Stuck at Current Firm

I would just leave as soon as possible. I don’t understand the need to stay a year anywhere. Go into a interview saying the job wasn’t what you thought it’d be and not a good fit. I doubt most people knock you for it.

I actually read all of what you had to say. My advice to you is to just leave if you can secure an offer. Makes no sense to stay in a place where you know you aren't growing professionally, and the internal structure is a mess. You can't change that. Go to a place where you know you can grow into what you want to be.

Your deal process is definitely one that is not common. Sounds inefficient to me in all reality. Agree with the above poster as well. Staying in a job for at least a year is what was probably taught to you when you were in school, or maybe some old school superiors or HR that don't understand the current landscape of employees (re: millennials, no offense). Just explain basically what you wrote here as to why you left. No one should hold that against you because you weren't the one making the calls. Best of luck.

Here's my q: why are they passing, and are you learning? Also, if they were to like a deal, CAN THEY EXECUTE?

Even if you dont like it, if you're picking up skills and ways of looking at deals, dont discount that opportunity. by 1 yr or 1.5 years you'll have a recruiter hit you up and you can leave smoothly, adn in the meantime, just keep learning and casually networking for new roles, like you're already thinking. .

Start looking now. It could / is likely to take you 6+ months to find a new job that you want anyway. No need to worry about hypothetically leaving before a year before you even have an offer somewhere else. Cross that road when / if you get there.

Analyst 2 in RE - Comm:

Finally, the two originators/underwriters I support pass up-front on almost every single deal. I understand that we need the deal to fit our box of metrics, but it’s gotten to the point where I will size up a deal I like, present to CIO, only to have him and the originator shit all over it and pass. This is extremely frustrating because I’ve been talking to the broker for financials, rent rolls, asking “in the weeds” questions, etc and he probably thinks he has a chance with us, only for my boss to relegate me to tell the broker we are passing. Again, frustrating because this deal is going to get picked up by another shop and they’ll find a way to make it work. Also, it’s like you two are grown ass men. You go and tell your buddy that we aren’t doing his deal for whatever arbitrary reasons you came up with. FOH. Strike three.

Whole place sounds like a nightmare to get out of ASAP, but this "strike 3" rings a little... not false, but not sure what you're expecting?

Every credit committee is going to have its own weird rules or needs, and to hear you complain about getting into the weeds only for them to say no is like you complaining about the actual job description. Of COURSE you're spending time on shit that doesn't work. For this to be an actual problem we'd need to know who the capital partners are, what the promotes are, etc. Lots of development shops churn deals because they need the fees to support overheard, and don't care are much about back end returns. Sounds like you have a lean shop - they may care a lot more about their eventual promote than they do about generating fee revenue. Or maybe your rival shops have a lower cost of capital. Maybe they manage assets more lean-ly (which is not a word, I don't think). There are tons of reasons why your shop might not be competitive on these deals, but complaining that you have to do the legwork is not the right attitude.

DO NOT QUIT!! Keep your head up and look for jobs on the side. If you quit and a recession happens, you are toast unless you have some amazing connections to land a new gig.

Might be worth sitting down with your team/CIO to understand what they are looking for in deals. Also, try to reverse engineer deals you guys have passed on that closed. Show your team what market expectations are if they are looking for a unicorn. After a while, they will know you are not crazy and you are trying to help the company grow. Know what there hot buttons are to show them deals that might work. We are at an interesting point in the cycle, and they might be more risk adverse right now. My team has only closed one deal in the past year and I have fully underwritten about 80-90 deals, it can be frustrating at times when I hear some groups are fine with 12 to 13% IRR at the property level for value add before splits and we want higher.

Ask questions but don't show your frustrations, you might have a deal in your hand sooner than later. At the same time, get more aggressive in your assumptions to try to get deals past the finish line. Don't be a douche and fat finger your exit cap rate but there are other ways to create value and get returns, use your imagination and get her done!

