Summer Intern Review

This has by far been my favourite work experience that I have taken part in. I think due to the inclusive structure of Savills, this allowed me to settle in and really feel part of the team, which is something that has been missing in previous corporate real estate experience.

The Sevenoaks office is extremely friendly, I had met everyone in both development and planning departments on my first day; I subsequently met everyone from sales and lettings too. Each time I completed a piece of work, I would review it with whoever set the piece, this gave me the connection with colleagues and made me feel like I was genuinely a part of the team. Even the little things were noticed (e.g. someone saying thank you).

I received ample support and whenever I had questions, anyone was happy to answer them. I enjoyed the independency that I was given, being able to complete a task to the best of my ability, then reviewing my work at the end of the process; I received guidance of the best and most efficient ways of completing a job.

Working in the development department allowed me to use all of the skills I have been learning over the last two years of university. Both the departmental talks, as well as further meetings I have been able to sit in on have given me a lot more insight into how various markets work and the best practice when working within them. Savills Connect had so much relevant content and studies which, although largely confidential, gave me a lot of information of broader markets (such as PropTech).

The structure and organisation was seamless; from the outset I was welcomed into the team and my mentor knew what was going on the entire way through, even when she was not in the office, she would make arrangements for another member of the team to look after me and give me work if I finished early.

The entire team get on very well and I think this allowed me to settle in quickly, it didn't take long before I was joining in with social events (for example a football tournament on my third day). There was a good sense of professionalism but this was balanced with a more relaxed working environment.

A lot of time and effort have been invested in me over the past month. From the outset, everyone made an effort to invite me on site visits and find out about what their role included and what they were working on at the time. This allowed me to see a broad range of fields within the development department and showed me my strengths and what I can build on in the coming university year.

As the scheme lasted a month, it was good time to settle in with the team and attend social events, as well as experience a good amount of work. By speaking to my colleagues in the office, I have gained a picture of what it's like to work at Savills and what it means to be a part of the family.

As stated above, due to social events and drinks / lunches, it feels like a work family which reflects the structure of the company. I have worked alongside Grads and Directors and felt just as comfortable with both which I didn't imagine to be the case. many of the people I have worked with have been with Savills for a substantial time (one of them over 30 years!) so hearing how the company has changed over the years has been interesting.

I was pleased to realise that the job does not entirely consist of sitting at a desk; going on site visits and meeting with clients made the experience far more enjoyable and showed me that I am on the right career path for me. I haven't thought at any point that I wasn't enjoying something, even if it was difficult or time consuming, the content was always interesting.

As Sevenoaks is a regional office, there is constant communication with other offices in the South East. I met some other employees from the Guildford office at social events and at the Valuation roadshow; this was a brief meeting but it was interesting to hear their involvement on projects which I had been involved with.

I was thrown into networking early on in my placement as I took part in a football tournaments hosted by the office. There were a number of teams representing our best clients and it was a good opportunity to introduce myself and find out a bit more about the market.

There were a number of events that various people in the office had attended during my time here from Gala's to sporting events. Having spoken to colleagues in the office, it seems as if there are activities to suit just about anyone and there are always opportunities to try new things.

I would definitely recommend this scheme to a friend, especially if they were interested in development and looking to further their experience.