Summer intern in CRE cold emails
Currently a junior at non target state school, but close to two large cities. Really have no idea why I decided to major in finance (mainly family pressure)  and didn't do much my first 3 years of school except go to class and get back in the car and drive home. have been at this school for a year and a half now coming from community college and found out about the niche world of commercial real estate and became obsessed. this is something i could see myself doing in the long run and have already talked to some people and determined what specializations exist. 

have been reading RE finance books, joined clubs and working on excel and argus modeling but my resume is fairly empty. I know it is crucial to have a internship summer of junior year but it wasn't until the end of 2015 that I realized this is the career path I wanted for myself. I know comparing myself to others is of no help but it seems a lot of my peers have been setting themselves up for this since their first day of high school.

Now that I am hustling to catch up I need some advice on networking. With it almost being March should I be sending emails to alumni and other young professionals found on linkedin in the industry outright asking if there internship positions available at their companies or maintain the "wanting to learn more" approach when reaching out and trying to set something up for perhaps during the fall semester? Any help would be appreciated from those of you who have experience
[{"id": "d0bqba1", "text": "First off, try to narrow down the part of cre you want to work in this summer.  I'm not saying triple net lease broker in buffalo.  But do you want to learn from a broker? Maybe a owner/operator? Maybe walmarts corporate real estate division?\n\nCre is a broad industry but at a junior level, nothing hurts.  Easiest for a first internship would be a broker (that's what I did). As long as your aren't a jackass you will have one offer for every ten you apply for.  Working for a broker will not give you financial skills (unless its at hff or eastdil) but if the broker you work for is worth anything at all, you will get a good insight into how the industry works.  (Hint: its all relationships, MD in capital markets I worked under couldn't tell you what an irr was but ifs still pulling in a million $ plus because people trusted him). \n\nIf your resume is empty, I would say put anything relating to argus on it as long as you can back it up (ie don't lie about a technical skill). A lot of cre does not have a formal recruiting process so do not enter panic mode yet. I would be emailing professionals, alumni and any other connections.  If it were me I would phrase an email along the lines of:\n\nMr. Big dick MD,\n\nMy name is nosky and I am currently a ___ at ___ studying ___ . i am extremelly interested in entering the commercial real estate industry and after seeing your firms involvement in ___(find a recent deal the firm was involved in and mention it.  Be sure to do your own research on the deal to add your own perspective if asked), I wanted to to reach out to express my interest in any available internship opprptunies.  ______(bullshit about how great you are and how big your dick is)(keep is short and sweet, show how you can CREATE VALUE for him if he paid you 8/hr for a summer. Maybe you are really good as research, or maybe good modeling skills). Even if there are no positions currently that I qualify for, I would really appreciate the opportunity to buy you a coffee and pick your brain.\n\nBlow jobs and kisses,\nNosky\n\n", "replies": [{"id": "d0busq6", "text": "Awesome thanks\n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d0c3ado", "text": "What city?", "replies": [{"id": "d0c7vxh", "text": "DC Baltimore area\n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d0dte3t", "text": "/u/noskyhigh did a really good job explaining the process, but I'll throw in my $0.02 anyway.\n\nThroughout highschool and early college, I started talking to my friends' dads about what they do just to get an idea of what careers led to their success (I grew up in a middle-upper class suburb of a major city). Several of them are in CRE and it seemed like something I would really enjoy.\n\nFast forward to my sophomore year. I reached out to one of them who is a big name at CBRE. I asked about their internship program, sent him my resume and that was that. I got a call a week later for an interview and was hired. The internship was incredible. Learned a ton from the broker I was supporting and he really lit the fire under my ass to get into the industry. They thought I did a good job and invited me back for the next summer.\n\nI coasted along Junior year knowing that I had an internship locked down...until March. I got a call from the guy I interned for and he said that he was pissed because they changed the intern policy and my job was being given to a clients kid or something. WEAK.\n\nAnyway, I was put in the same position as you. March of Junior year and no internship. Fortunately, I had my previous summer on the resume, but it was still getting pretty late, so I had to scramble.\n\nI cold CALLED (not emailed), all the big names. Nothing. Finally, out of desperation, I checked craigslist. There was an ad seeking an intern in CRE. I called them and it turned out to be Marcus &amp; Millichap. If you browse this sub enough, you'll notice that people don't have the best things to say about M&amp;M's chop shop culture. They aren't lying.\n\nTurned out to be a pretty intense interview process that culminated in a final round, GROUP interview. Yes, the final 3 candidates sat with the broker in their conference room and had to interview in front of each other. One guy was from the Ivy League. Another was majoring in CRE. Then there was me...a humble big ten grad. Somehow managed to get it (probably due to previous experience). It wasn't the best internship, but I think it looked good on a resume when I was interviewing full time because if you can survive a M&amp;M, you can survive anywhere.\n\nAnyway...thats my internship experience. Back to cold calls.", "replies": [{"id": "d0e9wzi", "text": "I've started with local boutique and have a couple informational interviews set up next week. Probably won't start with the big names until i get at least 50 contacts lower contacts, that really is another level. What are some typical interview questions? Thanks for the help\n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d0dzxxj", "text": "My advice. Fuck emails. It shows timidness. Pick up the phone, show some gumption. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d0lsgup", "text": "I've been in your shoes so I understand the pain you're going through. I didn't really figure out I wanted to do CRE until my junior year. I was fortunate enough to land an acquisitions internship that summer because of my previous finance internships and then I spent these last two months networking into a RE investment banking internship.\n\nIt seems you really want this and you're willing to put your head down and pound the pavement. Professionals will see that and appreciate it. Are there any real estate clubs you can join at school? Have you considered joining ULI? You can also go to getrefm.com and get certified in excel for real estate to bolster your resume. \n\nIn terms of your networking approach, I think you can do both. Reach out to professionals with the \"wanting to learn more\" approach and then at the end of the conversation, ask if he/she has contacts they could recommend you speak with. Word it nicely so they don't feel pressured to help you if they don't want to. This usually leads to more contacts or job postings. However, don't get discouraged, networking takes time and you'll need to be patient to see results. \n\nFeel free to PM me if you need any help, best of luck.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]