Don't quit. Especially with the impending recession, whenever that happens. Apply to jobs on the side, but I would hone in on skills you may be lacking at the moment so you will be better prepared for your next role. Someone mentioned you will be getting even better at screening deals if you stay, so I'd suggest the same route.

Really would suck to get a new role right as the market flips, and you are 2 months in and suddenly unemployed. Just not worth it IMO. Be patient, let the market do its thing, and find the perfect role down the line when you are 100% ready and capable to do just about anything.

Keep your head up and aggressively network and look out in the market for roles that interest you.

Don’t be fooled by the “1 year threshold”. It will likely take you months to even find the job you want, which in the end, could force you to end up staying for that magical year. I’ve been in your shoes and it sucks. Real bad but in the end, you’ll find something and you’ll be happy.

don’t quit, actively recruit and start those coffee chats.

I want to reiterate others. I’ve had a similar experience in a different field. Do not quit but aggressively look for a new job. You have a good explanation, and you be surprised how often people don't even ask why you're leaving.

Okay, so I gather from your post that if you started full-time employment in June 2017 you are just about or are effectively now in the 3 year experience window in CRE at your second job. Meaning you had about 2 years at first job, balance at present. Those are my starting assumptions, if wrong, be sure to clarify as it may impact my advice.

1. Reach out to your trusted advisors/mentor/network, especially the more senior ones or even former professors you liked and ask them if you think you are unreasonable or thinking correctly. The key is the reaction from people who know you. It's easy to see stuff as bad that may not be as bad as it seems from a 10,000 foot view. If they agree that you need to move on, then this is also the safest group to let know and hopefully they can help. Also, they may be able to be references as to why its not bad you moved.

2. Considering sticking it out - You are still relatively junior, and hopping at this time could look bad and may hurt you with HR and headhunters (if you network/talk to them, you can explain, but that can be hard/impractical at times). At the three year mark, you qualify for jobs that are more experienced and potentially senior - frankly, if you move, only do so for a promotion of some form - taking a lateral is not optimal.

3. Network like you don't have a job - Go back to building the network and grinding at events, linkedin, etc. Hopefully you will make new connections that can lead to the next opportunity organically; if you get contacted and its a great position and firm, you can disregard my above point. It's better/easier to job hunt with a job, but you should be very very tactical right now.

4. Apply for positions that are 9/10 on your perfect list - I really think leaving has real risks, thus you should only apply for and accept a really great position that is truly worth it. Trading teams is not the best reason at this stage in your career. Still, applying for clear upward moves is allowed and everyone will understand that trade.

5. Reframe your mind - I'm going to assume what you say is true, but you still chose whether you hate the job and the firm or not. Enjoying it and learning what you can is critical, quitting a difficult situation is not a strategy you can always use. Keep an open mind always. Honestly, I think a lot of people have shitty jobs their first 5 years out, sometime even 7-10 years; it's part of the path sometimes. You will gain in market power, ability, confidence, etc. with time. Be honest with yourself, one more year here (I'm assuming your age with the 3 yr experience framework) likely presents low opportunity costs (meaning, are you really giving up that much at a "better" job?). This means the gains from switching are only so much in the way of upside, hence I think it's prob better to wait and trade up for a true promotion.

I know this isn't what you probably want to hear, but it may be the smartest move long-term. And to be clear, I'm really only suggesting sticking it out for one more year (ideally, get two years at this firm, but if really does suck, start applying at your 3yr CRE anniversary). At that point, network/apply more aggressively if things haven't turned around.

Good luck!

Analysts bouncing around in CRE is inevitable, and a short stint reflects worse on the employer than the analyst who wants out. Also, certain firms are notorious for it. Odds are, you're not the first to pop out that quick. If you're at Oaktree, suck it up - but obviously you are not.

Also - don't make any decisions based on a recession. People have been calling for it since September 2017 - analysis paralysis.