Entry level to analyst job at CBRE help
Quick background, I graduated in 2019 with a 3.3 from a solid liberal arts school majoring in political science and minor in econ, playing DI sports. After I graduated, I took 6 months off to travel and figure out what I wanted to do which is when I realized CRE is what I wanted to pursue. I figured the best thing to do was just get my foot in the door and not waste anymore time so I took the first job I could find in the industry, a (very) entry level operations coordinator gig at CBRE. It was great to get in the door, working at an office just outside NYC, learned the lingo/culture, different jobs, etc. but after being in the role for a year, it is really time to move on. My position does not even require a college degree and I am overqualified and have gotten as much as I can out of this role. My boss has essentially said as much saying "I'm surprised you're still here and someone else hasn't taken you yet". I am seeking advice on how I should proceed on my next steps. My goal is to move down the road into NYC by the spring into a CRE analyst type role. I am trying to leverage my experience at CBRE and use that to my advantage even though my work has been very basic (reviewing leases, transaction entry, basic accounting). I haven't found any good internal opportunities and have had no luck applying to competitors. I have thought of spending the cash to get Argus certified and/or brush up with some modeling courses. Hoping someone has had a similar experience or even other advice (whether that be different positions to look into, things to add to the resume, etc).My worst fear is this entry level job that was suppose to just be a jumping off point to getting into the real positions I am seeking turns into a job I am at much longer and I get defined by this.
PS - Just bought my first rental property as well so at least I put the little pay I do get towards something.
Thanks!
Bump
I would start networking like crazy, going to be tough with the pandemic, but 3-5 meetings a week will produce fast results.
If you want to work in investment sales, investments or development, I would recommend looking at REFM or other certifications, I personally have done REFM and then the NAIOP ones.
Also, I would join ULI/NAIOP or anything else that allows you to network with real estate people.
Thank you, yes certainly tricky trying to network with people during the pandemic and wfh but I plan on trying to shoot out some emails and build at least some name recognition. I definitely plan on getting some type of certification or courses like REFM so glad to hear you recommend it.
It's tricky, what I've been doing is getting on calls & seeing what advice people have then reaching out later (a month or two) to catch up and provide progress on what they asked. EX: I think x book is good & will help with your story or I think you need to be able to talk about a deal and why it's good. I'll then follow up with something, "got the books and started one of them, have added x to my viewpoint" or "worked on what we spoke about, is this what you were thinking" and have an actual example with reasoning behind it. Show you're taking their advice and acting on it. I'm feel not many people even do that and even fewer stay in touch. Just don't bother them everyday with obvious questions.
Hey so are you looking to move to a brokerage team and work as an analyst? I'd focus on CBRE, but also look at other top groups in the market - JLL, CW, Newmark. For an analyst position you'll need to work on your modeling and in general I'd say read as much as you can about the industry. Start with alumni in the industry and reach out for calls/Zoom/coffee. Meet different people in the NYC office, tell them about your story and ask what advice they have. Keep in touch with these guys, even if there isn't a job right now if you follow up every month or two and show you're working on what they said most will be willing to help.
An analyst at a lot of these firms is good, but I'd also say look at being a junior broker on a team. See if you can get on one of these teams where the senior guys are producers and you'll get some sort of salary with a split. Not ideal, but better than full commission at some of the smaller shops in the city. Focus on the top 5/brand name if possible, I'm saying this because I'm not at a top 5 as a broker out of undergrad and am getting dinged on training, viewpoint on real estate, and experience compared to a better shop. The name helps you in the future and gets your foot in the door at places.
Great, thank you for the advice. Very helpful! Im certainly making CBRE the focus but have been looking at the other big places as well. I am really going to step up my modeling which I am confident I can do. Networking is definitely tough right now as I don't have many connections within CB but I will use the few I have. Good advice about alumni, I will see if both my college and hs have people in the field.
So I see three pathways that could work (not sure if any are "Easy" but all could be effective).
1. Network within CBRE, and find someone who likes you, and will take you as a very junior analyst/researcher/coordinator on a production team. This could work outside of CBRE of course, but a bit harder. This is most direct way, probably the hardest, but not impossible.
2. Join/apply at "lower ranked" firms - may be easier to get a true "front of house" analyst/junior role at another firm, perhaps not of the brand of CBRE types, but really that shouldn't matter. Your indirect experience may carry more weight in this world, worth exploring.
3. Go to grad school. Your overall background, both UG and professionally, make you the type of person who could really benefit from a MSRE/D or MBA. Clearly this is expensive and time consuming, but it is what many people in your exact situation do (i.e. what your competition is doing). You are in the NYC area and want to stay, many options where you could go to school part-time and keep networking and working all the way through.
In all options, I would do more classes for excel modeling and do the Argus deal, may really help. There is "4th" option but maybe not best given that you have a job..
4. Go for "post grad internships" on legit front line teams at legit shops (this may be hard to impossible at CBRE given HR rules, just to think about it). This is what I often give as advice to people like you who don't have a legit job out of UG. It's an option, but maybe not a good one given that you have the job you have. Still, it's something to think about as you network and talk to people.
All good options, thank you. I know no option is "easy" but it seems option 1 is certainly the most clear path forward. Option 2 would be great, but competition is obviously tough. Option 3 I would love honestly, it would be a matter of actually getting admitted into these programs that would be the real hurdle I think. I will certainly ramp up my modeling/Argus work no matter what. Thanks for the advice, appreciate it!
Your profile/grade suggest you should be able to get into an MSRE/D program (like NYU or Fordham, maybe not Columbia), MBA is harder to say, need GMAT score for that.
Question on #2, I'm getting feedback coming from a lower ranked firm moving to principal side that it does matter. People have mentioned the training difference and brand name as factors that may be tough to switch right in. Any advice in this scenario? Trying to reach out to people at many firms before jobs even come up to combat this.
difficult to generalize, but the "rule of thumb" in moving from broker to principal is the easiest path will be moving to a client (or prospective one or competitor of current). So, if the "lower ranked" firm has legit clients you want to work for, then maybe no problem.
That said, brand can matter, no question, but again its the job you get offered vs. what? At the end of the day, I'd say 1000x better to be in legit production/front of house role at "lesser firm" than back of house anywhere IF you want a career in real estate long-term.
Training is much more difficult to generalize, I think can get just as good training/mentorship at a "lesser" firm as you would (or could) at a big top name. But, that is far more a function of the team/firm, and there can be some very lousy at this for sure. I.e.... details matter.
Heavy disclaimer: CBRE New York has the highest level of nepotism in the city for analysts/associates.
I wouldn’t put all your eggs into CB’s basket, especially if you’re just blindly targeting the firm. Find a specific team within and network with them directly. That will be the best route. Additionally, there are plenty of other brokerage firms/teams where you will learn tons as an analyst within the city.
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