How long after you started your first job did you wait to start reaching out for your next move?

Going for REPE, just graduated this past June. Currently in a development role at a top shop.

Most recruiting happens in the fall, some may be complete already by now.

When should I begin reaching out to firms regarding my next move?

9 Comments
 

Are you unhappy at your current company? Life's too short to be unhappy at work, but it's good to have at least a year or two for your first job out of college if you're able to hold through for a bit longer.

If the job's going well and you're learning a lot, just stick it out until you feel like it's time to make the move. By then, hopefully you've built some solid connections and don't have to resort to cold-calling/emailing or trying to apply to same-level roles. No reason you shouldn't make the most of your role and keep killing it for them and getting promoted internally.

 

Not unhappy at all, but REPE was my goal all along. There isn’t a problem, it’s just not what I want in the long run. For now it’s great, and in my opinion a necessary step to make the transition to REPE.

 

Good that you know what you want to do in the long-run. @JSmithRE2010" nailed it on the head with what he said. I'd stay at the firm, but keep networking and staying involved in the industry (ULI, NAIOP, etc.) and really making yourself a well-known analyst that can GSD. When you leave after a year or two, you could apply to a senior analyst role instead of leaving now and being an analyst for another 3 years.

Hope this helps - good luck!

 
Most Helpful

Was in the same boat as you after I graduated. Had a good job but it wasn’t what I wanted long term and it didn’t pay well. Do yourself a favor and wait 9 months before applying anyway.

You can still get interviews at good shops after only 3 months on the job, but honestly you’re handicapping yourself if you start that early. Don’t interview until you can handle your responsibilities on cruise control and you’ve established that you’re a good analyst. You want to leave your first job with stories about what you did, how you added value and what you learned. There is a lot more that you can learn from your current position, but you’re still so early you probably don’t even know what those things are yet

The 2nd reason I recommend waiting revolves around the actual interview. Experienced hire interviews are far more focused on your experience at your current job. If you can’t breeze through a conversation about your responsibilities and the deals you’ve worked on, it’s probably too early to apply. Honestly, even if you can breeze through a conversation about your responsibilities, I can’t imagine you’ve taken on much responsibility in the three months - especially when that includes the slow summer months.

I could go into more detail but hopefully you trust me on this one. TLDR: work hard til the 9 month mark (minimum)

Array
 

Definitely. It’s better to be networking long before you actually start looking for a job. Just be careful about how you word your emails and what you discuss on the calls. Don’t make it look like you’ve thrown in the towel and you’re ready to jump to PE. Ask for advice on how to succeed at your current job. Maybe you could even find someone who made the same jump as you hope to (1 year development to PE) and talk to them about that in your 2nd call

Array
 

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