Recent Grad Job Advice

I am a recent grad from a T40 school on the West Coast and have been struggling to land anything so far. I have been applying to every relevant job I see and been networking in my target market for over a year. I have a final round interview coming up for a research analyst position at CBRE/JLL and I am pretty confident that I will get an offer. However, I do not want to work in research long term. My goal/plan before graduating was analyst at a brokerage for 1-2 years then REPE. Should I take this job and try to lateral into a capital markets role in ∼6 months, or is my time better spent trying to land one directly? My worries are that if I take this job, and can't lateral out of it soon enough I will be stuck in research and have to get an MSRE/MBA to get into PERE. On the other hand if I don't take it, it could be another 6 months before I get a job. Any and all advice appreciated. 

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My first job in the industry was a research analyst at a brand name brokerage shop and now I am a partner in a development company. 
 

If you get the offer, take the job. It is always, easier to find a job while having a job and having a JLL or CBRE on your resume for a year or so is only a positive. You will now in the club of “real estate professionals” and all of the firms that you ultimately want to work for will think “well CB hired him, so there’s definitely something there.” 
 

Whether you network your way into your next role, or go to grad school to rebrand and re-recruit, or take some meandering path to get to your destination, a research analyst role is an infinitely better starting point than unemployment. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I would strongly recommend taking this if you get the offer. Getting research experience/reps at JLL/CBRE is going to be extremely valuable even if it isn't exactly what you want right now. There will still be plenty of exposure to transactions and financial analysis. Better to get in now, build up great experience, and lateral later (and there will be opportunities). The longer you wait, the harder it gets... take it from someone who was in the market for well over 6 months. 

Don't know your stats or previous experience but this is a no brainer imo.

 

I genuinely don’t understand why people make good threads and then nuke the OP so no one else reading can learn.
 

You are not unique or identifiable as “student possibly being offered a research analyst role,” and yet undoubtedly there are others in your situation who could have benefitted from this thread in the future. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
jarstar1

Not sure I follow, it seems like the post is still up? I mean, I'm reading it which means something, unless I'm misunderstanding something. 

Amusingly, it was deleted and the title was changed, but now it is back. Not sure if mods brought it back after I bitched or the OP did, but if it was OP props to them. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Yeah take the role, and use the role to network with internal brokers once you get into research. Stay in research 3-6 months and try to laterally horizontally to a brokerage team as an analyst.

PropMetrica | Multifamily underwriting template
 

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