Planning Consultant - Summer Scheme Student Review

My time spent at Savills has been one of the most fulfilling placements I have undertaken to date. Although a seemingly short time, I leave the office at the end of my internship with the satisfaction of having made a lasting impression on my colleagues; the ability to make this impression has been fostered by a supportive team willing to dedicate their time to ensure I maximised the most of my time here at Savills.

From day one, a friendly welcome from both the Planning Team and wider office ensured that throughout my placement, I saw all colleagues as approachable individuals who always had time for my queries. Whilst developing a strong professional relationship within the office, I consider myself very fortunate to have made many new friends along the way, who I have no doubt we will continue to keep in-touch post-placement. During my time at Savills, there were countless opportunities to network and socialise with colleagues both in and outside of the office.

Throughout my time at Savills, I have felt well-supported and could seek guidance where ever my skills or knowledge fell short of the task in-hand. It is important for us students who choose to undertake summer placements to remember that in the big wide corporate world you will not be wrapped in cotton wool. You must strive to work both independently and as a team and push yourself to ask colleagues for their support or guidance should it not be offered to you on a plate. It is this sense of independence that allows you to take greater responsibility and ownership in your work, knowing that you are surrounded by approachable colleagues should you need to ask any questions or advice.

As per the nature of any working environment, some days are busier than others. During quiet periods, I had the opportunity to continually work at background projects that spanned across my entire placement, which proved useful 'gap-fillers' in the event of finishing an assigned task early. At no point during my placement did I feel bored or complacent, and should I have felt that my workload could be increased, approachable colleagues were more than happy to assign additional tasks to me. Having the confidence to ask for more work or to organise an interview with another colleague to discover their role, is fundamental to experiencing a fulfilling summer scheme.

As a non-cognate student, there are limits to your skills and knowledge on the job, especially when it comes to Real Estate. However, summer placements are a prime opportunity for you to develop your industry knowledge and skill-set and this can only be achieved by conducting real-live-tasks. I do believe it takes a week or so for the team to recognise the level of your understanding of the role prior to entering the office, and this can sometimes result in a limited work load at first instance. I was delighted in the latter end of my placement to be given fulfilling tasks that actively contributed to the workload of the team, giving me great satisfaction in knowing that there are projects under Savills' umbrella in which I have taken an active role to deliver.

Over the past 4 weeks, I have developed a wealth of skills and knowledge that I have no doubt will prove invaluable throughout the rest of my undergraduate studies and beyond! Alongside me sits a bloated note book that is true testament to the extent which I have been able to obtain a truly developed and added-to skillset whilst here at Savills. Not only have I accumulated and developed skills in Real Estate, but have also furthered my personal development in team work, communication and presentation skills that are transferable to both my academic and career endeavours.

Savills places great emphasis on a sociable office to further and develop professional relationships between colleagues. The atmosphere of the office was one of innovation, good humour and productivity. When a demanding task is required of the team, expectantly colleagues are very much focussed on the task in hand creating a sense of 'drive' amongst those involved. The way the office is set up allows for ease of communication between members of the team and wider office, which produces a sociable atmosphere were colleagues are engaged with one another throughout the working day. The designated kitchen and 'chill-out' areas are very much a relaxed setting despite being within the office. This area very much carries an atmosphere of its own allowing for colleagues to separate themselves from their work and socialise with one another. This is a great area as a summer scheme student to network with colleagues of other teams to learn of their experiences working for Savills.

As a student in a Regional office, there is no apparent structure to the summer placement. Unlike students carrying out their placements in London, there are limited opportunities to network and socialise with other placement students as very often you are the only one in the office! I do feel I have missed out on having the opportunity to network with other summer scheme students to learn of their experiences and career aspirations, but logistically this is perhaps unfeasible due to the location of the regional offices. Whilst there is no apparent structure, as a mature adult entering the world of work, you are expected to use your own initiative to navigate around the office to discover the roles of different teams. Whereas in other organisations, this rotation may be scheduled into your time table, in Savills you are required to take responsibility to achieve this. Whilst I am confident enough to network, I would be concerned that less confident individuals would miss out on discovering the roles of other teams throughout the office without being time tabled to do so.

Irrespective of the obvious financial investment of undertaking a Paid-placement, the greatest investment a company can make in you is TIME....and at Savills, TIME for you is in abundance. Prior to my arrival, every member of the office was notified of my impending start-date, with my CV at everyone's disposal, members of the team developed a vested-interested in my extra-curricular activities and work experience prior to my arrival. This provided the opportunity to make good conversation upon introduction in the first week which allowed for a smooth transition into the arrangement of the office. As a regional student, I was not able to physically attend lectures delivered to students in London, but Savills' 'phone-in' feature allowed regional students to observe lectures and actively engage at each talk. These proved to be very interesting and provided a great insight into current market trends, 'typical-day-to-day' of graduates etvc...

Throughout my time at Savills, I have had the opportunity to interview current graduate colleagues to gather an understanding of their route into the business. This is of great help to me as a non-cognate student wanting to map-out my chosen discipline to achieve an accredited post-grad qualification. There is great emphasis in Savills to see summer scheme students join their graduate programme in the future, and I very much look forward to the admissions process to come and being able to talk about my time at Savills; standing you in great stead against other candidates who have not undertake such a fulfilling placement.

I believe that the London students had various networking events to meet other placement students and current graduates, but as mentioned before, being in a regional office restricts your ability to meet other placement students. This is something that Savills is looking to address in the future. Whilst I had many opportunities to socialise and network with graduates and other colleagues, it would have been very beneficial to meet like-minded students also undertaking the summer scheme.

As a regional student, you have the benefit of being away from the expense of London. Also as the regional office is only a 30 minute commute from my home, I did not have to incur accommodation costs which sometimes hinder students wanting to experience a corporate summers scheme but having to face the expense of renting in London, albeit for a short period of time. I consider a regional placement with Savills to be as fulfilling, if not better in comparison with a placement in the Big City where you are very much a small fish in a very large pond! To be able to commute from your own home in 30 minutes to a placement with a global leader like Savills is truly unique.

As the city is my hometown, I am well acquainted with what is on offer in terms of nightlife. Again, with the office being located in a bustling city, there are countless opportunities to go for drinks with colleagues and socialise outside of the office which helps to improve your ability to network successfully.

I was delighted to be invited to attend RTPI Young Planners event hosted by a competing firm in the region. Attending alongside a current graduate, this event proved an excellent opportunity to meet other graduates and young people who share similar interests in terms of career aspirations. The event also opened up the opportunity to network with professionals of other firms within the city that may well be prospective employers when it comes to applying for grad schemes!