Placement Student Review

I continue to thoroughly enjoy my time working within one of the Rural Teams at Fisher German - no day is ever the same! Despite the office being quieter than usual due to the current pandemic, the support and encouragement has still remained second to none, with a wide range of people across the company pushing you to achieve your best, by recognising you as an individual. The variety of work, such as compensation claims, valuations and a whole array of estate management jobs, helps to keep you continually looking forward to work.

Fisher German as a company are dedicated to understanding people, that regards their clients and employees. Upon starting this became very apparent, and even before then in the interview process, they wanted to understand what your ambitions were, in order to support those. On some quieter days when you're helping with general admin within the office, everyone is very grateful for your time, as the same for bigger projects. I think what is most important is even when you do something wrong, your time is still valued and the time is spent to help you learn where to improve, which is what a placement year is for. Outside of your team, across the company there is a big emphasis on valuing each member of your team from Partners to Placement Year Students.

I think what is important to me is Fisher German get you thinking for yourself about the work you are doing. A project or brief is often given to me with a quick explanation of roughly what to do, then leaving you to it. It can be a bit daunting on some projects but there are always people to ask for help and even if you get it wrong then it is a big help in learning something you may have misunderstood from university, especially before final year, as the time is spent to go over any projects. All the members of the team are approachable so if you're really struggling with a project, you're not on your own.

Some days are busier than others but I think that is very much caused by the pandemic. A couple of days a week I tend to be on estates, where I could be doing viewings for parcels of land or properties, to meeting tenant farmers, to meeting a variety of contractors. The remainder of the week I tend to be carrying out desk based work from the office in regards to organising viewings or contractors, or typing up a variety of agreements such as Farm Business Tenancy's.

An awful lot! There are some estate management projects I have been dealing with where you are often visiting and organising various repair works, tenancy agreements and meeting a wide variety of clients on your own. Any important documents or major works I always pass by line managers and are often confirmed by the estate. Fisher German are dedicated to getting you the hands on experience you require for the APC process that enables you to reach MRICS status.

The dedication of the graduate team and the support they give you for the APC process is phenomenal. This will be vital to my final year at university, as the responsibility and hands on experience I have gained has enabled me to gain a greater understanding of the world of Rural Chartered Surveying. Furthermore, I know I can contact any member of the team for help regarding any academic work and they would only be more than happy to help.

The graduate team have APC Supervisors, APC Counsellors and additionally APC Doctors to ensure you are keeping on track with the APC process, and are there to offer support along the whole process. Additionally, you are encouraged to take the initiative to sign up to a variety of webinars from those within the industry, along with keeping up to date with monthly e-learning and internal development.

Ultimately, I don't think you would get the support in passing your APC at the same level as many other firms. Personal development is strongly encouraged throughout, with many partners within the firm starting as graduates. Additionally, there is the opportunity to note preferred areas of work and FG do their best to accommodate gaining experience within those sectors. I would very much wish to return to Fisher German after graduating.

There tends to only be one placement student per office apart from the head office. Despite not being able to meet in person, due to the current restrictions of lockdown, we are able to speak to other placements virtually and I often call other students or visa versa for advice regarding work. I would say being a placement student in lockdown has been hard socially currently no matter which firm or office you're working for.