Alice Alinafe Graham

"I think the personality types are a good fit. As a Quality Controller, I am always trying to find a better more efficient way of doing things - including how can I change the way I report to the client, or is there a better system that we can use to do a certain task?As an Influencer, I definitely like finding out information because I have a natural desire to learn and research. I also am able to lead others and undertake leadership tasks. As a coach, I like working with other people and I am able to find a way to connect and work well with anyone. "

"A quantity surveyor is the person who keeps track of costs in construction projects. As part of our job, we help our clients find out how much it will cost to carry out a construction project. When the project starts, we help them keep track of what they have spent, so that they don't go over the budget and spend too much money. We also help the client to organise payments to the builders and other people on site. The job give you great variety as it is a mix of being in the office and going on site visits to check the work that has been done so that the client can pay everyone. "

"I grew up in Scotland and my parents always encouraged me to work hard at school. I enjoyed different subjects at school, especially business, economics and the sciences. At school, we had the opportunity to do work experience to see what jobs we liked. I spent time at both my old school (shadowing a teacher) and at a bakery. I was inspired by many people growing up. First of all my parents, who both worked so hard to obtain their higher education (PhDs) whilst raising my brother and I. I knew a lot of doctors at my church so I was inspired by what they did in their jobs - one in particular was a lady who was an army doctor - and I thought it was super cool. I also has some inspirational teachers at school, specifically my physics, chemistry and biology teachers throughout high school. Originally, I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn't get the grades I needed so I looked for what else I could do. My mum helped me by putting me in touch with her friends who did quantity surveying and they explained to me what it was. In the end, I went to university and got a degree in Quantity Surveying. When I look back now, I am so glad things worked out the way they did because I absolutely love being a quantity surveyor, and it really aligns with the skills and things I enjoy doing. Whilst at university, I had a part-time job as a waitress at Nando’s which was a fun place to work. I also had a part time job in my final year as a trainee quantity surveyor for a local business. When I finished university, I was accepted onto the Faithful+Gould graduate programme and that is where I am now. I am working towards becoming a chartered surveyor."

"I have quite a few hobbies. One is singing and playing the guitar. I do this at home and at my church. As part of this, I write music with my husband and create songs on my iPad on a software called Garageband. I also like listening to podcasts and audio books as this helps me learn new things and hear what is going on in the world. I like going out to restaurants for dinner and lunches too."

"My typical day involves speaking to people: I speak to the clients to update them on the projects, to people in the team to answer any cost questions they have, to the contractors who are doing works on site to ensure everything is going well. This is through a combination of emails, phone calls and meetings. Cost monitoring: This typically involves working on the computer and reading or writing reports on a spreadsheet or a dashboard reporting software. I really like this part as I get to make cool reports using graphs, charts and tables to help the client understand how much they are spending. Going to site: I go to site occasionally to see how the construction works are progressing so that we can prepare for paying the contractor for the work they have doneI usually work on several projects at the same time, so in a typical day, I can go from working on an office project, to roof a repair project to a lab project and a fire alarm replacement project.The outcomes we try to achieve is ensuring that the client gets the building that meets their needs without spending excessive amounts of money. "

"I went to school in Scotland, so they have a slightly different system to England. For my standard grades (GCSEs) I studied:English, Maths, Business, French, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Modern Studies For my Highers (similar to A Levels) I studied:Economics, Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. I went to university and got a degree in Quantity Surveying."