Early-career CRE analyst (1 yr experience + internships) — looking for resume & job search advice

Hi all! Looking for some outside perspective as I job search.

Background: I have about a year of full-time experience as an investment/development analyst at a boutique real estate firm (residential and mixed-use ground-up development), plus several shorter internships/training programs (ARGUS valuation training, a net-lease case study program, asset management at a multifamily firm, and an earlier PropTech research role abroad). I have a master's in real estate-focused hospitality management from a US university, plus a bachelor's from outside the US, and hold a few certifications (Bloomberg Market Concepts, ARGUS Enterprise, etc.).

I'm targeting development, acquisitions, asset management, and capital markets analyst roles, open to both large institutions and mid-size firms.

Questions I'd love input on:

  1. What does a strong resume look like for entry-level/early-career candidates applying to large institutional platforms vs. smaller or boutique firms, do expectations really differ?
  2. Should I include a bachelor's degree from outside the US on a resume for US-based roles, or does it not matter either way?
  3. How do recruiters/hiring managers actually view a candidate with a few roles under a year each early on, red flag, or normal enough at the analyst level if the work itself is solid?
  4. Given a background like this, what kind of roles/companies would you recommend focusing on right now, large institutions, boutique/family offices, regional firms, or earlier-stage platforms? Where would I likely have the strongest shot?
  5. Anything else you'd flag on a resume like this that I'm not thinking to ask about?

Appreciate any honest feedback, happy to share more detail in comments if useful.

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful
  1. Use the same resume. You're not far enough along in your career to have specialized resumes. 
  2. Yes. Companies will expect to see a bachelor's degree. Doesn't matter where it's from. 
  3. It's a bit of a red flag for multiple full time jobs, but if I'm understanding this correctly, you have one full time job lasting about a year and a couple of internships. That's pretty normal. Don't put training programs under work experience. Put them under education or somewhere else. 
  4. No red flags really. It's just rough out there, and depending on your work status, it might be harder for an international candidate. Make sure you aren't just firing documents into a void though and you're out there networking. 
Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

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