Hi Everyone,
Next week, I have an RE IS Analyst Interview w/ a major firm (CBRE/JLL/Eastdil). I was wondering if anyone has had experience either as the interviewer or the interviewee with this type of interview. If so, any light shed would be greatly appreciate.
Things that I would expect would be covered
-Financial Modeling at Asset Level
-Key Metrics of Covered Market (Cap Rates, Interest Rates, etc)
-Key Trends of Covered Market (hot property types, hot firms and capital partners)
Wondering if I'm on the right track, and, if so, where are some good places to hone in on that? I have Linneman (textbook), REFM (Modeling), etc.
Also, does anyone have an idea what range the comp would be in?
I was thinking $65-70K but not sure about bonus amount or structure.
I'm asking so that I'm not blindsided when they ask what comp I'm expecting.
This will vary greatly depending on the city and company. I know someone who started at CBRE in IS at around $50k with ~10% bonus (this was several years ago now). I know others at Eastdil that are closer to the numbers you have described with larger bonuses.
Without giving us more information it will be hard to say where this job might fall in that range. Calling around to friends or other contacts in the market would probably be more informative.
I have not looked through your history, do you have prior CRE experience or is this interview for an entry level position?
Thanks for the reply, pickleM.
Market: L.A. Graduated UG: 2013 College: (think Wisco) Previously worked 1-2 Years in Corp Fin at a BB Bank This summer, transitioned to a small RE Investment Management Shop. Majority of work consisted of Acquisition Analyst work (Underwriting, Modeling, Due Diligence preparation, etc). Currently working on REFM course (for modeling) and reading Linneman for general CRE knowledge to close experience gap.
The role is requesting about 1-2 years of Real Estate or General Financial Analysis experience.
I think the range you listed above is very reasonable given everything you have listed about yourself/your experience. Sounds like you have a solid background and if you are able to talk about deals you have worked on you should be in front of the rest of the herd, like ThatGuyBalls said.
With your background it should be less about if you are qualified for the position and more about how much they would want to work with you. Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes.
If you've read Linneman and are comfortable with key terms then you're more ahead of the pack than you may think (in my experience). Also, based on your exp, you're ripe for the picking. Go into the interview prepared to speak about a deal you worked on.
Lastly, try and show passion and personality in the interview. You cannot teach these qualities and they're hugely important on the IS side.
personality and fit is huge.
Real estate can be learned
Just finished the interview.
Met with about half the professionals at the office. Met with everyone from recently hired analysts out of Undergrad to the Co-head of the office. Really had a positive experience and liked every single person that I met with.
Most Common Questions - Walk through your resume - Are you more interested in Investment Sales or Debt Equity Placement - Is there a specific property type that you are most interested in.
Any technicals?
+1 on technicals?
There were no technicals. Only fit/behavioral questions. I'm not sure why this was the case. (Perhaps, it could have been due to me being referred by a respected buy-side firm in the region so they assumed technicals were in line).
I think there mindset is, "'Person A is smart enough and we have confidence that he can learn everything that is necessary to succeed on the job. What we can't teach or guarantee are the soft skills. So that is what we'll look for..."
Thanks for the response.
Just to clarify, by soft skills I'm assuming you mean personable, social, someone they can see joining the team not only professional but personally?
Yes. You're going to be spending a lot of time together, they want to make sure they wouldn't mind being near you on a regular basis and that you can actually talk to people. Hell, I had a buddy(broker) that was taken to a bar by the principal at a small regional firm because he wanted to see him interact with randoms. Sounds crazy, but if you can walk into an unknown situation and come out with new bros and a date for next week you likely the confidence and personality to handle an office full of sales brokers. The math is the easy part.
Long story short my buddy got the job(and a bunch of phone numbers) based on his social skills.
Yes, doubling what thexaspect said. Honestly, if you're like a 7 out of 10 smart and are a diligent worker, the technicals should be easy to pick up. It's the personality and ability to connect that isn't as easy. Being in Investment Sales is like the the 5 biggest men on campus at Brown all gaming/scheming their way to bang Emma Watson her first day on campus.
Informal Interview with an Investment Sales Brokerage Team (for analyst/junior associate role)- What questions to ask? (Originally Posted: 12/05/2016)
Long time lurker of these forums, and would appreciate some advice.
For brief context: I am a few years out of college and began my career in research at a large brokerage. I loved the brokerage side of things but ended up leaving for an analyst opening with a MF developer (mostly urban infills) to get some financial experience under my belt and see things from an owner's perspective.
I've only been here for 8 months, but over the weekend I met a broker who works on a large Capital Markets team for a global firm in my city. He told me there has been a shake up on their team: one of their top producers and senior analysts left for a competitor 4 months ago. They are picking up the pieces, but still maintaining deal flow. He reccomended I shoot my resume to their team leader, since they are currently discussing restructuring for 2017. I got in touch with the head guy and he told me to call him at the end of this week.
Since there appears to be a potential opportunity here, I am wondering how to go into this phone conversation. I understand the fundamentals of the brokerage industry through my research position, and have the financial and excel knowledge required through my development experience. I think my background can really add value to their team.
Could anyone offer some general advice on how to approach this? As a broker, what are you looking for in an analyst, and what are some topics/points would you look for during an intro phone conversation, how can I add value?
Any help would be appreciated!
In no particular order: What is their deal flow like? How many deals do they close per year? What is the average size of their deals? What property types/geography do they specialize in? How is the team structured?
One of the best aspects of working in brokerage is the strong deal flow. You see tons of deals and learn how to underwrite and work on most product types. If one of their top producers left, you want to make sure you are still stepping into a team that does lots of deals.
Where you add value: you have applicable experience so you will be able to pick up new product types and concepts quickly. You have the financial modeling experience. You have strong writing skills (get good at writing quickly if you aren't, it's a huge part of the job). You have tons of experience interfacing with other developers, equity partners, lenders, appraisers, lawyers etc.
Good luck.
Thank you for the response. I do have a few follow up questions for you:
Thanks!
From my experience so far and from having an in person informational at a brokers office (and this IMO goes for any meeting) is to approach it in a casual fashion. Talk about your background, ask them how they got to where they are. One guy I just met with, got to his position from a cold email. Ask some questions about their firm and such and any advice they can offer. Don't start diving into making a sales pitch on your experience as if it's a job interview. Also, I end all my interviews with two questions.. can you connect me to anyone else? Also, I ask about their interests outside of RE, specifically what sports they like. The goal of these should be to develop relationships.
Investment Sales analyst interview process.. (Originally Posted: 08/02/2017)
To all the investment sales analyst's out there, what was your interview process like? Was the questions mostly fit or technical?
Lastly, list whether you are in a primary or secondary market as well as your product type.
Thanks
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