Help With Next Steps In RE Career
For the last year I have worked as a credit analyst for CRE for a mid-size regional bank. This was my first job within the real estate industry. Unfortunately I was laid off at the beginning of June. While this was definitely the most interesting job I've had since graduating in 2018, I have always had the vision of working on the equity side in some capacity and am hoping to use this job search as my opportunity to switch over. Being so fresh in the industry, and the lack of job openings due to the economy, I am having trouble determining what my next career steps should be. I have been initially targeting analyst positions as I work on my modeling skills, but I am getting to a point where I am unsure if there are other areas of the industry I should consider.
One contact I spoke with recently recommended targeting sell side positions to learn more about transactions, and leveraging that experience to jump to the buy side in a couple years. I would love some insight/advice on those of you more established in the RE industry. Thanks!
You should look at debt/equity brokerage, sometimes called 'capital markets' or 'real estate investment banking' depending on the firm. This would be a 'sell side' role that usually is open to people with little experience, your time as a credit analyst for a bank will be very valuable.
You may also want to look at commercial real estate appraisal, this is a better field than people give credit, and if you play it correctly can bridge you to the buy side.
Just a few ideas to consider in addition to applying for analyst roles at investor/owner/developer firms.
I agree with everything in the above except for the appraisal path. If you were an appraiser straight out of school and now trying to get to the buyside, that would have been a different story. But credit analyst and appraisal experience does not seem like it would get you to the buyside easily, unless coupled with a MBA or MSRE.
I think debt/equity brokerage/i-sales are probably the best steps to get you where you want to go. Obviously if you can skip that step and go straight to the buy-side, do it.
Part of the reason I mention appraisal is that it will likely be hiring in the current market and be in need still. Harder to judge demand for analysts at buyside shops for next few years.
Thank you both for the replies and sorry for the late response back. Do you have any recommendations as to what firms I should target or any good job resources? I have looked at the top firms list, specifically in my market of Boston and none appear to have current openings. I've also exhausted job sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Selectleaders, etc. Kind of feeling just stuck.
I was also connected to a local commercial lender who seems to do a significant amount of volume in my market, specifically with developers. They are looking for either a junior lender or portfolio assistant. I've considered this based on my credit experience, but I also feel like I should hold out for something on the buy/sell side as discussed before.
Any advice as to how I might be able to get my foot in the door? I'd happily work anywhere as long as I can learn and continue to advance myself professionally.
The local lender may be a good gig, I mean I think better to be employed than unemployed. Lots of people jump from those roles to capital markets roles for developers or other institutional investors (if they are doing institutional deals, it's easy, if more mom & pop type, harder).
I think it's going to be tough in the short term with COVID, but you should still be aggressive in networking. Close contacts, existing relationships, alumni connection, former colleagues, randoms on LinkedIn... in that order should be where you start. When local events in Boston start up, or via virtual, you can start the traditional networking route.
Boston has a lot of regional offices and HQ's of big firms, a very active RE community, so getting foot in door is a part of function of getting to know the players in the area. I always find Boston to be 'small' for a big city.
If I went the lending route, any idea what a reasonable exit timeframe would be? I am also seeing some appraisal positions but personally I don't know if this that is something I would really enjoy. From what I have seen, pay is not great for appraisal either correct? Am I being to picky trying to find a REPE or development job with only a year of credit experience (it was all on the job training, no formal credit training).
I guess I am just having a tough time deciding if I should pursue something that isn't exactly what I hoped for, or holding tight until I find an analyst role that fits my background/experience.
@roesler723, you sound like you are really overthinking the world. You are two years out of UG, so I am guessing you are somewhere around or younger than 25. To be blunt, you are not anywhere ready to for the job you really want. Good news is, as you get more experience, you will be (or can be, I should say). Appraisal can be very good for learning and networking (not all firms equal), but pay early that field sucks (exp. appraisers can make $200k plus). Lending is good for deal exp. but again not all firms equal.
Truth is that you are young, so long as you stay in the game you are making progress. 'Waiting' for an ideal position is not what I would advise personally. The competition for REPE/development is big in very good markets, with tight labor constraints; it will not get better in the near term. By all means, apply and network in that area. But take the job you get offered, you are only treading water and maybe even falling behind when not employed or in school. I would not worry about timelines or 'exit ops', its the wrong way to think about it. Get in the game, learn and get experience, that is really all you should worry about right now.
Right now, during the Jungle, I would try to help some owners of real estate and or businesses. Whether it be writing letters to investors on why your firm cant return their capital, to tracking DIP spending during Chapter 11, to hiring painters to clean graffiti off of walls of empty storefront, put together an OM. These were the jobs I had during the Great Recession 10 years ago. Get out there. Cities are dying. Help. Work for cheap. You’ll learn a ton. Might find an opportunity.
You have some experience, that’s great. The world is resetting. It literally feels like “the grown ups don’t know what to do.”
what kinda deals did you underwrite as a credit guy? that might help this group steer you.
Majority were small MFH and also some retail/office/industrial. Although I was doing it for a year, I didn't quite get into the origination of bigger deals. Most of the larger deals I did look at were mainly reviews of existing loans, although I was doing similar analysis in the reviews as one would for the origination. I was at a regional bank with a lot of local individual investors.
If you're ok being a multifamily (I assume mfh = multifamily housing) guy then based on what you just said i GOTTA think it'd be the easiest path ...
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