A former hairdresser has been awarded for her success as a residential surveyor.

Zoe Baker, founder of Your Surveyors Ltd, has won the RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards 2022 sponsored by information services company Sava, and shared her advice to anyone considering a career in surveying.

Zoe has had her residential surveying business in Maidstone since she was 28, which covers Kent and most of the Southeast for private and corporate clients.

This was 12 years after starting her hairdressing apprenticeship at Vidal Sassoon salon .

She wanted a change of career and got a job working for a chartered surveyors in Surrey, where she quickly worked her way up to be a manager. She was then headhunted by the founding director of a surveying company in Kent.

The 30-year-old recalls falling in love with surveying when she bought her first property.

She said: "I’m not afraid to say I fell in love with the residential surveying sector and I knew this because I just wanted to learn all the time every day.

"I purchased a property in my early 20s and was intrigued by the process. I looked into all options within the property industry and the role of a surveyor stuck out to me the most.

"It has given me the opportunity to be that direct professional link between the purchasers of a property and the sometimes confusing technical elements not only of the property itself but of the whole home buying process."

Looking back on her career, Zoe said she had faced a few obstacles along the way, mainly due to her previous job as a hairdresser.

She said: "People look down on hairdressers and assume you do not have the intelligence or capability to shift to another career.

"I have also found that misogyny remains rife in many sectors of society, unfortunately including some areas of the property profession.

"However, seeking out and surrounding yourself with experienced and supportive fellow professionals is paramount. Particularly, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to push past the negativity of some influences that you may encounter on your journey.

"Going from a hairdresser to having a successful well established residential surveying business where all our reviews have been five-star and having an office in a prime location has got to be the highlight of my continuing journey so far."

Zoe explained how the award was "the cherry on top" to celebrate her professional achievements.

She said: "I have spent just under 10 years in this industry demonstrating my exceptional drive and enthusiasm for the surveying profession which on some occasions has been the subject of attempted interruption through the negativity of others. However, I stayed focused on my goal and didn’t let anyone or anything get in the way.

"I want to demonstrate that you can be a young woman and can achieve whatever you desire. I always seek to rise above the quotidian. I want to be a role model that those who perhaps doubt their own capabilities can look at and reimagine their own future prospects keeping a positive mental attitude to lead them through to success."