As a recent graduate and new face at British Land (BL), I was not short of nerves when I started in August last year. Prior to joining, I had decided on a career change and had just finished my Commercial Property Masters with my sights firmly set on entering the property market and working towards completing my APC I was so over the moon when I found out I’d been offered a place on the BL graduate scheme. From the outset, I could feel that BL was a different type of company to others because of the people. Not only was everybody friendly but they were also very generous with their time and made a big effort to welcome me and introduce themselves - which made getting to know people a lot easier.

There’s an overarching feeling of belonging to a team, both within your department and as part of a wider business. This is largely fostered by the encouragement of employee networks and sports teams where employees at all levels can participate in an array of workshops, cultural events and lunchtime sports. To put into perspective, within my first week I signed up to both the rugby and football team, which really helped me network and meet new people across the business.

Having spent 10 months in the analysis team I have built a portfolio knowledge on the valuation process, both internally within the business and externally, having spent some time with our external valuers on secondment which gave me a better understanding of the valuation process from an agency perspective within a large reputable valuation house.

Because the atmosphere within BL is very much one of a large collaborative team, it’s generally commonplace for people to go out of their way to assist colleagues. A good example of this would be BL’s internal workshops which are put on by various teams around the business, who volunteer their time, to educate colleagues on how specific areas operate and what their respective functions are.

This was the case when John Shaw, a senior property analyst within the Retail Valuation team, and Josselyne Kyte, a property analyst in the Office Valuation team, offered to create, host and present a workshop on the valuation process within BL and what it involves. This required additional work outside of John and Jos’s daily 9-5 tasks and meant presenting and engaging with a room full of BL colleagues, which can be daunting at first!

The business is intrinsically concerned with the environments and communities that it operates in, providing its staff with a designated community week each year where it allows employees to exchange a day in the office for a day assisting/volunteering with one of its partnered charities or outreach programs across London. Some projects are more popular than others so being quick off the mark is a must to lock in your preferred programme; I was lucky enough to spend the day at Kentish Town Farm, the oldest urban farm in the UK, and ultimately ended up working with people from around the business which I would normally not have the chance to meet, and of course, lots of cute farm animals!

As a company that thoroughly invests in its people, BL encourages employees to set yearly development plans with their respective line-managers. This is non-work specific and sits outside of your standard work-related objectives. The goal is to drive and encourage personal development and growth as an individual and, ultimately, an ambassador of BL. I set myself the task of starting beginners Spanish lessons, which I did and even ended up booking a trip to Barcelona to test it out! Mi español es todavía un trabajo en progreso.

Although BL is viewed as a huge player in the property development market in the UK, the atmosphere in the office is one of a close-knit team. Although the company holds a multi-billion-pound market cap, the headcount is small in comparison to other companies of its stature. From day one it is evident that the company really wants you to do well and cares about your experience. This is apparent across the business, whether it be through consistent support from HR or regular check-ins with your line-manager.