DevCons/Sales & Lettings Review

I really enjoyed my one week long placement at CBRE. Although it was very brief i still got to learn quite a lot about the company, the different roles people do in the company and how to get into the company. I also got to meet a wide range of people from different backgrounds who all had different reasons for perusing a career in property. Personally i enjoy going out and about and meeting new people, during the placement i got to go out of the the office a lot and do multiple viewings and meeting actual clients.

Due to the fact i am still a minor and i do not have the appropriate qualifications to do certain tasks there were some tasks i was not able to do. However i completely understand why and even though i could not help with every task i was still given a lot of tasks to help with making me feel valued. Especially since the people that i shadowed actively looked for things for me to do.

On the first day of my placement, as soon as i went into the office i was sat down with an employee of the company who asked me which stage of education i am in, what are my career goals and what were my plans after sixth form. From the information he had found out about me from the conversation he began to give me advice on different ways i could accomplish what i want to and he also got me a meeting with an apprentice to help me learn more about the apprenticeship program aswell. All in all there was a lot of guidance and support from the beginning of the insight throughout.

This insight helped me to develop a variety of skills for example my networking skills, my time management skills etc. From what i have heard these skills are essential to be successful in any career. The information i received helped give me a greater insight on the range of pathways into the industry.

In my opinion the insight was very well structured. On my first day i was given a list of what i would be doing on each day, where i would be doing it and when. At no point during the insight was i just sitting about with nothing to do and even when i had finished a task new tasks were given to me.

The atmosphere during my insight at both the HH office and the Bow street office were both a lot less intimidating than i imagined. Everyone at the company was extremely friendly and seemed more than happy to talk to me. Often times people went out of their way to come up to me to talk and ask questions.

This insight helped me grasp a much better understanding on what it would be like to work a full time role at the company as i got to sit side by side with actual employees of the company, attend meetings with them, travel with them and i even worked the same hours as them giving me a full fledged experience.

During the insight through conversations from a variety of people it was easy for me to get an understanding of the company culture. All the employees i have spoken to told me that the company has a strong sens of togetherness. People from other divisions of the company will happily help others even if they do not need to, the company supports employees in creating committees and even encourages it and all in all the overall impression i got about the company culture is that everyone helps each other and the company actually cares about its employees.

The content of the insight was very valuable in helping me decide on my future career path. The tasks that i were given to do were all enjoyable to me and everyday of my placement i was genuinely excited to go to the office and see what was in store for me that day. The fact i found it so fun has definitely convinced that a career in property is for me.

Although i was not paid or reimbursed for expenses i do not think that it should deter anyone at all from doing this placement as the value of the experience i had, information i received and the connections i made far outweighs the cost of the expenses i had to pay getting to and fro the office.

Unfortunately during my time at CBRE there were no networking events however i still had the opportunity to meet other employees of the company through the people that i was shadowing and going around to different office. Also, the people i shadowed went out of their way to help me meet people in the company that could help me.

During my placement unfortunately there were not any networking events or social event opportunities.

During a conversation with someone who works at the company i found out that there are a lot of activities employees can get involved in outside of work for example rugby, charity runs and other sports. I was also informed that if an employee had an idea about other activities or events the company could provide they have the opportunity to and if the company thinks it a good idea they would happily fund it.

I would absolutely recommend this insight to a friend simply due to the fact CBRE is a massive company, because the company is so big there is something for everyone interested in property. Making it very easy to find out whether or not certain roles are for you or not.