Name: Paris Charlotte Fixman
Job title: Graduate surveyor, Bruce Gilingham Pollard
What I do: I work predominantly on the tenant rep team at BGP, helping to target key brands we want to bring to the London retail scape. I also work on the London leasing team, helping with key landlord accounts.
Why I got into the property industry: I left university feeling unsure what I wanted to do. My degree was in fashion and creative direction, but the typical fashion avenues never felt right. I have always been really clued up on politics, society and noticing cultural shifts and changes – these are important topics to me. I wanted a career that felt relevant and made an impact. Property perfectly combined for me all these elements and most importantly is something I genuinely love and feel passionate about.
How I did it: I completed work experience at Bruce Gillingham Pollard. I used these two weeks to showcase everything I could do and put myself forward for every opportunity. I really tried to get to know the tenant rep team as that was the role where I felt I could excel. A few months later, I was offered a full-time role.
My first proper job: I have worked since I was 17. I worked on a Saturday in a Gail’s bakery in Brighton until Covid hit. I always worked as much as I could through my studies – my last job before joining BGP was visual merchandising.
My first big break: Definitely joining BGP – I am lucky and grateful to have got this opportunity and I strive every day to show that I deserve it.
My inspiration: It sounds clichéd but my parents. My dad has an amazing ability to think about others before himself. My mum is a very special person; there is no one like her. She has taught me that we all have a different version of success and to follow your own path in life.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: My Crohn’s disease. I find it hard to stay still and take a step back when I am not well. Learning when to know that you need to give your body a break is something I am still learning how to do. I always pride myself on being resilient probably due to what I have experienced through my medical journey.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: My third-year university project ‘Chronic Conversations’. I interviewed lots of young woman with different chronic illnesses and looked and created work that focused on how women are treated in our medical system compared to men. It was an important topic for me.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: I think the way it can be creative. Property has so many different avenues you can take and using creativity alongside knowledge can help you to be a better agent.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: I think some of the bigger firms are too set in hiring people from the same academic and cultural backgrounds. It’s not to say they should not be given opportunities, they should, but I think it’s important to have people in your team that can offer different perspectives. As agents we are making all these decisions ultimately for the public, who are all diverse and different.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: I have always hated injustice and held it very heavy on my shoulders when I feel something is not right that I can’t change. It’s important to widen our own understandings of the different experiences we all have. I have felt ‘othered’ at many points in my life and strive to make sure no one ever feels that way.
Why I’m so passionate about ESG: I believe business should be a force for good, especially in our current societal state in the UK. We must all remember the bigger picture.
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: I would love to work with some of my favourite brands and really have made my mark in the industry doing deals that add something to the London retail landscape.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: George Michael. Besides from the fact I am utterly in love and obsessed with him, I am so inspired by the way someone so talented managed to stayed so down to earth and so humble. I think that’s an important lesson for so many people in our industry.
What I do in my downtime: I spend a lot of time thinking about fashion, styling and planning outfits for the week. I also quite enjoy my own company, so I take my self out on little adventures around London all the time.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: In another life I was a singer – I sing all day, every day. Or I would have launched a beauty brand – I enjoy responsibility and as well as a passion for beauty, I like knowing that there is always progression to be made.
My advice for someone just starting out: Trust in what you bring to the table. I battled with self-doubt and if other people wouldn’t take me seriously as my degree was not in real estate. I have soon realised that having something new, and a different perspective, is extremely valuable and something that can be utilised. See yourself as an asset.
My motto/mantra: My key motto the past few years has always been confidence is key; fake it till you make it! I live by this. I think confidence creates trust from others. They don’t know if it’s real or not, so you may as well pretend! I also love ‘rejection is redirection’, I think that’s important when starting out in a career.
