24 Comments
 

Like others have said, Network. This is the most nepotism and who you know industry.

Also, NYC is the most competitive market. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these posted internships are being snagged up by MSREs with everyone and their grandmother being a student at Schack nowadays. I would cold call/email under the radar firms and see if they're looking to hire an intern.

 

A) 20 applications is nothing

B) Yes it really is that competitive, way moreso than you think

C) Would legitimately love to hear more about this company

D) The interviews and jobs are going to people who the guys at the company know. People they met at recruiting events, people who bought them a cup of coffee, people who were hand-delivered to their inbox by parents or friends, etc etc. Not random online applicants who go to the second best real estate school, which could anywhere in the country for all we know.

 

To answer D...

If this is a large corporation.. HR will require all jobs to be posted internally/externally due to compliance and legal reasons. Even if it's a small firm, they may still post it just to see if they get wowed by any resumes before making they're decisions. I've seen big firms even just make a posting for someone to formally apply to and then it's gone. I've seen this with HFF. I'll see a job posting posted that day than literally like two days later it's gone.

 

Sorry not trying to be condescending, just trying to sober you up a bit. You have to have the mindset of fighting from in the hole. You really have to hustle.

Your work sounds like solid experience that would be interesting to talk through in an interview. But you have to get there first, and that means really reaching out. Are there no recruiting events at your school? Have you been hitting up your school's alumni? Those are the low-hanging fruit, you should really be exhausting those options first.

 
  1. You've got a good understanding of taxes - that's great but certainly isn't the most exciting / interesting experience, you need to show something different and thought provoking to a potential employer
  2. You're young - show your hunger by taking a REFM / BIWS course (will be well worth your while I guarantee it) and come up with your own proposal to a PERE firm proposing why you believe they should co-invest with you on this large parcel of land you're working on - surely there is an arbitrage opportunity there somewhere? PM me if you need help on something like this...
  3. Everyone has a network, even if it is small - what about your lecturers, family and friends, real estate club? Surely there is someone who knows someone... otherwise cold call until you get a bite and do your best to stay humble and focus on adding value!
"Average people have great ideas. Legends have great execution"
 

What kind of internships are you applying for?

A couple of comments: - 20 applications is nothing - Networking is everything. I'm sure you can find a few alumni to connect with in "the second best real estate school in the country". Don't pull the self pity card, few people here or in the overall industry will bite. - While you " genuinely think my resume is objectively impressive and I have more applicable experience than almost any person I know at my age", this is objectively off. I'm at a PE shop and if we were hiring new interns, I would not spend more than 5-6 seconds before dumping your resume as you have no relevant experience (prop taxes calcs aren't complicated and knowing a thing or two really isn't all that helpful in the grand scheme of things). Real estate internship hiring is a bit of a catch 22... no one wants to train someone from scratch - In general, your post comes off as arrogant and people are generally not receptive to that approach. - My recommendation is to go get an internship at a brokerage, or an unpaid internship conducting underwriting. Even those are competitive, but you might have a shot if you play your cards right

 

Keep trying, your resume looks ok but has a lot about taxes on it. Not that that's a bad thing, but it is not entirely applicable to what you're looking to do.

I would also recommend trying to find an internship of some type at a big brokerage in Madison. Adding an internship from somewhere like CBRE would help a ton and you could probably pick up a few contacts in New York.

As mentioned above, look into REFM/ BIWS/ Argus. Be confident but not over cocky.

Also why RE and why NY?

 

Check firms in Chicago - lots of UW-Madison grads and they love to hire them.. a few to consider are 29th Street Capital, Brennan Investment Group, Harrison Street Capital.. yes, not NYC but comprable expereince and better shot at landing something

 

1) You need to start leaning how to model (REFM/ BIWS/ Argus).

2) Stop applying online and start networking, 90% of portals for resumes drops are black holes. I think ONE of the maybe 200 applications I sent out via a online application were responded to.

3) You need to work on your why re why nyc answer that is listed above. You need a better spark and a much better story surrounding why you want real estate.

 

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