I got to develop my interpersonal skills a lot during this placement - it really put into perspective the ‘social’ aspect of planning

What attracted you to this opportunity? and what was the application process?

I saw the Insight Programme as a really good opportunity for me to experience working in a professional environment for the first time.

Savills, besides being a highly reputable employer, also has a well-established planning division, which really attracted me to the role. This year’s programme was centred around widening participation and recruiting people from diverse backgrounds, and I met a number of criteria for this. 

On the Savills website, I had to:

• mention which department(s) within the company I wanted to work for
• submit my CV
• submit a 250 word statement answering the question ‘Why should you be offered this internship opportunity?’ 

Soon after applications closed, I was invited to a 15-minute online interview, discussing my previous experience and my knowledge of the real estate industry. A week later, I was told I got the internship!

What skills did you learn during this placement could you use in your career?

I got to develop my interpersonal skills a lot during this placement. It really put into perspective the ‘social’ aspect of planning, which I learned was a critical part of the job. It was interesting to get to be a part of discussions and see how various divisions within the organisation collaborated with one another to make a project successful. 

Has your time on placement influenced your future career choice?

This opportunity has consolidated my interest in planning, particularly within the private sector. At least so far as a first-year planning student, I have noticed significant differences between learning about planning through lectures to working in the field of planning.

That's why gaining experience is so helpful in giving you an idea of what you might want to do in the future.

What were your main responsibilities? What was a typical day like on placement?

During the Easter break, I was in the office from 9am until 5.30pm for a week, with an hour’s lunch break. The recruitment team organised various networking opportunities with directors and employees on the graduate scheme, both of whom were from a variety of departments.

We also received a number of talks from people discussing the role their departments played within Savills. This left a lot of time for me to talk to my mentor and undertake planning-related tasks each day; some of these include doing a new job checklist, analysing development proposals and most excitingly attending a pre-app meeting!

What did you enjoy about your placement?

It was a huge privilege to be able to attend a pre-application meeting with the council. Not only did it put into perspective how much of a ‘social’ discipline planning was, but it was fascinating learning about the different stakeholders involved in a project, as well as their priorities and interests.

Other than this, I really liked that each day was different - I wasn’t only spending each day at the desk, but the recruitment team organised so many different activities. The tour of King’s Cross was a highlight and it allowed me to connect with fellow interns on the same scheme.

What did you find challenging?

I initially found networking to be quite intimidating as I wasn’t sure how to approach it and sometimes wasn’t sure what questions to ask. I was also worried about coming across as too artificial.

However, this internship encouraged me to develop these skills. Listening carefully to whoever I was talking to and following up on any areas that I was particularly interested in helped me develop my confidence and made interactions feel a lot more genuine.

What would be your advice to students about placements? 

I would highly recommend pushing yourself to apply to anything that interests you, even if you’re not confident you’ll get it.

I do this by regularly checking the Employability Newsletter and Career Connect. Last year when I was on another course, I didn’t make the effort to apply to many opportunities as I thought I didn’t have enough experience.

This year, I’ve really motivated myself to do so, and have taken rejections as a chance to see where I could improve. Getting experience is incredibly useful towards your professional development and looks great on your CV!

It’s very helpful to develop your knowledge of the industry you’re interested in and current affairs related to that field. This is especially helpful in the interview process as it proves you are genuinely interested.

I am subscribed to the TCPA bi-monthly newsletter, which is really cheap for students and is a great way to keep up. There are plenty of other options online as well - many major news networks feature dedicated sections on urban planning.