We recently spoke with Madeline about how she secured her graduate role with Carter Jonas. She talks about why she chose Carter Jonas, how she built up her commercial awareness before the interview and her top tips for Bright Network members looking to follow in her footsteps.
Why a role with Carter Jonas?
I selected a role in Carter Jonas after reading about their values and principles. I felt that the core values of approachable, ambitious and effective were very much in line with my own and that I would be able to fluently discuss situations where I have demonstrated these at interview. Every interaction I have had with Carter Jonas has been highly positive, from asking questions with HR before my application to the interview itself. This convinced me that Carter Jonas was the right firm for me and assured me of their investment in my career development and RICS accreditation.
How did you build commercial awareness before the interview?
I have been building my commercial awareness over time as preparation for interviews. I frequently read the Business & Money section of The Sunday Times and listen to podcasts from various real estate consultancies and general commercial knowledge podcasts. Bright Network’s “Thinking Commercially” podcast provides a useful overview of commercial trends. I also closely follow Carter Jonas’ news page and Instagram account and try to pick out three key points from each piece/post so that I don’t become overwhelmed. Finally, LinkedIn is a really useful resource for finding a company’s recent projects and reading a small excerpt about them, which could come in very useful in the interview.
How did Bright Network help you secure the role?
Having graduated in July 2020, I felt a mild sense of panic as I knew I wanted to apply to surveying graduate schemes that would accept a “non-cognate” graduate (graduate with a non-property related degree) but I had no idea where to start. Bright Network proved to be a user-friendly, simple platform that allowed me to filter down to the roles I wanted and avoid dredging through thousands of irrelevant opportunities. I signed up for email notifications as well, and through this, found the Carter Jonas Geospatial Surveyor role. I was able to quickly read the key facts and opportunities related to the role and get a general feel for Carter Jonas. I then attended multiple Bright Network online assessment centre events which provided me with key tips for these daunting processes and helped me feel prepared and confident.
What top three tips would you give Bright Network members looking to follow in your footsteps?
Learn the company’s values and how you can demonstrate them, keep up with the threats and opportunities relating to the real estate industry and, most importantly, show enthusiasm for the role and company.
