Real Estate Development / Investment Job Search
Hello everybody, A little about me... I am currently a graduating senior at a non target school majoring in Real Estate and minoring in finance. Previously was a division 1 college athlete until injuries cut that dream short. Fell in love with real estate and all it has to offer but feel lost in terms of finding a job as my school is not a target school and I known development and the RE world is a hard one to penetrate. Since I’m at a not target school there is no major recruiting that goes on and networking has turned out to be more difficult then I imagined.
I thought I’d post on here looking for some advice regarding the Real Estate Job market and employers for commercial development or investment type jobs (analyst,project manager, etc) and how to go about finding them (LinkedIn, job search sites, etc). I’ve searched on many job sites and have not been able to find many firms offering development or investment type jobs to entry level candidates.
Any opinions on how to go about this would be greatly appreciated or a point in the right direction to be able to find entry level real estate development/acquisition/banking/investment job types on the internet or through sources I have not yet tried or thought of.
Thanks and look forward to joining the WSO community more often!
So, I realize that the current situation makes a lot of this tougher and stranger than usual, but I am going to assume we get back to some form of normal and answer this like would normally have (for the most part)....
If you played Div 1 sports you must be at a fairly large school, find the alumni who are working in real estate in what ever cities you want to work. LinkedIn is good for this, and you can contact people while in the current lockdown.
Consider applying for internships, there is no rule that says you must be enrolled as a student to get or do an internship. I have seen people do them post-grad many times. This will help experience, knowledge, networking, and may lead to full-time job offer. Given that the economy may be tough and CRE impacted, this could be a major way to get traction (it was back in 2009/2010).
Be honest where you will be most employable. You may have skills with an RE/fin UG degree for investment mngt/development, but may not be super competitive relative to others (or maybe you, but your post doesn't seem to indicate such). You could start as an analyst in a CRE brokerage, commercial appraisal shop, or even prop mnght/operations (last choice personally). You can always advance and move, your first job probably won't be your last.
Consider a grad degree (MBA or MSRE/D) at some point. The job market is more competitive at the entry level, and a grad degree could be a differentiation you can use. I wouldn't rush into this, get some experience, even if lousy first.
Consider 'related' fields like banking, accounting, insurance, or construction mngt or something else like that. Not great, but not bad if in the right type of position. If you go this route, the grad degree can be the path back in a few years.
Good luck!
Thanks for the reply. I agree the currently it will be tough to find a job with these conditions but everything eventually passes. As I look for analyst and similar jobs in the RE development and investment fields I feel that I either end up not finding many available or when I find one available that’s for an entry level position I am faced with them wanting avg 2-3 years in the field and as an undergrad I do not have that. At most I have 1 hear from prior internships combined.
Would you suggest still applying to these jobs who ask for few years of experience since they are more available (in limited quantities) or would this be immediate no from them?
Forgot to mention I am in LA and looking for work in the same region so I feel that I am just not looking in the right areas for an entry level undergrad position.
So, I don't really see any downside to applying for jobs that seem outside your grasp. Just don't expect a lot of responses. If you can find someone to email in those firms, you can let them know you applied for X position but would be interested in an internship as a first step.
Really networking (I know a tired statement, but still true) is going to be your best bet. LA is a big market with a lot of employers in RE, both with HQ and regional offices. I would not hesitate to contact smaller firms, not bad to start in all reality.
You should join some of the big CRE industry trade groups in SoCal, like NAIOP and ULI. If you went to either USC or UCLA (you said D1), then you should have access to their real estate alumni bases (maybe real estate club?). That is good place to start on networking. You should try and join while you are still technically a student, will be way cheaper. Don't feel bad if you are about to graduate, you can play the student card until you are hired.
Agree. If you want to do RE, the best way to learn is to actually do RE. But it will be hard to break in with no experience. Working in a related field for a while is an extremely common path. Of the usual suspects, I'd lean towards something construction-related. If you're reasonably intelligent and motivated, you can learn how to do DCF models, etc. with online resources. But you won't learn construction without being exposed to it directly.
If you want to go this route, one approach might be to see which GCs the top developers in your area use, and try to get a job with one of them. GCs typically hire people out of undergrad for "project engineer" roles. Those jobs are a bit paperwork heavy, but they put you on site a lot and teach you the ins and outs of construction management. Not a bad option, and it will make you much more valuable to an RE company down the road.
If you apply to a role online you need to do whatever you can to connect with someone at that company. Otherwise, online applications are often a black hole.
RE doesn't recruit on campus in the same way a lot of firms do, and if you missed out on the few structured programs that exist, it's completely ok to go after anything in the 0-3 yrs experience range.
Set ambitious goals for reaching out to people. 100 emails / week, 2 calls / day, 2 meetings / week, etc, This type of mindset will get you a job eventually if you stick to it.
Would you recommend finding people in same “entry” level roles (Analyst, etc) or would you go for mid tier level individuals like associates/VP? Or just contact them all? I’ve sent few emails but will probably push this technique more then what I’ve been doing so far.
Start with the people you think could help you the most (usually more senior) and then work your way down the list.
I know this is hard for some people, especially as they begin networking and interviewing as it feels unnatural asking someone for help when you have nothing in return. It gets harder when they get a little traction in a hiring process and then ultimately don't get the offer. Many times they get discouraged.
Don't get discouraged. It is a numbers game and requires a mindset change. Your goal should be to attack this in a way where it'd be impossible for you to NOT get a job. Persistence is key. Good luck!
Also, realize that many people working in RE today did not get their start right out of undergrad. I was busy applying to medical school when I graduated college and later went back to school for a masters in finance. Others would have you believe a MSRE or an MBA is only the way in (although I admit that it certainly helps). We just hired a development analyst who had worked in the insurance industry for 3 years. My coworker started in RE law while applying for Law School and before he figured out that law was boring.
Don't get discouraged if you don't break in immediately.
Years in the industry or “years worked/years of experience” seems to be something I’ve seen most job postings and people who I’ve networked with talk about. Most job posting i’ve seen for analyst positions want 2-4 years experience but coming out of UG this is something I lack other than internship experience (Non-Traded REIT industry) that barely adds up to a year.
Any recommendation of what I could do to be looked at as an UG the same as someone coming into real estate without any prior experience in the industry?
On paper, you're pretty much always going to look less desirable having no experience than someone who has it. That's just the fact. I would highly recommend that you get some sort of internship experience in the industry.
Once I got into my masters program, I immediately quit my job and went to work for my friend helping him buy shitty houses and fix them up. He also bought a large 102 unit apartment complex and I helped him with that as well. I wrote it on my resume and definitely played it up as an asset management/analyst internship position. It helped get me another internship during school working 20-25 hours a week for a private equity retail investment group. Then I quit that position and started working as Acquisitions and Development analyst for a large multifamily developer, before I even graduated from my masters. It really does build on itself.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here for networking - look for people in the industry who played the same sport you did. That's one of the best (and easiest) ways to make a strong connection.
Ultimately, you need ONE person to go to bat for you. Persistence is key.
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