Building Surveying Personal Statement Example

My interest in building surveying has piqued within the last 6 months, since working with my mother on property letting, development, and renovation. Prior to that, I was actively looking for a degree apprenticeship in project management and had reached the final recruitment stages at three companies before lockdown caused them to cancel their recruitment. Building surveying would enable me to develop and use similar skills and focus on the surveying aspects that I find so interesting. I would love to own my own surveying company one day with the goal of offering apprenticeships and graduate programs to others that would like to enter this area.
I wasn’t ready to go to university when I was 18 but, if I had, I know that I would have spent most of my time partying and not doing enough work. The past few years has allowed me to mature and grow as a person in both skills and my work ethic; in particular, communication skills, problem solving, teamwork, planning and organisation.
My roles in Kent and Alton were demanding ones, where a normal working day started at 7.30am and ended at 11pm. We typically worked six days a week and in that time, we would take on a vast range of tasks. We were primarily responsible for working with young people but had to be flexible enough to do whatever was needed, such as serving food and washing up, to setting up IT and audio/video equipment, or routine maintenance on the rather old, large building we lived and worked in.
Working within a team of youth workers and with groups of young people meant that I had to communicate with a lot of different people, in a range of situations, including deeply personal one-to-one conversations, participating in group team meetings, leading groups of 6-12 young people, and presenting on the stage at events of 200 people. This meant that I developed many styles of communication, and ensured I used the most effective style for the given situation. I built on skills that I had gained from playing rugby, when communication was essential for teamwork, but the challenge of changing my style for each person was a useful new skill.
As a youth worker, teamwork and planning were vital for us; preparing timetables, materials, and sessions enabled everything to run smoothly. There were challenges to meet in this process, including conflicts of space and timings as well as times when I needed to make quick changes, but I was able to remain calm under the pressure.
My involvement in property development over the last 6 months has included visiting potential properties and assessing whether they were worth an investment. This would involve a quick look around the house to see if there are any obvious structural problems. I would then create a spreadsheet that allowed allow me to evaluate whether the property is a solid investment by, estimating the cost of repairs, deciding whether work is needed to meet regulations, e.g., for an HMO, or potential development into a block of flats. I would also check whether a house was in a flood or conservation area, and the implications for the planning process.
Working and creating with my hands is very important to me, and as such I have a great passion for music, playing various instruments including guitar, bass, drums, and piano. I also really enjoy playing rugby. Over lockdown, I designed and built my own recording studio.
While studying for my foundation degree, my essay writing skills improved greatly. In the past, I found that I struggled with essay writing, but doing the foundation degree has enabled me to improve my writing skills and has boosted my confidence.
I’ve always had an interest in how buildings are designed and built and look forward to gaining a greater insight. The project management part of the course will be of great interest too. I am very excited about this course and feel that I have the right skills and attitudes to do it successfully.