Should I take this offer? I appreciate any input!
Hey guys,
I just got an offer for financial analyst position at a boutique mortgage brokerage firm in LA. The firm is a small boutique shop, but seems to have a decent deal flow and do interesting deals. Here is the dilemma though, I currently work in investment sales division of a fairly reputable commercial real estate brokerage firm in NY and have been doing well here (Expect to make around 70-80k next year) and if I go there I would be taking a significant pay cut (~40k). The only reason I’m considering this is because I want to eventually work in IB or CMBS lending team of a big bank, and people told me lateralling from the capital markets side would be easier than doing it from the investment sales side. I interviewed at so many places but this is the only bite I got so far, so I’m considering this opportunity seriously. Fyi, I have a year of experience under my belt and graduated from semi-target…
Please let me know what you guys think. Thank you!
In this market you take what you can get. Get relevant experience and keep moving.
That position makes no sense if you want to do IB at BB, especially considering it's in La-La land and not NYC, which is where you should be living and working if you're going to be on the sell-side. The fact that you would take a $40k pay-cut makes me wonder why on earth you are even entertaining the idea.
I know it's going to be an uphill battle, but would it be impossible? What about cmbs ot bs origination team?
Right now he's just a real estate broker. If he can get onto the financing side and eventually weasel his way to an actual lender (such as origination at a lifeco or even the CMBS origination group at Citigroup) then he will have accomplished what he claims he wants in his OP.
That is true, however, it seems like a very roundabout way of getting there. Another thing to consider is that, if you try to get in as an experienced hire, they usually offer some multiple of current base. Thus if you're making virtually nothing (that is take the $40k pay-cut) OP is shooting himself in his foot with one hand, and his a*s with his other. To me it's a lose-lose proposition. Where OP's at now, it sounds like an MBA (now or later) is almost the only way to reset his career and hope to get into IB.
I would stick with the higher pay and the more reputable name in a geographic market with more finance jobs simply because you stand to make more money and are not taking a significant income cut for an unknown outcome. Given that you got a bunch of interviews means that your resume, or whatever else you're doing in that regard is good enough to get you in front of interviewers, but that you somehow fall short of other candidates.
I'm going to make a call here and say that it could simply be how you spin your value proposition through stories during the interview, the vibe you give off in general, or that there is some super-human shark in the candidate pool that eats your cake.
Other than that, I think landing a CM job off cycle is always a bit of a crap shoot. I spent 2 years in an operations role in a buy-side firm, got no interviews the whole time, then got an offer from the first IB group that interviewed with. I still don't exactly know why and how this happened, other than to say that it was the right opportunity for my knowledge and skills, and that I went into the interview knowing my stuff, expressing clear interest in the role, but not giving a damn about the outcome, which made it very easy to simply have a conversation with my interviewers.
Do you get mock interviews from your friends who are in similar roles to the ones you seek? Have you been networking and/or meeting random bankers at events/bars? Have you been trying things like cold-flirting with girls you just met? It's not necessarily about getting somewhere, but about giving your life more stories to tell and getting more comfortable in what are generally awkward situations.
Thank you for all your inputs guys... I just spoke with the broker there and he will try to have another discussion to see if they can raise my salary. We'll see what their counter is....
Even if you got your pay boosted to $50,000, you'd be better to take the $20-30,000 delta in income and apply it to tuition for a respected real estate master's program.
Too much of a pay cut IMO, and a move across the country to boot --- ouch! Keep looking or hit the MBA trail.
Since you're looking to move into IB or CMBS, any chance you have a finance degree or are from a target?
Unless you come from a family that will support you financially in this career shift, you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LIVE in Los Angeles on 30-40k. 30-40k in LA? Seriously? I mean even if that were after taxes you would be living on ramen noodles, staying in on the weekends, and hating your life.
I think your on the right path. Don't take the paycut and move across the country. If the pay was maybe 15% lower, might have been something to consider. Also its a different story because you live in NYC, which is were the bulk of the CMBS market is based out of. There are a ton of CMBS lenders in NYC. You might have a good chance of moving to a smaller CMBS shop in a year or so with the right connects.
Don't move across the country to take a low-paying job, working for a small shop, unless you know who you are going to be working for well. I think that's a good rule for any career move.
"Boutique" mortgage brokers are going to be a total crap shoot. Some brokers are a waste of time. They only get deals done now because total lending volume is too low v. the number of lenders in the market, and lenders will jump at anything they think they can get past their credit teams.
Other boutique brokers kick ass, and don't work for a big shop because it would be a waste for them to split their fees when they get nothing of real value in trade. If someone who fit that description wanted to mentor you and bring you up in the business, that would be well worth considering. If you don't know that's the plan going in, then it isn't the plan.
There are a ton of mortgage brokerages in NYC. If your plan is brokerage->conduits, then find a job at home.
As a side note, maybe I misread a couple comments, but there's a lot of hiring and ramp-up in the lending world right now. I disagree with the "take what you can get" sentiments.
Don't take the pay cut. That's way too huge of a drop in salary. Living in NYC you're bound to find good opportunities given enough time.
Thank you guys for your sound advice. One more question though... I don't want to reveal too much, but most brokers at my current firm make over $1 Million and a very few take home $3-$4m after the split. Although I am good at what I do, I just don't think I have the personality to become a broker in the long run, so I thought CMBS/BS origination shop would be a good mix of sales/finance/credit market. I understand brokers have more opportunity to make big money, but could CMBS/lending career path be as lucrative as some other finance jobs out there such as REPE, brokerage or IB?
everyone that makes big money has to be able to sell. Developers have to effectively sell a project to partner with an effective lender or secure a big tenant. A principal of a PE fund has to be able to sell his track record and fund strategy to potential investors. Brokers have to sell the merits of a building to a tenant, or sell the merit of a tenant to a landlord. I can think of very few leaders in the real estate business that are not articulate, effective salesmen with aggressive go-getter personalities.
^ This x2.
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