graduate surveyor Review

Excellent. CBRE gave me real responsibility from early on, and the scale of the business meant exposure to a wide variety of asset classes and clients that would be hard to find elsewhere. The Valuation team was welcoming, supportive and genuinely invested in my development. I finished my first year far more confident and commercially aware than when I started, and I would recommend it without hesitation.

My core responsibilities sat within Valuation and Advisory Services. Day to day this involved gathering and analysing comparable evidence, building and updating cash flow models, drafting Red Book valuation reports, assisting on property inspections, and supporting senior colleagues on loan security and financial reporting instructions. I also handled client queries and helped manage instruction pipelines and deadlines.
The parts I enjoyed most were site inspections and the analytical side of the work, particularly translating market evidence into a defensible valuation and then seeing that reasoning discussed and challenged in team reviews. Being trusted to draft sections of live reports was a real highlight.

Compensation was competitive for a graduate role in the sector and reviewed fairly. The benefits I valued most were the structured training programme and APC support, private healthcare and pension contributions, a generous holiday allowance, flexible and hybrid working, and access to CBRE's internal research and data platforms, which were genuinely useful in the job.

The support was excellent throughout. My line manager set clear expectations early, gave regular feedback and made time for catch ups even during busy periods. I had an assigned buddy who was a recent joiner, which made it easy to ask the small questions without feeling awkward, and HR were responsive on onboarding and admin. Beyond the formal structure, the wider team was approachable and happy to explain their reasoning on live instructions, which is where a lot of the real learning came from.

Balance was very good. Hours were generally sensible and predictable, with busier spells around quarter and year end valuation deadlines, which is normal for the sector and was well managed. Hybrid working made it easy to protect personal time, and there was no expectation of being online late. Managers were genuinely respectful of time off and wellbeing.

Very positive and welcoming. The atmosphere is collaborative and down to earth, and people at all levels were generous with their time. As a new graduate I never felt like an outsider or that my input did not count. Hybrid working is well established, with a good balance of office days for collaboration and learning by osmosis, alongside flexibility to work from home. The offices are modern and the social side, from team lunches to wider firm events, made it easy to build a network.

EDI is clearly taken seriously rather than treated as a box ticking exercise. There are active employee networks covering areas such as gender, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and disability, with regular events and talks that anyone can attend. Efforts to widen access into the property industry, including outreach and early careers work, stood out to me, as did the visible commitment to inclusive recruitment and progression.

Yes

CBRE combines market leading scale with a genuinely supportive team environment, which is a rare mix. You get exposure to high quality instructions and a broad range of asset classes and clients from day one, alongside proper training and APC support. Just as importantly, people are approachable and willing to explain their thinking, so the learning curve is steep but never intimidating. For anyone wanting to build a career in real estate, it is a very strong place to start.