GRADUATE EXPERIENCE

Describe a typical day for you at Cyril Sweett
"The good thing about project management is that the type and location of your work varies from one day to the next and you always have to be prepared for work to arise unexpectedly at any moment.

What do you like most about working here?
"If someone had told me when I was at university that I would end up working for a construction consultancy, I would have been surprised, as it is hardly the most obvious career path for someone who completed a psychology degree. Like many people, I left university not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. Applying for graduate schemes at large corporate companies never appealed to me and I had always liked the idea of working for the public sector but felt that the private sector would be more challenging at this stage in my career, when I'm full of ideas and keen to work hard. I can say whole-heartedly that I now get the best of both worlds. I get to enjoy the greater freedoms and flexibility that the private sector brings while the majority of my team's work is for NHS Trusts. We support them through building projects that they are undertaking and this could involve anything from writing a business case, to advising them on achieving an efficient design, to helping a Trust to organise the move of services into a new hospital.

What exciting projects have you worked on?
"Right from my first day I was engaged on an acute hospital project that was based in Romford, Essex. My manager had been supporting the Trust's project team for well over a year, advising on the transfer of services from two outdated hospitals into a new 939-bed hospital. I attended a series of staff group meetings to assist them with planning in the lead up to the patient moves. There's a huge amount of work required for moving into a new hospital and I had never really contemplated how it all happens. Through discussions with departmental leads, I was able to compile a series of patient move plans that detailed all elements of the move. During the actual week of the moves I was based at the new hospital full-time. Seeing a hospital come to life was certainly a unique experience. Everyone involved is working extremely hard but there is also a sense of excitement and team spirit that keeps you going late into the night. After seeing the logistical challenge of effectively planning a hospital move, I will never again complain about moving house!"

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