As part of my Town Planning Degree and Diploma at Newcastle University I undertook a work placement at a planning consultancy and knew straight away that consultancy was for me. I joined NLP’s London office in 2005 as a graduate planner, attracted by the company’s national reputation and high profile projects.
NLP instantly made me feel welcome and I quickly felt like part of the team assisting on a wide range of projects. Working in the retail team, I was given full support and the opportunity to develop a specialism in retail planning. However, by no means are you pigeon-holed into one particular area of expertise. For me this is very important as one of the things I like most about consultancy is the opportunity to work on a range of interesting and varied projects.
Hard work and dedication at NLP is rewarded and recognised and career progression is actively encouraged through a structured appraisal system and personalised training plans. That said, it is not all hard work and no play! NLP recognise the importance of social events to foster team sprit and organise a calendar of events including quiz nights, various sports teams and even occasional study trips abroad.
After 5 years in the London office, I expressed an interest in returning to my roots in the North East and NLP did their upmost to accommodate this when a suitable opportunity arose. I have now been part of the NLP Newcastle office for over a year and it is clear that NLP’s open and friendly but professional attitude permeates throughout the entire organisation.
