2007 Graduate Apprentice Blog

As the Graduate Apprentice, I always know that each placement will only last 16 weeks, so you think it would be easier to leave… You see there are many many many advantages to being in the role… the variety, the opportunity, the challenge to name but a few.  The 16 weeks are always a challenge, as there is ultimately a limited amount of time to complete the set projects.  I’m quite proud, and I would not feel good about any placement without finishing what I had promised.  However, the 16 weeks also mean that this is the second time in less than 8 months where I have had to leave some great people behind, people who were not only fantastic work colleagues, but fantastic people to know.

During my time at LMM, I was involved in a number of projects.  Perhaps the most substantial was the launch of the new brand, CityQuarters.  In a nutshell, this is the aim of LMM to create a network of Serviced Apartments across the UK.  For those not familiar with Serviced Apartments, its basically having your own space while away from home.  Serviced Apartments are regularly being seen as the flexible alternative to hotels, and because of the extra space, the separate living areas and the flexibility of being able to come and go as you please, it is easy to see why.  However, it is very difficult to ensure a standard level of service with the apartments, with an accreditation, similar to the hotel starring system, only just being introduced.  Giles, the CEO at LMM, and the person I reported to directly as the Apprentice, wants to create a standard, consistent, quality serviced apartment network, so that if you need to stay in a key business city in the UK, you can be sure that staying with CityQuarters provides the same excellent service from city to city. 

The second major project involved testing of a piece of software which linked the Accounting and Apartment Management software used by the company… given my organised nature, and my eye for detail, it was deemed that I would be the right person to complete all the testing and update the accounting system with all the information for the previous financial year.  This built a whole new range of skills, including patience at times, but I am pleased to say that I left the company with this project completed… Now we wait for the auditors to check my work and say they are happy with the import link! My role also involved selling the serviced offices, another side of the proposition from LMM, meaning I was responsible for following up leads, ensuring that current clients had all they required to keep them happy, and for ensuring that expiring leases were renewed.

The challenge however, was not the best thing about working with the company, it was again made up by the team of people that I worked with.  In a small office, relationships can sometimes be difficult, but each and every individual brought something very different to the office while I was there.  All very excellent at the role they fill, and always able to offer advice and support to me as someone who was completely new to it all.  Even though I asked lots of questions, and bored them all with stories of LEJOG, they welcomed me into their team, and I was privileged to have spent time with them all.

In all, LMM was about multi-tasking, about proving that I could work on a number of projects at the same time and still ensure that each one was delivered with maximum efficiency.  I hope that throughout my time I have been able to do that, and that I have upheld the reputation of the Graduate Apprentice.  My successor will also be taking on a placement with LMM, and I am sure that if they have half of the experience I have had, they will come out a much wiser, much more commercially aware and able Graduate.  Like me, they will also have made some fantastic friends, who again like me, they will be sure to keep in touch with.