BSc Real Estate, Class of 2015

Freddie is a lead agent at Savills estate agents.

What happened after I graduated?

I returned to Savills following a placement year from University. I was originally tasked with assisting conventional leasing teams. However, during this time a colleague had pitched a new business idea to Savills to develop an online platform and advisory service to help businesses find flexible office space, across Europe, America and Asia. This has now launched and is called Workthere.com.

Over the past year I have been involved with the launch of Workthere and we are now in our first few months of trading. My role has allowed me to develop an in depth knowledge of the flexible workspace sector and offers exciting opportunities to work with a wide range of clients. 

What my job involves

I'm currently involved with the launch of Workthere. I pitch the business concept to a wide range of workspace providers in order to build new relationships, grow our client base and stock for the website. I advise a wide range of occupiers, from small start-ups of two or three people to global corporates who need to source office space for 100+ people in a variety of locations.

My aspirations for the future

I like working within a sector that is helping to reshape the future of the workplace and seeing how the relationship between buildings and people is changing – something which lead me to study Real Estate in the first instance. I hope to build and evolve my career within this sector and help contribute to the success of Workthere.

How Sheffield Hallam helped me

The opportunity to take a 12 month placement to gain a range of commercial experience to help develop my understanding of the market and business in general was invaluable. So was the chance to meet with the Real Estate class of 1987 and attend their presentation and networking event, it was great to discuss with them my various career options prior to graduating to get a better understanding from people who have had first-hand experience in both junior and senior roles.

A word to the wise

Get as much experience as you can whilst studying at University, it'll not only help with job applications in the future, but it will give you a chance to sample different roles if you aren't yet sure which area you want to go into.