Meet Kade Phillips. Kade is a Graduate Surveyor who joined Woods at the start of 2021. Find out what he loves about working at Woods and how he has developed his skills during his first year on the job.

What I wish I knew earlier about Woods

If I could go back and tell myself one thing before I started, it would be how great the team environment is at Woods, especially within the survey department. We’re a young team full of graduates; there are people who I know from university, people who graduated a few years ahead of me, and it’s easy to fit in.

Everyone is easy to get along with and the social interaction breaks the ice. It’s one of the things that makes me happiest at work because it makes it a more comfortable work environment. It’s so easy to ask questions if you have any and your workmates are more like friends - it just makes the workplace that much better.

The key to staying productive and motivated

The encouragement I receive from my team is what keeps me productive and motivated. It’s a really supportive team where we help each other reach targets or complete projects on time. It's just about working together. What’s really good is that you are encouraged to meet deadlines, there is help available if necessary, and it is easy to ask for that help if you need it. That definitely helps when trying to be productive.

How I’ve developed my skills at Woods

Woods’ Graduate Surveyor programme has been the biggest contributing factor towards the development of my skills. In the survey department, new graduate surveyors are paired or buddied up with a graduate who is 1-2 years ahead of them – someone with a bit more experience than them. My buddy has taken me under their belt and taught me all the ins and outs which is basically how I've developed all my skills and progressed within the past year.

The perks of working at Woods

If I had to sum up what it’s like to work at Woods in one word, it would be fun. It’s that social interaction but also the cool projects you get to do. You also get exposed to some top of the line and innovative technology.

I’m fortunate enough to have been offered many opportunities to travel for my job here. I’ve been to Coromandel, Gisborne, and all the way down to Foxton for different types of land development and surveying projects.

It’s something that I didn’t think I’d have the luxury of doing. Not many people I know get to go sightseeing around the country while doing what they love. But it’s been so valuable to see these different types of projects in person and see how they progress as you just learn a lot more.

Ultimately, Woods is a place where you can develop your skills to pursue a career you love, learn from a team of really smart people, and become a better surveyor and engineer overall.

Kade Phillips – Graduate Surveyor