Info Interview with Development Exec

I have an informational interview with a senior member of a very large, global development firm coming up and I was wondering if anyone on the forum (preferably with development experience) could help me come up with some relevant questions. The main purpose of the meeting is to pick his brain on his firm, the status of the development industry and get his advice on breaking into development.

I am planning to ask him about some of the high profile projects he has worked on/is working on, advice about breaking into development, how his firm recruits and hires new analysts and about analysts role in a large development company (how they spend their time, split between acquisition/development analysis, chances and paths of promotion, etc).

Can anyone come up with some other, more development focused, questions I should be asking him? Anything you think I am missing. I want to make sure I cover all of my bases, have material I want to cover in the interview and make a good impression. Anything helps. Thanks in advance.

 

How he got involved in the industry; what drew him to it; why you are interested in development, beyond that you like the idea of building a building - maybe ask about major impacts he has seen his projects have on cities and local economies and what the hardest part of the project was to facilitate (politics, regulation, financing); ask for clarification on things you may not yet understand, like how the business model works where you need to be financing the acquisition of land in one spot, while coordinating architects, engineers, and tons of other moving parts... stuff like that.

 

Don't try and grill this guy/girl. In these kinds of informative interviews I just like to get the other person talking about work. Ask if they have run into anything interesting on a recent deal. Ask what markets they like right now or what markets they think are over-heated. Questions like that will give you a good idea what the company is focusing on right now. These questions also establish your interest in development and their firm in particular. Just do your homework and be personable.

 

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