Would love some extra perspective from this crew. I am coming from a strong finance (IB/Corp Dev etc.) background but not focused on real estate. I am in an M7 MBA program currently, with the goal of long term being in an acquisitions role at a re pe fund after MBA.
Given my lack of prior RE experience and the pandemic, along with the lack of many roles, it has been tough get into an acquisition's internship.
Right now, I am considering taking a role at a smaller developer operator (~450 employees total) with a strong likelihood of doing deals and getting focused more on development of less glamorous but hot products (think industrial, student housing etc.). I could turn down this role, and keep the search going and try to land at development or asset management internship role in a bigger place in one of the non-NYC offices (Brookfield, Avalon bay, Prologis etc.) or stick with what I have where I am pretty much guaranteed to get real world experience.
Bird in the hand, vs bigger names in the bush... worth the risk?
Don't feel so guilty not having landed an acquisitions role out of the MBA. Post-MBA REPE acquisitions roles tend to trend towards those with pre-MBA real estate experience. I'd almost always recommend an owner/operator for experience, but my recommendation is a bit nuanced here. The added level of complexity is really dependent on your financial situation. I'd feel a bit more comfortable at an established firm/REIT with less risk to your income if you were to have $150K+ in loans post MBA. With your background, I don't assume you'll have any issue transitioning from asset management to acquisitions after some time at a larger organization where you learn the process/flow/etc. If loans/finances aren't an issue, I'd defer to the development role.
Thanks right now this is for an internship rather than full time. Although great advice for fulltime, but financial considerations from debt are fortunately not a worry for me.
Great - in that case it may be worth taking the development internship and spinning that story into a FT opportunity either there or elsewhere. I'd say take the risk and continue recruiting if you have any inside track/connections at one of the bigger shops. I'll let others opine as well. Good luck, Newone!
Thanks for the input! I agree its very 50% 50%.
Are you talking about an internship for this summer? If so, I'd definitely say yes to this one. If you get one with a "bigger name", then you could decline the other one. But given that you don't have re experience, getting a legit internship is still a win.
Honestly, it's really difficult to forecast the hiring needs of "top" firm any year, let alone these years, so in your overall approach to recruiting for internships or FT I always recommend casting a wide net.
If you do decide you want to work in development, a development internship will be very helpful (compared to other internships). Keep in mind that the real estate industry in general is far far less concerned with "bigger" or "brand" names, really doesn't carry the same weight as it does in finance. Experience, deal flow, skills matter more as more differentiation in this business.
So, getting "in the game" really critical, paths can go all over the place but you have to start.
Yes this would be a summer internship. Thanks good advice, I am leaning toward taking this one. Definitely difficult to drop some of the preconceived notions about finance when choosing in real estate. I don't believe I can reneg an offer given how MBA programs treat such actions.
Is this an internship you got via your school's career services or other OCR program?
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