I just graduated UG and am now looking for entry level jobs in CRE. I know the market is tough but I have been grinding nonetheless. I had a previous internship with a boutique repe in acquisitions so I have some experience in the industry however as most boutique firms do they run lean and were not looking to take someone on full time. I was curious as to what else I could be doing during this time to increase my legitimacy as a candidate. I know python, C#, and Java already however I personally don't see a need for an intense programming knowledge within the real estate industry. What would people in the industry say would make me a more qualified candidate while I continue to look for jobs and live in my parent's basement? Any certifications, modeling courses, etc. that would help me stand out? Any advice would be appreciated thanks!
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I took some modeling courses and added them to my resume. Just used bullet points to list the types of deals I modeled and what metrics I solved for. Not sure if it helped because no one really mentioned them but I still got interviews with it on there so it couldn’t hurt.
Unfortunately, experience trumps all in real estate. Even if you have perfect grades from an ivy and are super personable, many firms just don’t want to train kids right out of school. No matter how bright the person is, there is always a learning curve for people with no full-time experience.
The reason I’m saying this... I think new grads in these difficult times should jump at any semi-decent opportunities that come along. Because the main thing you can do to make yourself more attractive to RE firms is have work experience.
If your dream job is to work at a brand name debt fund in NYC, maybe be more open to roles that are one step removed from that role. EG look at Bank Lenders, agency lenders, smaller debt funds outside of NYC, Debt Brokerage. After a year or two there you would be a super competitive candidate for a brand name debt fund in NYC.
When I graduated (into a great economy), I took a job that was two steps removed from my ideal path. I lateraled to a better job after a year, and now I’m interviewing for my “dream job” fairly regularly despite the pandemic.
That first year was rough for me, but I’m so glad I didn’t hold out for another 6-12 months looking for something better. Even if I found something better, it still likely would have been two steps removed from my dream job, and I would have just lost a year
Hey man, great advice looking back. Also very interesting to see how my perspective of my "dream job" changed since I started working. At the end of the day, I feel a lot of people get stuck in the mindset of, I want to work in acquisitions, brokerage, or development, but should rather be thinking about what area of real estate they are getting exposure too, how transactional is the role, etc. Hope things are going well for you.
It's a broken record response, but keep trying to network. The difficulty in doing so only means that the conversations you actually have will potentially have more impact.
Also, I completely agree with Analyst 2 up there. Don't be afraid to "settle" a bit. A "non-ideal" job in the industry is better than no job in the industry.
Hey, was revisiting some old thread and this advice worked great. First job was in agency lending. Actually ended up being a great experience, got to look at over 400 deals across the country ranging from $1M to $50M. Just got a repe offer last week!
Getting Argus certified is a big resume booster if you are willing to pay the money for it.
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