Surveying firm RLB reveals 2013 grad recruitment plans and business strategy

Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB’s) incoming chairperson, Ann Bentley, has set out an aggressive growth strategy for the surveying firm – one that would-be graduate quantity and building surveyors should know about, especially if applying for its graduate scheme this year. This news comes as RLB prepares to recruit ‘10+’ graduates for a 2013 start.

RLB’s business strategy for the next three years

In an interview with Building Magazine, Ann Bentley said that the consultancy would look to:

• ‘capture market share’ in the UK (which essentially means winning more of the available work in the UK than its competitors)
• do more international work from its UK offices – the firm has a three-year plan to increase the amount of UK revenue gained from international work to 25% of its total (it currently makes up 10%) and is especially hoping to ‘leverage’ opportunities from its Australian and Hong Kong divisions
• increase its bottom line profit margin to 7.5% from 5% inside three years via an efficiency drive (although she didn’t go into details about what this would involve).

In what will be reassuring news for graduates looking for quantity and building surveying roles, she reaffirmed the firm’s commitment to the UK office, believing that her larger competitors’ increasing focus on overseas markets will allow RLB to scoop up opportunities in the UK. ‘It would be easy to close everything down except a couple of offices but we haven’t done that – our strategy is to maintain our regional network [of nine offices] because, as our rivals contract from certain areas, our ability to capture market share will be significant.’

Why graduates should know about Rider Levett Bucknall’s strategy

If you are considering applying to RLB, showing a knowledge of their business strategy in your covering letter and at interview will prove that you are commercially aware and that you are sufficiently interested in working for them to have done your research. You could, for example, say how RLB’s commitment to the UK in a difficult economic climate is one of the reasons you think highly of them and want to work for them.

Even if you’re not thinking about applying to RLB, building up a knowledge of the strategies different construction firms are using to cope in the economic crisis will help increase your commercial awareness – something looked for by recruiters at all construction-related employers.

About graduate jobs at RLB

RLB has told TARGETjobs Construction that they plan to hire 10+ graduates for a 2013 start – and they usually recruit around 10 to 15 – into their offices in Birmingham, Bristol, London, Manchester, Sheffield, Welwyn Garden City and Wokingham. The job roles they’re recruiting for include quantity surveying, building surveying, project management and facilities management.

Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Monday 3rd September 2012