Late to the game -- advice appreciated!
Hi RE monkeys,
Been lurking for a few months and excited for my first post here. I'm a rising junior at HYPSM and for the last two years I went all in on entrepreneurship. It was moderately successful -- I got my name out there and was featured in some big publications, but I wasn't doing ground-breaking stuff. In recently examining what I really wanted to do with my life, I caught the real estate bug (my entrepreneurial work was not RE-related, but has transferable skills). I'm most interested in capital markets / investment sales brokerage, but if that doesn't happen, I'd be excited to work in REPE or development. I've been utilizing my alumni network and have had some productive talks with brokers, and I'm going to keep that up, as I enjoy networking. I'm also reading Linneman's Real Estate Finance and Investments textbook (shoutout RE WSO for recommending it) and I'm improving my Excel skills.
The main problem here is that as a rising junior this late in the cycle, most brokerages have already closed their applications for internships next summer. That basically means I'll have to get my name in there through a back door, like having a broker recommend me. A lot of my classmates are taking a gap year because of COVID, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for me.
TLDR: I'm networking hard, reading Linneman, and improving my Excel skills, but I'm really late to the internship cycle. My question to you all -- what else should I be doing to improve my chances of getting a good internship for next summer? And anything more I should be doing to improve my skillset? Any certifications that would be worth doing? One thing I heard from a recruiter: "Your resume is really impressive, clearly a self-starter, but you need to prove your interest in real estate." Tips on how to do that?
Thank you all in advance for any help or advice. I really appreciate how productive the RE threads are on here. Keep up the great work everyone.
What area are you from? West Coast / East Coast? Might be able to help out if you're on the West Coast looking for an internship in investment sales. What type of role are you looking for in brokerage? Are you looking for a research and analytic role or a sales role? I know many top teams in the area that are actively looking for help and aren't on a structured timeline / summer program.
I'm in the DC area but I'm open to opportunities wherever -- my school is doing exclusively online classes all fall and possibly all spring, so I definitely have leeway in terms of location. Regarding roles in brokerage, from what I've read, it's ideal to start as an analyst where you're underwriting deals and basically doing the back-end work for whoever sourced it, until later you're sourcing deals yourself. So I'd like to start in an analyst-type role, if possible. Regarding your knowledge of top teams in the area that are actively looking for help and aren't on a structured timeline, that sounds fantastic -- I'd love to break in with one of those teams if at all possible. Thanks a lot for your helpful response. Could you please PM me?
Hey, I just wanted to follow up on this -- would appreciate you PMing me if this is still an opportunity, Thanks a lot!
Any reason brokerage in particular? They are generally in a 'slow down' mode given COVID, so the traditional internship programs are always at risk of of reductions. With brokerage, individual producers/teams can sometimes hire directly if they so want. I would just network/cold call groups/teams you would want to work for, brokerage appreciates people who are direct/forceful and above all... persistent!
Generally, getting these roles are relatively easier than say investment mngt. REPE, and development (the common favs on WSO) as there is high turnover (even at 'top' shops). So, I think if you are aggressive and methodical in your search you will find a spot. I think the entrepreneurial story will sell well and the high end degree won't hurt either. I'd start with school alumni at the top shops in markets you would want to work in, most easy direct route.
You're right, not the hottest time to be in brokerage right now. I'd still really like to do it, though, because it's perfect for my personality. I'm a huge extrovert and my entrepreneurial work came with a lot of public speaking opportunities and sales calls with big companies, and it was only "eat what you kill," all things I really enjoyed which line up well with brokerage. I know I'm going to be grinding numbers in the beginning, though, and I'm fine with that -- I work hard and I find real estate really interesting, so that's definitely something I'm willing to do.
Thanks for all the advice as well. I'm definitely persistent, and it makes sense brokerage rewards that in their hiring, because that's a large part of the job. I'll make sure to keep at it. Thanks again for your help!
If you are in person as you describe above, you will have ZERO problems getting a gig in brokerage, in fact, I'd avoid the big firm wide programs, just find the heavy hitters you want to work for and go direct. You will do way better that way.
You're doing the right things and are not late to the game. You have a good background and interesting story. You will be alright.
Which brokerages have finished their recruiting for next year? When I was in school (not that long ago) I was getting interviews with major brokerages in the Fall/Winter. Could be different if you're referring to the big investment firms.
I bet you cannot find a single HYPSM undergrad on LinkedIn that’s ever interned at a brokerage.....
Why would that be?
He means network with them. Specifically ask them for advice.
You're not late to the game at all. I have colleagues that broke into the industry in their late 20s.
Harvard-Yale-Princeton-Stanford-...Miami Ohio? Michigan State?
Lol, MIT, though not sure how many of those guys would want to be in brokerage
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