Insight Programme Participant Review

On a day-to-day basis I would attend two Zoom calls from various departments of Fisher German. We were fully immersed into all aspects of the surveying world, learning about the everyday life of a surveyor. We were given group and individual tasks to complete which all related directly to what we had learned. Some talks were also with graduates and we were able to directly ask questions about their experiences in the surveying world.

In particular, I have developed skills in time management and organisation. Completing the tasks whilst also engaging with the talks and keeping on top of my university work was a valuable and at times, challenging experience. It has made me realise that I am capable of working under stress a lot better than I originally thought. From the personal development talks I also learned ways to utilise my own personal qualities in the working environment.

Learning about the range of potential roles available at Fisher German was particularly eye opening. I originally went into the programme with my interests quite strongly centred on rural surveying, however I have now realised I could genuinely see myself enjoying and excelling in other departments such as that of sustainable energy. Learning about the communication involved throughout the business was also very interesting and attracted me to the firm.

The company culture was extremely welcoming from the outset. I was initially nervous to see how the programme would work over Zoom and thought it might be quite impersonal. However, throughout the programme the talks were very collaborative and everyone was able to ask questions whenever necessary. They certainly emphasised the strong people culture of Fisher German, and the graduate talks really displayed the friendly and close knit environment of the firm.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the insight programme. There were definitely times when I struggled with the workload alongside my university studies, but I think the sense of achievement upon completely everything really made up for that. The talks were also not as formal and rigid as I thought they would be, and I think it made a difference that we were learning from people who were genuinely passionate about what they do.

Yes

Personally, especially coming from a non-cognate background, I would say to other applicants to not underestimate yourself. Even if you think you might not have the experience or the knowledge that other applicants might have, from the outset it was clear that being proactive and ready to learn were the most important qualities. I would also say ask as many questions as you can - everyone at Fisher German is so willing to help.