At my first rotation I was placed on a scheme in Preston, which I worked on for the whole year. It’s such a complex scheme − 20 acres of mixed-use units ranging across leisure, small units, medium-sized units. This complexity meant it was quite challenging for a first-year graduate to come in and work on. It was really invaluable in terms of experience. So while it’s been challenging it was also very, very interesting.
Before you actually go for the interviews it’s quite daunting, because you don’t think you will ever get into the five who will be chosen. But when you get in there they treat you just the same as anyone else, and as you go through the interview process you forget about the fact that it’s only five until you join − and then you have a close-knit team that you work along with. It’s also a privilege because you feel you were picked from among so many different applicants, and you now have the opportunity to work in a great company. I didn’t want to work for anyone else, so I was ecstatic when I got the job!
My average working day isn’t actually all that average − it varies quite a lot, which is great. Although I work primarily on appraisals and helping with the numbers, I also get the opportunity to work on pre-letting of different tenants, and to go to meetings − often big legal meetings that I can sit in on and learn from. I also work on various cost codings and measuring different buildings. So the work is great, with lots of variety.
I have to say that aside from the work itself, the people have made my job brilliant. When I first started I had come straight from University, so I thought fitting into a working environment would be a challenge. But the people have just been great. They make you feel very comfortable, they support you all the time, and if you are stuck with anything you can just go to anybody and they will help you out.
I have been given a lot of responsibility since I started at Grosvenor − a lot more than I thought I would. This has helped me to learn a lot.