Alice Foster

When Alice Foster graduates in 2020, she knows her first step on the career ladder is secure thanks to making a success of her work placement.

Alice completed an eight week internship in the summer of 2019 with leading property consultants Fisher German, which has a long association of working with RAU graduates to help them into the profession.

Her positivity and willingness to take on a range of tasks at the Ashby de la Zouch office saw her rewarded with the offer of a permanent post which she’ll be starting in September 2020.

Alice said: “I applied through Fisher German’s summer internship application process at the beginning of the year and as a result I was offered an interview in March.

“I chose FG due to their fantastic reputation and in particular their RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) pass rate really impressed me.

“The firm’s interest in getting to know their employees really showed throughout the interview process.

“During the 8 weeks I helped with a variety of different tasks, from being out of the office assisting with Injurious Affections claims, to being in the office arranging access for non-intrusive site visits. A placement of this length allowed me to learn the whole process of a claim as opposed to just seeing one section, which would have been the case with a shorter placement.

“One of the challenges I faced was the phone call work for non-intrusive surveys and developing the confidence in what I was saying to complete this in an open plan office - I now feel a lot more confident speaking on the phone having been given the opportunity to get stuck in!

“I was not expecting to have as much responsibility given to me based on some of my previous work experience. However, I really appreciated the fact that I was given the opportunity to get involved in so much of the real day-to-day work at FG and not just tea making and filing!

“My work placement also helped with my recent coursework (based around a utilities department) because I had learned all the relevant terminology and felt confident talking about the subject.

“From the placement I was delighted to be offered a job with Fisher German starting in September 2020, which I am so grateful for since I absolutely loved my summer there. I’m looking forward seeing what the future with FG holds for me.”