Is it possible to get an internship in Commercial Real Estate even if I graduated college 2 years ago? I'm looking to transition from a marketing analyst position to an investment analyst position at a CRE brokerage, and although my skills are transferable in a lot of ways, I'm finding it difficult to get any interviews.
Is it completely unheard of to seek internships to get some "official" experience under my belt to help get the attention of recruiters?
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In general, this is absolutely a strategy I would recommend and is becoming much more common (sadly, for the wrong reason of firms being hesitant to hire...). There is no rule that says an "intern" means in school. You can be immediately post-grad or even way post grad, many firms do use "interns" as essentially temp workers. This trend started right after the 08 downturn, and I suspect will be more common in the next few years.
As a post-grad, you will need to network/cold-call firms and managers to get this, the standard internships run by HR groups are likely to reject you in favor of 'campus' recruits. But, a leader of a business unit can typically approve 'temp' hires without any HR approval or hassle. It is more common than you think. Ideally, you should look for situations where the firm thinks they will be able to hire as economy improves, their need rises, and will want to keep you if you perform well. But there is zero guarantee, and it is worth considering for the experience alone.
My only question/reservation on your situation, beyond being 2 years out (not really a reason not to), is that you have experience. Is 'marketing analyst' a job in a real estate company? Are you trying to get your first CRE job or not? If you already have a job in the industry, this strategy will seem weirder to employers and it might not be recommended. It is really good for those unable to find the 'first' job in the industry.
I appreciate the insight, redever .
I don't work for a real estate company, but I work for one of the largest marketing agencies in the world. Essentially major corporate clients come to us and say here's X million dollars, turn this into Y million dollars worth of sales, clients, etc
For a brief period of time my title was actually "Digital Investment Analyst" because I'm literally underwriting the viability of a marketing strategy, executing it, and then analyzing the results.
With all that being said, it's hard to sell that to recruiters who find it much easier to pick from one of the 200 applicants with a more traditional finance background. So it looks like my next move is going to be to find an internship for my 'first' job in the CRE industry.
Given the extra detail, yes, this is a highly recommended strategy. CRE had the right idea, just contact people until you get what you want.
To be clear, you should expect to earn between $15 to $25 an hour (more in major markets) with zero benefits. If you are willing to take the risk, this could be your ticket in the door.
A lot of people on here act like you have to ask permission to do shit. Fuck that. Is getting an internship two years out ideal? No. But do what you need to do. I personally know a Director at an AM that was interning for a pension fund at the age of 26/27 because up until that point, he was pursuing something completely unrelated. Get after it man.
Hah, I love reading this, SouthEastAnalyst, because it is the exact path I took.
After a year of brokerage and a year of "asset" management, I applied to graduate school. Once I got in, being young and thinking I was doing the right thing, I told my employer. I was promptly canned. Needing a job for a couple months, I cold emailed as many people as I could and found a family office that let me come on as an intern.
It was one of the best things that ever happened to my career. That internship helped during recruiting for my development internship, which then helped during recruiting for a full time job.
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