Breaking into CRE late 20s
Hey all - I'm trying to break into the industry as a late 20s, really not picky at this point - could be brokerage, REIT, REPE, whatever - but having a terribly hard time getting any kind of traction.
Went to an ivy for undergrad, worked at top 4 bank for the last 4-5 years. 2 of those years in wealth management, currently in AM but more of a product specialist and investor relations role, live in NYC. Have personally invested in RE and own and operate a small portfolio of resi properties in the midwest (big part of my story). However, paired with the tough job market and high competition, the lack of any modeling/underwriting/technical work experience and any corporate RE experience is getting me un-noticed.
Yes I've been networking a lot, cold outreaching a lot, and have spoken to a lot of people. The people that end up being kind enough to respond to me and chat always end up at companies that aren't hiring, while the ones that are hiring....I never hear from. At this point I'm thinking maybe I got towards a smaller shop but I don't know how to find them. There are no "lists" online. Would appreciate any advice here. I've given grad school a serious thought but really don't want to leave NYC but also don't want to limit myself to the schools here either, not to mention all that debt for no guarantee of a job later either. Would really appreciate any suggestions on what I could be doing differently or any specific firms to look into. Thanks!
Join ULI and then use the member directory to find people in the industry at smaller shops
At this point in your career do you really want to take a giant paycut? Real estate is not a high cash paying career compared to a lot of finance jobs. Idk how much you’re making now but you mentioned you didn’t care if it was brokerage, repe, etc. those jobs are vastly different. I loved real estate all my life and decided to make it a career but honestly dont like it as much now that it’s my career. So what’s your reasoning to switch?
I started off investing personally and loved it but got burnt out doing everything alone, on top of my day job. Was working my way towards quitting finance and doing REI full-time, but after taking a step back, realized I don't really want to be self-employed and that the capacity to grow professionally/my knowledge would be limited as an entrepreneur. I wasn't the biggest fan of the role I had in my day job and didn't want to progress upwards there so decided to follow the RE interest in a more professional capacity. At this point, I don't care about pay as I'm just trying to get my foot in the door.
It is an extremely tough job market. Lots of people laid off and few firms hiring. The competition is just too high right now for someone trying to break in. Keep trying — it will open up eventually, but I wouldn’t expect things to change soon. Grad school could be a good place to wait it out and makes for an easier sell (if you can afford the opportunity cost).
Your best bet is MSRE/D. If you get into a good program and take it seriously - you will 100% get several looks, especially if you cast a wide net geography wise. If I’m being honest, your odds of getting a job in this market while competing with all the people who’ve been laid off in RE, banking, and just the folks looking for a new job, is really slim. Even people with strong real estate experience from good schools are getting turned down left and right.
Very very tough time to break in. MSRE might be the move if you're positive you want to get into real estate. NYU you can do part time. The best traction I ever got was went to some big conferences (nmhc, and icsc) when I was a student and not only networked, but printed out 50 resumes and chatted with people at booths and handed out my resume. Got 7 intros/interviews set up for after the event one of which was Related. All the big fish people are at those conferences so you immediately get an intro even just walking up to the booths and starting a chat. Played the dumb student card wanting to learn more and it worked, but could probably do this as a regular person.
Expedita sit et et. Libero et in vero qui. Voluptas quia reiciendis est neque alias. Nostrum quae deserunt rerum ipsa dignissimos.
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