasn't expecting to be taking on too much but when they could see how well I was doing and how I was picking things up they would give me more challenging work to do to suite my level. They saw that I wanted to work harder and was capable of doing so so they had no issue in letting me take more control over projects and allow me to put my stamp on things which made me feel like my work was really worthwhile.

They are certainly helping me now as I undertake my postgraduate degree. The skills that I developed during my internship will be ones that I take forward into my career. I was able to develop sector specific knowledge which will also prove useful. In addition, we received extra training such as presentational skills training which I am sure will be helpful within many aspects of my life.

The office was fairly quiet, but all the colleagues were welcoming and friendly. At lunch time there was always people to chat with and to spend time with. Graduates were welcoming and arranged some formal social events, but the informal events were limited which was a little disappointing as it would have been nice to get to know more people in the firm. We went on an office evening to the races which was a brilliant way to meet my colleagues in a more informal setting, it showed me what a fun place it would be to work. There was also other times when we went for a meal/few drinks after work on a friday which showed how much people in the office got on.

The placement was well organised and there was a number of people I could contact if I needed any help with anything or had any queries. Although I was predominantly in one team for 3/4 weeks for the last week I was given the chance to take one day in a variety of the other teams around the office which worked very well. Very well organised with drinks events and presentations.

The additional training provided during the internship such a presentational skills training was an additional bonus which was both enjoyable and useful. They were brilliant in taking the time to thoroughly show me through different systems and real estate jargon that I had never come across before. Because they took the time at the start to show me properly it meant I was then able to carry that through to the rest of my internship with no issue.

Very appealing. This is a brilliant organisaiton and I've always had positive experiences with them, both abroad and in the UK. If I was to secure a graduate post I would hope to be placed in a team that more closely aligns with my interests as I feel I could excel in a different team.

Between the interns there was a good social connection. We often spent lunchtimes as a group and we also organised informal social events such as evening drinks. Compared to other schemes it was a better social scene as the students were all fun and friendly and i enjoyed spending time with them.

It was a fairly expensive living cost but this is expected from living in China. I had to pay for travel and that was about it. We were paid well for the internship and got paid half way through and all at once which made it easy for everyone. Drinks were regularly paid for and I even had a fully paid for day out .

The nightlife in the local area was exceptional as we were close to the clubs and bars of Soho but also had a range of local pubs and eateries closer to the office. We were situated pretty central so it was easy to get anywhere. Drinks were usually split between the two offices in the City.

There was lots of social events organised for the interns which was fun but the informal interactions with other colleagues was limited. The team were less sociable than other teams that I have been placed within in other internships. The interaction between interns was more commonplace – which was fun and made the placement more enjoyable.