How to get the job you want

Which skills do modern property professionals need? Five recruiters share their insights on key qualities and experience – and what candidates will need in the future.

Show what you offer

The starting point for recruiters is qualifications, and chartered surveyors already have a huge advantage over non-professionals. But, to be irresistible to an employer, you must show how your experience aligns to their needs, as well as have an excellent command of soft skills. This can fall into areas such as commercial acumen, the ability to work in new teams, relationship building, customer service and problem solving. Employers are impressed by people who come ready made with those points, but can also adapt.

Technology is changing the surveying world. For example, drones are increasingly used for residential surveying. Does this mean all surveyors in this sector should become drone experts? Probably not, but there is a degree of inevitability that such technologies will become the norm in some aspects of the job. So, it is worth having an awareness that today – and especially in the coming years – you have to be able to keep up. It might be a piece of software, or style of remote working that a company needs you to comply with, which makes adapting to technology a smart thing to do.

There are many opportunities to self-educate, and employers will help develop you – it makes sense for them to not let you get left behind. Both employer and employee have to offer something to keep the relationship moving forward.

• Richard Gelder is director of Hays Construction and Property in Nottingham

Be tech savvy

We’ve invested heavily in technology over the past few years, making it easier for our surveyors to access data, process reports and manage their day. This approach has percolated throughout our industry and, whether it’s a good working knowledge of iPad-based applications or Q-mobile, a readiness to embrace technology will undoubtedly feature high on most employer’s checklists.

As with any industry, personality counts. Surveyors often work alone, so while it’s important to be a self-starter, you should get involved with team and social activities if they are on offer from a company. This helps you be a better team player, improves your knowledge and communication skills, and helps to shape the direction of the wider business. These soft skills are also essential for building relationships.

With the average age of a surveyor in the late-50s, there is a retirement bomb on the horizon. The onus is, therefore, on the industry to not only inspire the next generation to consider a career in surveying, but to redeploy older, more experienced surveyors into non-operational technical roles, or as mentors to graduate surveyors. That way, their unique insight and industry experience are passed on.

[This is an amended version of the copy as it appeared in the print edition of Modus.]

• Matthew Siddons is a talent acquisition manager for e.surv chartered surveyors in Nottingham

See the big picture and be flexible

Recruiters get excited by people who go above and beyond the technical. These skills are essential, but in a highly competitive work environment, you need to show what else can you bring. We often talk about “the rounded professional” – but we find that, as long as you’re good enough technically, clients aren’t necessarily interested in whether your qualifications are better than the next person’s. But this doesn’t mean you should hope to get away with being below average.

To become a rounded professional, it is essential to be a confident communicator. It’s fair to say that built environment professionals often prefer the comfort of efficiency, practicality and logic. But, if you do think you are an introvert, it is possible to learn techniques that can help you form stronger relationships. Nevertheless, our research shows there is no correlation between your personality type and being good at client relationships or selling skills. Again, it is about learning the best techniques suited to you.

Sometimes the expert professional can be too quick to come to a solution for a client – although it’s often hard-wired into them to be like this. But, now and then, it is better not to pounce on an answer too soon. Show that you can see the bigger picture and have the open-mindedness and flexibility to listen and consider options.

• Business development consultant Gary Williams is founder of Questas Consulting in London

Be happy to learn

The world of surveying will dramatically change in the next 10 years. The technology curve is making the way we work faster and more efficient, while the huge intake of tech-savvy, young chartered and AssocRICS-qualified surveyors will bring down the average age of the profession. Furthermore, we will probably see more lenders using automated valuation technology on low-value properties. The marketplace will get more competitive, and surveyors will have to differentiate themselves to get an advantage. This could be by having exceptional local knowledge, reputation for high quality and accuracy, or offering a particular in-demand service.

Candidates should also note how the marketplace is becoming more competitive, due to the way the assignment of work is changing. Mortgage lenders are increasingly recognising the skills of AssocRICS-qualified residential surveyors, so much so that experienced AssocRICS surveyors now carry out the same work for them as chartered surveyors.

I would say experience isn’t everything. For us, it is more important that candidates are in tune with the company ethos of ‘getting it right first time’ and have the polite and flexible customer service skills that make you memorable. Just because you have 20 years’ experience, it shouldn’t mean you have nothing else to learn.

• Neale Smith is head of recruitment at UK firm Connells Survey & Valuation

Communication skills are essential

An ability to “just do the day job” isn’t quite enough anymore. Recruiters want people who can demonstrate strategic thinking and bring value to a company and its clients. Such candidates also tend to be more successful over the long term within a company – and gain more opportunities for promotion. As so much work is client facing, great communication skills are essential, too – surveying has probably become one of the industry’s most sociable professions. 

For me, likeability is very important. Someone with strong interpersonal skills, who knows how to deal with people from all walks of life, will always be somewhere near the top of the list of ideal candidates. A recruiter will have certain questions running through their mind: how is this person coming across? Can we see you fitting well into a particular business? How are you going to act with our client?

A good deal of experience is necessary, but having great personal qualities will differentiate you in the marketplace. Many businesses look for people who can be a bit entrepreneurial – by building client trust and bringing more money into the firm. If you consider your role not as just your job, but as your mini business, this can help you think outside of your limitations and push you forward into new challenges. 

• Donna Banks is a recruitment manager at Joshua Robert in Birmingham and Worcester