Hi All -- I'm hoping to get some advice about my attempt to pivot within the real estate space.
Background: I'm mid-30s, single, and in my second year of commercial retail brokerage at a mid-size firm. I'm a veteran, MBA (from a top-10), and former Big-4 consultant that made the switch to real estate back in 2023. My long-term goal is to find a home with a reputable REPE, in an asset management or acquisitions role. I also have a year of experience working acquisitions at a small syndicated fund shop. My goal has been to gain experience at the transaction level, before making the switch to an associate role at a REPE firm.
Question: Ideally, I'd like to land with a firm that values my real estate brokerage experience, MBA education, and consulting experience, while allowing me to develop my analysis skillset. Outside of the proformas I analyzed on excel in acquisitions role (and MBA analysis classes), I don’t have a ton of analytical experience. My question is: am I positioned well for the pivot I’m attempting? Is my age going to be a limiting factor? If not, what should I do to shore up my resume for a future pivot? What types of roles/firms should I pursue for an smoother transition?
Thanks,
A grateful reader
You definitely have great experience and a good story. I don't think your age should be much of any issue as long as you aren't cold applying anywhere. Use you brokerage experience and connections to start talking to firms you would like to work for and see if they have any potential opportunities. The best way you can break in at this stage in your career is to network and network even more. Goodluck!
Thank you. That's helpful advice and reassuring.
I had a similar professional trajectory to what you're describing: non-RE role (in finance) -> MBA -> brokerage -> REPE.
My experience is that, rightly or wrongly, brokerage is looked down upon by many (including many of the recruiter gatekeepers who place candidates in REPE roles). With a few exceptions, the barrier-to-entry to brokerage is very low, so there are lots of them, and very few of them are truly special. The only reason I was able to land a position was (A) it was 2021 and the demand for talent was very high and more importantly (B) I was in a small niche product type that squarely fit the REPE's mandate. They were also new in the space which was a huge advantage for me, because a firm with more experience/knowledge probably would have hired someone else (with a buyside background).
So my advice would be (A) find a niche, whether it's geographic or product type and (B) do something on the side so you're not just another broker. I think a top-10 MBA will help you stand out and give a hiring manager some cover in hiring a broker (at the end of the day, they want to make the safest hire and a broker is rarely the safe hire). On the point of the 'safe hire,' I think you have a blindspot regarding underwriting / financial analysis. A REPE firm wants a jack of all trades who doesn't need a ton of training. These shops tend to be very lean, so it's not like there's some formal process to teach you underwriting / financial analysis. So fake it til you make it on this front. You'll figure it out on the job, and if you can't, by the time you're there, it's probably more trouble than it's worth to fire you.
Godspeed!
This is accurate.
It might be hard to jump into a Blackstone or XYZ repe shop from a mid-size brokerage.
Are you not getting a decent amount of analytical skills from the brokerage?
Like the other comments said, I’d try to specialize in Asset type or geography (maybe the one your brokerage focuses in?).
Then research mid-size repe shops. Plenty of “reputable” repe shops that are smaller or maybe look at a sponsor (basically asset level repe) where than you could transfer into a more well known repe shop?
Others will probably disagree with me, but I feel like lots Junior associates at Sponsors do similar activities that at are REPE shops
(Maybe not the big repe shops).
Also take a lot of online cases. And I like the fake it till you make it approach too!
Definitely will need to network & never send in a cold resume/application. I don’t think the age will hurt you since you were in military.
I think you’re in a pretty good spot!
Good luck!
@Principal in RE & Chimp_chump -- thanks for the responses.
I have sent in a couple of cold resumes, but I will refrain in the future. I've never been the biggest networker (especially when networking for a job), so that's a mindset I need to adjust moving forward. I've reached out to a couple of head hunters that specialize in my city, so I'm hoping between that + networking, I should be able to get my foot in the door somewhere.
Thank you all for the advice!
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