Colliers International Interview Questions

6 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (98%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

4.3
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (23%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (34%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

23%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Colliers International

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Real Estate
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2022
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Brokerage
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Prime Brokerage
Location San fransico
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2018
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Sales
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2016
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Real Estate
Location Columbus
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2010
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Real Estate
Location San Jose
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy

Interview Questions & Answers - Colliers International Examples

Intern Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: September 2021
Date Submitted: Dec 18, 2023
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
The interview process began with a phone call with a recruiter, likely to discuss your background and assess initial fit. Following this, a Zoom interview took place, involving discussions with a Client Services Coordinator and a Financial Analyst. This suggests a comprehensive evaluation, possibly covering both operational and financial aspects, indicating the company's interest in your overall skill set and potential contributions.
Interview Questions
No difficult or unexpected questions asked. All behavioral, asked a couple of basic real estate questions but nothing out of the ordinary
Sample Answer

Retail Division Intern Interview - Brokerage

Anonymous employee in New York
Interviewed: September 2022
Date Submitted: Oct 06, 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Group Interview
Background Check
Interview
The interview was very straight forward. Walked through my resume and pitched my overall interest in Real Estate. Aside from that we really just talked about Citi Bikes for more than half of the interview. Very relaxed and easy
Interview Questions
What do you think we do here?
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Prime Brokerage

Anonymous interview candidate in San fransico
Interviewed: September 2019
Date Submitted: Apr 23, 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
In-person
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Primarily, it is extremely above all importance to aggressively network and establish powerful relationships with the right personnel as well as anyone else you can get to vouch for you
Interview Questions
Why real estate, why Colliers
Sample Answer

Associate - Investment Sales Interview - Sales

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: March 2018
Date Submitted: Jul 09, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Was refereed to by another broker at a different firm that had close relations to the team. I met with the VP of the team and had a conversation about what the team does and who they are looking for. Week later I met with other members of the team. Very informal with no technical test.
Interview Questions
The most difficult question was why do you think you could survive is sales. I told them I came from an entrepreneurial background and have always been a shark with what I wanted to achieve. I knew about the sink or swim mentality in investment sales and told him. They told me about their stories of having to scrape by their first years and how I thought I was going to make it. Luckily I had some support and told them I was willing to do whatever it takes to be the best at this role. Those who do not have the support are taking a huge risk.
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous employee in Columbus
Interviewed: 2016
Date Submitted: Aug 23, 2017
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Background Check
Interview
The interview process consisted of an informal meeting with one of the senior brokers who I met through a family connection. The meeting was very laid back and mostly behavioral/fit based. He asked me about previous work experience, why real estate, etc.

The second interview consisted of a meeting with the Director of Operations and program lead--also a broker--for the rotational program I was applying to. This interview as relatively relaxed as well. They asked me to walk through my resume, asked about what I knew about the industry/brokerage and gave me time to ask them questions. This stage was meant to see if you are personable enough to lead a successful career as a commercial real estate broker.

The third and final interview consisted of meeting with the heads of all of the product type specialties (retail, office, industrial, investment) and was very much similar to the second interview. However, it was much more conversational and required me to drive the discussion. They want to see that you are curious and engaging as well as able to maintain rapport with older individuals. Given the nature of the CRE business, you are dealing with business owners/organization leaders, etc. As such, it's imperative that you come across as confident and mature. At the end of the day, CRE brokerage is a relationship business.
Interview Questions
Honestly, there weren't any difficult questions. There were no technical questions. I suppose the toughest question I received is, "What do you think it takes to be successful in this business?"

In commercial real estate brokerage, the most aspect to being successful is personality, creativity and persistence. Unless you're going into investment sales--which even is not that technical--the majority of the analysis--whether leasing or buying; tenant rep or landlord rep; etc.--can be learned within a few weeks. What can't be learned is the soft skills. I think that's why the interview process tends to be more behavioral/fit based.
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous interview candidate in San Jose
Interviewed: 2010
Date Submitted: Mar 03, 2014
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Other
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Very straightforward "personality" interview, that is easy to obtain if you know anyone at Colliers, and difficult to obtain if you are an outsider. Assuming you are somewhat competent in regards to CRE, I would highly recommend you be vocal about your interests. Support your points, and if you are looking to leave with an offer at the end of summer, be adamant that you don't want to spend anytime in the research department.
Interview Questions
A common question is 'why are you interested in real estate?' This is such a simply answer for the right person, and a brutal question if you aren't the right fit. This actually applies to anyone interested in real estate, as pretty much the only answer they are looking for at the internship level is, "I love working with people." Add some bullshit about loving city planning, buildings, etc. but spend most of your time harping on that fact that you're a people person.
Are you familiar with X building, X client, etc.? They ask this to gauge how much you actually know about the market. Candidly, I would say your familiarity with particular clients/ potential clients is more important than your knowledge of the buildings themselves.
Sample Answer