At Fisher German, we pride ourselves on genuinely attracting and retaining the best talent. Our people are the most important thing to us, and we like colleagues who are individual as well as integral team members. We caught up with one of our surveyors, Hannah Solley, who joined our telecoms team in February after previously working in the infrastructure team in Newark, to find out more about her journey to Fisher German and her plans for the future.
“I grew up in Scotland and attended school in Edinburgh, where I had a very well-rounded education. When I left school, I took a gap year and went to Australia and came back to begin my course at Northumbria University to study Sports Development with Coaching as my real passion was for sports. I was a competitive hurdler and lacrosse player and played nationally for Scotland during school and university, and up until last year I was still competing for Scotland lacrosse. I have completed 3 sprint triathlons and have plans to complete a half marathon and a half iron man this year.
“I focused my attention on coaching and strength and conditioning, I was very committed and although I was encouraged to consider a career as a PE teacher, I was still unsure what my career in sports was going to be. Sport is very much still my passion today, but I think at that time a career in sports was very competitive and jobs were limited, so I had to think about the other things I enjoyed.
“When I finished my undergrad, I undertook a master’s degree in rural estate management at the Royal Agricultural University which included some work experience with one of our competitors. I spent some time as a rural surveyor in Yorkshire but due to distance from my friends and family, I decided to move to Bristol where I stayed for 4 years, I decided after time working in property, that I still had the desire to become a chartered surveyor.
“I have previously worked in telecoms in lease renewals, I was on the other side of the fence working with the operators and their agents, it was great to be involved in negotiations and the litigation side of lease renewals. I am enjoying working in Fisher German’s telecoms team, it’s great working with the graduates and I think having the life experience gives me the confidence to offer genuine advice to those just starting in their career.
“I have always been very competitive and love debating and building relationships. In this industry, you have to think on your feet. One thing I have learnt is that your career path does not have to be a straight road, there will be twists and turns along the way, and that’s absolutely fine. The course of my career path has changed many times, but this enabled me to learn some important life skills and gain lots of experience along the way. There are direct paths to a successful career but there are plenty of indirect paths too. The only real barrier to success for anyone is themselves. If they’re willing to work hard and learn, they will progress through life and the business.
“I am hoping that I can support other people in my team and mentor them to become the best version of themselves as I continue to develop my career in the telecoms industry.”
The telecoms team has more than 50 years of combined experience in this sector and deals with all aspects of telecoms masts and their management of them. They are nationally recognised niche practitioners specialising in telecommunications property advice and act for more than 6,000 land and property owners who have telecommunication radio base stations, radio towers, rooftop installations and mobile phone masts on their land and buildings. They have negotiated more than 10,000 leases, licenses, and wayleave agreements on behalf of land and property owners across the UK and they also maintain one of the UK’s most comprehensive site databases for comparable and site promotion.
To find out more about our telecoms consultancy service click here.
