Victoria Huntley

"I feel all of these personality types match me very well. It is incredibly important to have these qualities in my role as they all fit in very well with the type of job I have. "

"My role covers most aspects of Commercial Property Surveying. This means that I am involved in buying, selling, leasing, letting and valuing commercial property. I am also involved in landlord and tenant matters and occasionally deal with commercial property development. Commercial property mainly focuses on retail premises, offices and industrial units but can cover anything which is not a residential dwelling. For example, I have also dealt with churches, care homes and dental surgeries. The work I do provides specialist advice and aims to ensure our clients achieve the best value from their property. I enjoy that my job role has such a variety and no two days are the same and I can be working with such a range of interesting properties. It is also a very social industry, I am regularly attending networking events or being wined and dined which is always nice."

"Following completing my Bachelor’s degree at University, I worked for an independent retailer within a busy shopping centre. I ended up taking this on as a franchise and ran this business for numerous years. I had always been interested in property and had always thought this would just involve buying and selling houses but the environment I was in made me consider commercial property, particularly when I began looking for a new shop to potentially move in to. As a tenant, I had dealings with the in-house surveyors and I became more and more curious about their role. As I researched it, I quickly thought this was something I was really interested in and would love to do. I researched how I could get into it and what job opportunities there were locally. I also started reading industry news and purchased a book on Real Estate. I was running my business successfully though so I had a huge decision to make as I didn’t know whether I was prepared to give this up. I loved having my own business but the day-to-day work didn’t excite me and external factors were very stressful. Within about a year I decided to close the business and return to Northumbria University to do a 1-year long Master’s degree in Real Estate. During this, I secured a Graduate Role at George F White which is where I am today and have not looked back!"

"In my spare time I enjoy going to yoga and pilates classes on an evening. I also enjoy taking my dog to the beach on a weekend. I love holidays and am always planning my next one - when I was studying my Bachelor’s degree, I used to spend every summer working in Ibiza, although I don’t think I would be cut out for that much partying these days! "

"I arrive at the office at around 8:40am, log into my computer, check emails and respond accordingly. I respond to enquiries relating to agency jobs by sending further details, a copy of the brochure and offer to arrange a viewing. I check my ‘to-do’ list and determine which order I am going to complete my tasks for the day. These tasks can include; completing valuation reports, preparing sales brochures, reporting back to clients, preparing Heads of Terms, handling new enquiries, conducting market research, preparing press articles, keeping up with day-day job administration and making sure my APC (Assessment of Professional Competence) diary is up-to-date. Usually, on at least two days of the week, I will spend some time out of the office carrying out valuation inspections, property viewings and market appraisals. I also spend time in meetings either with clients, prospective purchasers/tenants, internal management or the wider team."

"A-Levels: English Language and Health and Social Care Double AwardBachelor’s Degree: Joint Honours in Health and Social Care & Advice, Guidance and Counselling (BA)In employment/self-employed for 5 years Master’s Degree: Real Estate (MSc)"