Who Else Took a Step-Back Job In This Climate?
Transaction manager here who burned out in brokerage and now am clinging to a real estate adjacent job to keep my resume from dying.
Have had multiple late stage interviews but have pretty much not found the right spot to jump into (not from lack of job offers). Going to be hard to land a VP Acq. role from this shitty spot. Firm wants me to become VP of some nonsense but I turned it down.
Just wanted to put this out there to see who else is fighting the underemployment fight during these trying times.
In the same position but different reasons. Got burnt out of debt brokerage and currently at a very chill underwriting/portfolio management gig while I go through some big life events next year.
Plan is to slow play the networking next year and start attacking positions I like towards the end of 26 and into 27.
Things will positively change for you soon, keep fighting. Plus a lot of talking heads saying 26 will be a hot year for CRE.
Thanks for posting your experience. Sometimes life gives you lemons but you decide what you make.
- Blessed are those that uplift the spirits of others.
What sorts of roles are you eyeing outside of debt brokerage / portfolio management?
Still probably be within debt since that's where I've been my whole career, just needed a break from the constant 60-70 hour analyst weeks. But likely make the jump to originator, which is a cushy salary + bonus role at my firm and more focused on relationships than volume and fees.
If I like it and have success, then maybe make a jump to a shop that's more eat what you kill focused.
The shitty part about trying to take a step-back job is that a lot of companies generally won't hire you because they know you'd bolt the second the economy recovers and something more your speed comes along.
You can't just want to work for companies these days and receive money in return. You have to act like you want to stay there for life and make it your entire personality as part of some greater mission while you're just playing around in excel all day.
this is literally what they said in my year end review yesterday. "we're afraid that you don't want to be here long term."
bro i make 85k a year and have over 5 years of high finance experience.
This is so true. Hyper analytical careerism is the order of the day. I hate it so much, but it’s the pervasive mentality among corporate leadership and hiring managers.
I’ve always tried to take the view that if I could hire a junior that would stay for 2 years, that it was worth the risk. I know a bunch of fellow seniors that feel the same way.
However, at VP and above, it is a different animal. We try and keep people using carry/long term incentive and would never hire a VP+ if I didn’t think they had at least a 3 year, but preferably 5+ year window. It isn’t worth the politics of the revolving door, plus the cost/usefulness equation doesn’t work when VPs want 450k+ salaries. Of course, as a senior it is also incumbent on me to help guide that younger person through promotions, raises, politics, etc. and make sure I’m not leveling them 2 years later without proper discussion. That is where a bunch of managers go wrong. They can’t put on their big boy pants and either tell someone directly it isn’t working, I’m giving you 6 months to move on, or they don’t have the EQ to help guide them through the politics of corporate America (and they got thrust into a manager role not by preparation but circumstance).
Of course, shit happens, but I’ve always said that if you have a job and aren’t pressed to move, you should stay there until you find the next job you are enthusiastic/want to take. Have an agenda and be moving towards something (a goal, a job, a company), not just floating around because you are unhappy. There is no guarantee that the next job that you take because you hate this one is going to be any better. But at least if you do it for your own reason or are excited about it, you have a better shot of it working out.
Curious what you see as the most common reason(s) for someone not working out at the VP level. I’m assuming you’ve attempted to coach through issues before you get to this point or is it just culture/fit issues that won’t resolve on their own?
One tried to come in and “process improve,” which was a mistake for a team that has been fairly successful and is a little older. AI tools are great, but you still have to know enough if the work produced makes sense/is accurate. Trying to help my partner write investor letters/prep for calls when your base data is incorrect (but you don’t know it) is a recipe for disaster. He was also using his expense account abnormally. Be able to explain things like having 2x the expenses of a principal several months in a row or your decision to stay at the Four Seasons when the principal on the same trip picked the better located and slightly cheaper Park Hyatt.
We are a tight-knit team that is pretty senior heavy (9 senior people, 4 VP/Analyst/Associates) and are on our 4th fund. One was because the senior structure didn’t work for him (he was on the cusp of Principal, but didn’t want to wait for the promotion). He left on really good terms and ended up going to another group with everyone’s blessing/understanding. We’ve even looked at/bid deals together with his new shop - no hard feelings at all.
And the big one was performance. He came in as a reference from someone we respect. Was a dud - couldn’t model, we had to explain basic things that our 1st year analysts pick up on in loan documents, and was really focused on wanting to “build the business” vs doing the base underwriting/analyst and associate production screening we needed. He went to leadership with several proposals to travel the US visiting Sponsors and to do events with brokers despite several seniors telling him not to because his basic premise was that he could network better than the rest of our team and it felt like all he wanted was for the company to fly him around business class and to be wined and dined. And don’t get me wrong, we encourage people to go to industry events like CREFC Miami (we send nearly 75% of the team for 4 days), MBA in San Diego, RENBY/ULI young leadership dinners, or even to broker ski/golf events, but the fancy dinners and trips are for closers. If you miss basics and it shows up in your deal presentations, you don’t get to go to the Masters.
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