Nichola joined Make as a Technical Administrator in 2022, looking for a role that balanced her career goals with her young family. Attracted by Make’s supportive culture, she found a workplace where her role as a parent was respected and embraced.
Q- What made you choose to work at Make?
I joined Make as a Technical Administrator in 2022. I have a young family and was looking for an administration position that was close to home and would allow for a good work/life balance. I had interviews at a few places, but when I met Nikki, and later Ellie, it was really clear that Make took care of their people. A big factor for me was that the fact I had children, was not seen as a detriment and I didn’t have to justify how I would work around them.
Q- Talk us through your journey with Make so far?
Prior to working at Make, I had worked in Hospitality Management and Sales Administration, and although I had administration experience, I knew little about construction. I began by drafting basic documents, writing up minutes and arranging access for surveyors. Working for multiple surveyors and across teams allowed me to quickly learn the processes involved in contract administration and also to pick up inconsistencies, which I queried and learned from.
As I’ve learned more, I’ve gained confidence and taken on more challenging tasks including drafting contracts, compiling contract documents, undertaking arithmetical checks of tender submissions, coordinating tender queries with contractors and chasing outstanding actions within the Project Team. I have also been lucky enough to support the blue light team in client meetings for Matlock Fire Station over the past year, gaining valuable knowledge of design and build contracts and gaining some client facing experience.
Whilst supporting the surveyors within the business, I also play a role within the administration team, taking responsibility for managing our supplier health and safety matrix, processing invoices, onboarding new employees and supporting Nikki with our ISO accreditation. I have enjoyed all the new challenges that have come my way and started to think that perhaps I could take on a role that’s more complex. I realised that many of the surveyors at Make have had prior careers and have retrained. I was also inspired by the amazing female surveyors we have at Make, as women are underrepresented in the industry as a whole.
After discussion and support from my line managers, I’ve now enrolled on a part-time Masters in Quantity Surveying. I was nervous to tell the rest of the team and had a strong feeling of imposter syndrome, but the wider team have been so supportive and generous with their time and knowledge.
Q- What is it about the position/sector that made you select this career route?
I think the most attractive thing about the sector is how varied it is. Even within Make, no two projects are the same and we have a wide variety of clients with different needs and project sizes. There are always new challenges and opportunities and even the most experienced surveyors still come across things they’ve never seen before.
Q- What is the best thing about working at Make?
Absolutely the people. We have a great team here and all get on well together and it’s genuinely a fun and relaxed place to work. We love an outrageous story to laugh about on a Friday afternoon. We also have some great social events! Equally workwise, the people are really supportive of each other, generous with their time and expertise and all step in to help each other when needed. This all comes to a head during CIF season which is equal amounts of hard work and great fun.
Q- What does a typical day look like for you?
I don’t think I have a typical day as it’s so varied and can also be very seasonal, but most days involve supporting our surveyors with contract administration. This can be challenging in itself, as I support two teams of surveyors so it can be challenging to decide which work takes priority. I usually find that my close relationship with the surveyors I support means I have a good handle on which projects are more urgent. Tasks that I may undertake could be drafting, compiling and issuing tenders, chasing contractors for insurance documents, drafting and issuing contract packs, drafting contract instructions and certificates for payment, requesting quotes, arranging meetings, typing up minutes and populating reports. If our surveyors don’t require much support, I will focus on administration tasks such as invoices and HR.
Q- What do you like the most about your role?
I really enjoy the variety but also the mental challenge. You have to know what’s going on across multiple projects and where information might be found to keep on top of everything. It’s also important I understand the processes in contract admin and project management so that I can be proactive in my support.
Q- What do you find most challenging about your role?
Coordinating between both teams and supporting multiple surveyors can be difficult as sometimes deadlines may conflict. I try to keep everyone updated if my workload is heavy and we can then work as a team to prioritise or redistribute work where necessary. The team are all very reasonable and patient, I think I probably put more pressure on myself than they do.
Q- What have been your biggest achievements during your time so far with Make?
When I first started at Make the administration team were in the process of rebranding but had hit a wall with getting all the company documents and templates launched and released to the business. I started working on this as one of my first responsibilities. With the support of my line managers, I took charge of the process, which involved liaising between different parties to ensure that all documents not only looked great, but fulfilled their contractual purpose. After 9 months of being in the business we were ready to launch. I single-handedly prepared and delivered a CPD to the whole business and have since become somewhat of an ambassador for the Make branding by checking documents, creating new documents and advising other team members as to how they should be completed.
Q- How have Make Supported you with your progression so far?
The Directors have been really supportive of my ambition to be a Quantity Surveyor. The team at Make have given me lots of opportunities to gain more experience and test my capabilities on new tasks.
Q- Where do you see your future career taking you over the next 5-10 years?
In 5-10 years, I hope to have passed my Masters and my chartership with RICS and be working on my own projects.