Laid Off
First time going through this since I began my career after college (about 3.5 years experience, multifamily). I have solid experience and company names on my resume but still pretty worried about the state of the job market and having to explain anything in interviews. It was not performance based at all and several people were let go when I was, and they are willing to provide references, etc. Anyone else going through it right now? Located in Denver FWIW if anyone is hiring or would like to grab a coffee sometime.
What company?
Walker & Dunlop just laid off about 8% this week, would fit with the multifamily experience.
I am sorry to hear. Unfortunately, there will probably be a lot of these posts incoming. As someone who has been laid off twice, here is the following advice I would give you:
1. Its not your fault. Both times I was laid off I would think its my fault but it was due to conditions outside my control. Dont beat yourself and keep your head up. Better opportunities will come.
2. Your gut instinct is going to be to apply to jobs right away. Relax. Take a week long breather. Hit the beach, mountains, gym, etc. Cool off and then revisit the applications.
3. I said this before and I'll say it again, the past 12 years have been an era of easy money, stupid money, and insane risk taking. The CRE industry saw staffing become more than 4x pre-GFC. CRE became a much bigger allocation for investment firms than the prior periods. We are now having the rug pulled with savings rates now exceeding cap rates for core product. We're seeing rental rates fall for the first time. There is going to be a limited number of openings for a while. You may have luck in asset management, but it also may not be of interest to you either. Its a tough pill to swallow but I mention this because times are different now. Thats not to say you should stop trying, but just something to keep in the back of the head in case you can't find anything.
Going back to the top, not your fault. Also go ahead and apply for unemployment.
I second everything above. I've been laid off before too. It's tough, but it actually led me to end up in a much better place than I was before.
Won't reiterate what's already been said so my best advice is the following: DO NOT rush into panic finding a new job. Had I done that I never would have ended up where I am today as my younger self would have just panicked and taken the first job I could find. I feel very fortunate for ending up where I am and its a result of me being patient in waiting for the right opportunity as opposed to taking what was available. I was unemployed for almost a year and literally did not care at all for the first six months. I cut my monthly expenses by at least 60% and was amazed at how little I really needed to get by during this period. I picked up new hobbies, interests etc and immersed myself in those. Not suggesting you do it for that long as I don't know your financial situation, but I would def recommend doing it for some time. You may be surprised at what you find. I for example spent a ton of time with my family, traveled to national parks and became obsessed with trading which I now continue work on everyday.
Oh and get your ass in the gym! Don't get stuck in the couch, its a slippery slope to depression.
Good luck, just stay positive it will all be ok in the end.
What company? You can't post that without telling us
First off sorry to hear that you’ve been laid off. I read a post from John Drachman about impending layoffs that I think is relevant to your situation. The post was in response to an announcement that eastdile was cutting 7% of its staff.
Here is the quote:Remember when I said #stayaliveto25...well sadly the layoffs in Real Estate are now hereThis is a normal part of this cycle too where Real Estate firms are laying off staff. You are seeing this with all the major brokerage firms and in some ways its probably trimming costs after record hiring in 2021 and in others its a result of less transactional volume which is driving less fee revenue.Some who are reading this could either have been laid off, will be laid off, or fearful they could be laid off.
The layoffs are just starting too and will grow as the year moves on as transaction volume stays well below where it was in 2021.If you find yourself getting laid off this cycle here is my adviceDo whatever the F*ck you can to find a way to stay in this Industry.I do not care how you figure it out, but #stayaliveto25.
If you have to take a step back job, do it. If you have to move from acquisitions to asset management, do it. If you need to go back to graduate school, do it. If you need to severely cut back on what you spend money on, do it. If you have to take a job in Loan workouts, do it.
These periods separate the people truly committed to this industry from the ones who are not.It will be really hard at times to get rejected from jobs that seemed so plentiful 12-24 months ago. But do not quit. I graduated from the MRED/MBA program at USC in May of 2009 thinking I was so smart and well educated and the market slapped me across the face hard. I learned how incredibly difficult this business can be during downturns. It took me 7 months to find a job after graduating and I had to move in with my then Girlfriend and her Parents. I still have the massive list of cards of everyone I met that year. Now I look back and realized it made me such a better Real Estate professional for living through that. I hung on and found a way to survive.You gain your true self-confidence in this industry when times are hard, not when times are easy.If you #stayaliveto25 you will get to another great market where if you are smart you can create real wealth for yourself or take large leaps in your career.
I know it sucks, but you are not alone and this business rewards the people who stay fully committed to it, continually grind and never waver in the face of adversity. Myself and many in my generation who survived the GFC are proof positive of that.
Not going to repeat the other good advice from this thread. But I'll add that when you apply for a new job, consider another industry that may have complementary skill sets. For example, asset management, treasury, home building, start-ups, loan origination, appraisal, or other real estate asset classes (e.g., retail, self-storage). This could be liberating for you in a way. I started my career in multifamily real estate and I found it to be incredibly boring. It's true that had I hyper-specialized in multifamily maybe I'd be wealthier today, but I would have been very bored.
OP,
I am in Denver as well. are you a broker?
Not a broker. I have worked in agency lending and appraisal (most experience in lending). I would be interested in hearing more about investment sales or debt origination though. I was actually planning on leaving my company or moving departments before being let go.
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