Placement Student Review

My placement year was brilliant, it provided me the opportunity to put into practise what I had learnt at University. I was part of one of the Utilities teams which meant throughout my 15 months at Fisher German, no day was the same and I was very busy from the start. When I joined, right from the beginning everybody in the office was welcoming and friendly and made it really easy to settle in to office life.

The team I worked in was relatively small, which meant we had a lot of work between a small number of people. Being part of a small team was great because I had my own role to play within the team and had responsibility right from the start. I would say I felt valued right from the start as I was always included and if I ever had any questions or problems, it was never too much trouble to ask and go through them.

One of the main reasons why I chose a placement at FG, was because of the APC guidance they have in place. This really helped me understand the APC process and ensured I had something to work towards. In terms of day to day support, my line manager was always happy to help, even when he went on holiday, he made sure he was contactable just incase. But quite often there are other colleagues who can help whether they are within your office or not. During my time, I did not come across a time where there wasn't someone not willing to help.

On a daily basis I was relatively busy but not too busy. My line manager always ensured I had work to get on with and if I was ever at a loose end I just had to ask. Throughout my time on placement, there were certain tasks such as land referencing, highway searches or comparable evidence finding which were solely my responsibility. So there was alway something to do. But there was no pressure to get it completed at once. One of the key things I enjoyed about placement was the ability to organise your own diary and workload, which quite often meant I would spend the morning in the office completing paperwork and searches and then the afternoon out on site carrying out record of conditions or scheme completion walkovers.

At the start of placement, it was very much a shadowing exercise until I understood the process. However, within the first couple of months, certain tasks became my responsibility which eventually progressed to me being responsible for my own schemes. Which by the end of placement I was able to oversee several schemes from start to finish. This does not mean that I was left to it. My line manager would often ask if I had any questions regarding any schemes and ask how they were going.

The skills I developed at FG will assist me with my degree as I am able to prioritise my workload and get tasks completed on time. The training I received will help me through my future career as I was able to gain experience and more knowledge regarding the APC process by attending graduate days and having regular meetings with my APC supervisor. The APC support at FG is something which initially drew me to a placement with them, as everyone I had spoken to said the support they give to candidates is top class and in comparison to other firms is a lot better.

In my office, the atmosphere was pleasant and a really good place to work. Throughout my time at FG, there was never a dull day. In the office I was in, they do a lot of social events and inter office competitions such as conkers and the Christmas party. It was a great way to see colleagues who normally on a day to day basis I perhaps wouldn't of done.

The overall placement was really well organised. From sending off my application to receiving my placement offer it was a quick turnaround and a very straightforward process. From the start of my placement year, I was clear on my goals in terms of what sort of tasks I would be carrying out by a certain point. For example for the first 2-3 months it was mainly shadowing my line manager; carrying out basic tasks such as land referencing, however after 6 months the goal was to run my own schemes from start to finish.

Fisher German regularly held training days across the year. Often these were specific to me ie graduate days where all the graduates across the firm would attend for a day and undertake a variety of exercises in the format of practical and knowledge based. They also allowed me to attend CAAV days which provided the opportunity to learn more about the CAAV and understand there role within our industry.

I was fortunate enough to get offered a graduate job position with FG once I have completed my studies. This is something I was lucky to achieve given the current circumstances with COVID. Throughout the firm there are plenty of people who have progressed through the different stages from joining as a graduate to progressing up to Partner level, which is something that is positive to know because it provides opportunities for me to progress my career.

In my office there was a good number of younger people who often would never say no to a pint. Quite often we would go for a drink after work and in the summer this almost became a regular thing, which was really good as it allowed me to get to know colleagues.

I lived at home during my placement year, however the area around my office was not ridicuously expensive but not necessarily the cheapest.

On the handful of times I experienced the nightlife, it was great. I often went with work colleagues to the local pub and had a good time.