Graduate profiles

Kevin Darvishi, 26

"If I have a query, I can turn to the head partner in the whole team, or an associate, or someone at my level, and they are always happy to give you that time."

Current department:

City Office Agency

Joined C&W:

September 2007

Degree:

Management Studies BA, Nottingham University. Then a Masters at Cass Business School, London.

What is it like to have worked in both the West End and City office? ?

It has been good to experience both offices and meet different members of the company. My role is completely different this year and has meant that I am more involved with transactions. It has also meant I get out of the office a lot more, which is obviously a benefit.

What is the most exciting project that you have worked on in City Office Agency?

Thsi would have to be the first project which I was giving the lead on. A corporate media client of C&W wanted to acquire brand new office space. I lead the search, negotiate and we finally completed the transaction back in March. As it was during the downturn in the market, I was able to negotiate a very good deal for the client

How does Client Solutions and City office Agency differ to each other?

The best way to describe the difference would be to say that where Agency is lot more hands on, Client Solutions was more managing the clients portfolio. In Agency you are able to actually conduct the market search, find comparables and negotiate the transaction. In Client solutions, you source the work and then refer the work to an agent in a different team or country.

Do you feel that these two rotations have given you the required experience to sit your APC?

I believe that my experience will give me the necessary experience going into the APC. Having sat in a professional and agency seat, I have experienced a broad range of issues and built up wide range of experience to help in my assessment.

How have you been preparing for your final assessment?

Preparation began with a session of writing submissions and the critical analysis. This was signed off and sent to the RICS in August. Since then I have been concentrating on preparing for the interview in October/November. We have had 2 revision sessions put on by the firm with an external tutor which both proved very helpful. We also have presentation and interview skills sessions, to brush up on our soft skills, and then the programme is completed by two mock interviews by our internal assessors. The feedback from this and the experience we gain from it is invaluable.

You were a ‘buddy’ for one of our Summer Placement students, did you enjoy the experience?

It was nice to have someone who relied upon for help and in some ways handy to have someone you can pass work onto when you too much already on your plate. The main point of the exercise was to ensure the individual understood what the day to day role was for a commercial surveyor and more directly the role of an office agent. It also made me realise how much I have learnt over the past two years!

Once you qualify what department do you see yourself in?

I hope that I am flexible to work in any team within the firm. My intention is though to stay in the City Office Agency team.

How has the economic climate affected your team/department?

The current economic climate has meant we are having to work a lot harder to complete transactions. Many clients took a wait and see approach to see where the economy and occupation market was heading. This slowed the market, causing rents and demand to drop. Companies that are making decisions are taking their time about it, waiting to see where the market is heading before making a final decision.