Summer Intern Review

I had such a fantastic experience at CBRE, where I made many great contacts for the future and learnt an enormous amount investment and myself. I always had a buzz when I walked into the office as I was always excited to work with my team and learn something new every day.

From the very first day I arrived, my team were incredibly welcoming and friendly. They set up meetings to introduce themselves and their role as well as meetings with many colleagues around the business, in order for me to better understand the various departments and how the funds operated. In addition, I was always included in meetings with clients and to come for lunches with the whole team every week.

My supervisors were really supportive, where they would regularly come up to me and ask how I was doing. Furthermore, they set up meetings every week to check my progress and to see how I was finding the internship and the work with my team. They would also always be happy to help whenever I had a question that needed explaining.

I was relatively busy overall. Most days I was extremely busy and had lots of work to do, compared to the odd occasional day where there was not much to do, where I would have preferred to have been given more work, although there is only so much I could have been given. I did however have a lot of meetings therefore I made sure I was always kept busy.

Due to the nature of the work (investment management) I was not in the position to be dealing with important clients within the funds, however, I was given the opportunity to regularly attend meetings with them and I would assist on any task if required to help complete the job to the standard required.

I learnt an enormous amount: from investment and investment management (the sector of property I want to pursue); to compiling RFP reports - working in a team to collate all the work together; and to excel knowledge - learning about the different equations and formulas, which will help me with valuation and building cash flows.

It was always enjoyable to work with my team and colleagues in the office. Everyone got on really well with one another and we were able to have a good laugh with each other. It was important that there was a great balance between enjoying ourselves and working hard and being professional.

From the very beginning before the internship commenced, we were emailed all the details of the location and time we had to meet on the first day well in advance. When we arrived for our induction all the details were handed to us on paper as well as emailed to our company accounts, which made it much easier and accessible to follow. Every event was also very well structured and organised. Lastly, whenever we had a question or issue, the Next Generation would always help out and reply immediately.

I felt that although I was only an intern, the company massively invested in me, where I was always given the opportunity to learn. Whether that was working with my team in my office or attending meetings with clients. In addition, on a number of days I was invited to work with another team to learn more about the business and how another department operates, which was extremely valuable. Every colleague was always happy to meet me and have a chat to introduce themselves and their role, and offer advice.

I really hope I am given the opportunity to work for CBRE. After the internship, we will be fast tracked to the interview stage and if we progress through that we get to the assessment centre. After that, the company then decide if they want to employ you. I feel that doing the internship definitely helps securing a job, however, you do not have to do one to get offered a job.

In August (when our internship was), there were 13 interns. We all bonded really well and had a great time and laugh together. We would regularly meet up for lunch every week. We would occasionally meet up after work for drinks, however, it was sometimes difficult to organise as different people were coming from different offices across the city and would finish at different times some days.

I am from and live in London therefore there was no cost of living for me personally. The most significant contributor for expenses was transport. Especially if you are commuting to the Central London it can become quite expensive where I was spending on average £10 per day on transport alone. However, going for lunch and socialising after work was not that expensive and there are plenty of places to choose to go to therefore cost was never an issue.

I was working in the Global Investors office by St Pauls Cathedral, where there is a roof top bar at the very top of One New Change. It had a great atmosphere and the view of London is spectacular. When meeting the other interns, we would usually meet near Oxford Street, where there were many bars and great places to go such as Swingers.

There were some sports opportunities, such as tag rugby, football and netball games, where any colleague from the company was welcome to participate in. There were also sports fixtures against other property companies. I felt that there were opportunities for me, however, it was sometimes difficult to organise and we were not always included in the mailing list.