Sandwich Placement Student Review

The job really varies, in property management there are so many different tasks you could be doing in your day. Looking at anything in leases for all sorts of information used for break clauses, rent ups, rent reviews, service charge provisions, tenant covenants, whose liable for costs (tenant/ landlord/ can go through service charge budget). You might be visiting a site to meet clients, prosper for future projects to your sites, meet insurance brokers regarding break ins and damages, health and safety inspections. You will be in charge of making sure rent and service charge is collected, arranging arrears reports as it is vital to keep on top of accounts etc. There really is no one binary way of explaining what we do.

Plenty, in my first couple months, one of the directors who was incredibly busy had been pressured by his client to achieve a building accreditation. He turned to me and briefly explained it and I came up with a strategy that day of how we were going to efficiently strategies the plan. That same day he placed me on a call with the client and I presented our plan to the client and previous managing agents on how and what we had to do to get the accreditation. I was fresh to the job and had just been appointed as the leader for gaining this accreditation that was important to the client for ethos and value to the property, two months later we got the accreditation.

Yes ! I have learned many valuable skills, my excel and IT skills have tremendously advanced, I am now a professional at reading leases, my communication skills have advanced as I have worked with clients, surveyors from other firms, surveyors in my team and then incredibly closely with surveyors that I help to manage properties with. Team work is such a vital part to the job and clear communication naturally comes along with working closely and together with others to ensure high performance and efficiency. My multitasking skills have also increased as the job really does vary and makes you adapt to working on multiple different things at once as time is tight.

Honestly, you are really thrown into the job and learn on the spot. There isn't a guide on how to do everything so you do really have to take the initiative to go out and find the information yourself. Reading RICS guidelines, working around their systems, mylearning can teach you some basic information, using the internet and youtube can help. If you become close with older apprentices and graduates, they can be very friendly and knowledgeable as they have been in your position not too long ago. I often found that more senior members don't really have time for you, so approaching junior members for some technical help can be the best way forward.

It was a very pleasant culture, everyone is generally happy and are very respectful of each other. There is a great social support system and your team can really feel like your best friends and family at times. I have been through a lot this past year and every single member of my team have supported me through my highs and lows.

I really enjoyed it, at the beginning it can be very overwhelming and intense with all the new information along with a student's body clock adapting to the working lifestyle. However, past that and later down the line, all the times that you ever thought something was hard or a little bit dull, it pays off in the end; you need to learn and go through those times to gain the knowledge to expand on in your career and take on further responsibility.
Not only do I now have the skillset to be a surveyor in property management, I have also gained stronger social skills and have adapted confidence in many ways which hadn't before my placement.
Now going back to university, I feel that I am in a much more advantaged position not only on paper for my CV, but also for my degree as I now have an essential skillset that will enable me to perform to a higher standard when I go back.

Yes