Caroline Mear Blog: Landing a graduate job at Jones Lang LaSalle4th September 2012

After graduating in 2011 with a BSc Honors degree in Property Management and Investment from the University of the West of England, all I was thinking was ‘How on earth am I going to get a job?’ All you had to do was look at a newspaper to know how high unemployment rates were and still are. I really needed a lot of luck. However, I never lost my enthusiasm and continued to do everything I could to get a good job.

How I Got a Graduate Job at Jones Lang LaSalle
From around 16 years of age, I knew I wanted to work in the real estate industry and possibly become a chartered surveyor. Since starting the Sixth Form at Bromsgrove School, I was told that getting a good job comes down to a number factors – but mainly a good CV, because this is all an employer initially sees. They don’t see your personality. And the best way to make your CV stand out is by having a lot of good quality work experience on it.

Therefore, I made sure I carried out as much property related work experience as I could, which I know is easier said than done. I found the best way to get started was to take advantage of any contacts I already had, which at 16 wasn’t many. I managed to get some work experience at an estate agent and after only a week I made contacts within the company, which led to another placement in a commercial agency firm.

After five placements, I finally got a four-week summer intern at Jones Lang LaSalle in London. During the intern, I tried my hardest at all times and made as many contacts as possible. Luckily, this approach paid off, because at the end of the internship I was offered an interview for a graduate scheme in the Birmingham office.

Doing well in an interview is the next stage, and no one can fully prepare you for this. Before the interview I made sure I understood the economy, the property market, the company and the job role itself. I also tried to work out questions they might ask me, such as ‘What do you think of the Birmingham office market at the moment?’ I tried to cover all bases, so at least one question I knew was likely to come up – hopefully.

With the competitive nature of the job market we all still need a little bit of luck, however, good preparation and a strong CV is the groundwork needed to give you the best chance.

The Reality of Working!
After all this hard work trying to get a job, I was praying that I would actually enjoy it, and thankfully I do. I am currently working towards achieving the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) to become a General Practice Chartered Surveyor.
As part of my two year training for the APC I am rotating between departments. I started in industrial agency, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I feel I hit the ground running as I was given a lot of opportunities to shine and felt my senior colleagues allowed me to get involved with a wide range of work. Agency work for a graduate mainly entails organising and undertaking viewings, preparing monthly schedules, attending client monthly meetings and finding suitable properties for retained clients. The social side to agency was also a definite perk to the department. There was always an event to attend, which was a great way for me to meet people and make further contacts within the industry.

I changed departments in May to property asset management, which is very different to agency, but still enjoyable. The amount of responsibility that I was given grew and I was given my own portfolio of properties to manage (with the assistance of a surveyor) as well as working on one of Jones Lang LaSalle’s largest clients’ portfolio, supporting an associate director. The breadth of experience Jones Lang LaSalle offers their graduates really helps with the journey towards the APC, it urges you to see the bigger picture and understand a wide range of issues and clients.

I am now nearly a year into my career at the company and feel that so far I have learnt a huge amount about the industry, met a lot of great people and am very much looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring.