What does the Urban Land Institute actually do? I've been told by a recruiter that it's critically important.
I legit can't figure this out from their website or Wikipedia page. My mom's friend, who is a recruiter, says it's a must-do step for making contacts and networking. But what does it do? As far as I can tell, it's literally just a real estate agency.
[{"id": "hs57lq9", "text": "It's a networking organization. They'll have guest speakers and luncheons and organize events. It's a great organization to meet people all throughout the industry, especially since CRE is such a relationship business.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs59nzk", "text": "You have a lot of work to do.  There's literally at least three fundamentally things off about your inquiry.  Figure those out first and then re-phrase your request for help.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5f4yn", "text": "is your mom hot", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5ii9k", "text": "ULI is an industry association. They host networking events, seminars, and engage in advocacy for the CRE industry. Not a bad idea to join if you're new to the business. Also see if there's a NAIOP chapter in your area. Most of them have \"developing leaders\" groups (and discounts) for people 35 and under.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5manx", "text": "ULI is the largest developer advocacy and networking group in the world.\n\nThey do everything from hosting speakers, to co-ordinating public private partnerships for civil development.\n\nEvery local one os different, I found mine to be supper helpful and can't recomend it enough.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5r3in", "text": "Uli is probably better for apartment related food group. Naoip for office and industrial.\n\nIf you're young or a student with infinite time, do both.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5sex4", "text": "Three words: transit oriented development. \n\nBut yeah, it is basically just a networking thing. If you can\u2019t go to usc or Harvard, that is the best you are probably going to do.", "replies": [{"id": "hs6ajxb", "text": "I think that\u2019s probably market-specific, idk if somewhere like Houston would care about that", "replies": [{"id": "hsaa5u1", "text": "It is mostly a joke. If you ever attended any ULI events, they spend a lot of time talking about TOD.", "replies": [{"id": "hsaac2d", "text": "Ah, went over my head here. They do talk a lot about TODs in my market.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5szi9", "text": "I see differing comments about whether it\u2019s worth it, choosing NAIOP vs ULI, etc.. It all depends on the strength of your chapter in the market. \n\nI used to work in a market with a weak ULI chapter and I\u2019m not sure it was worth joining. I now work in a market with an incredible ULI chapter and it\u2019s one of the best things I\u2019ve done to expand my network. NAIOP is similar. Get in touch with people at the local chapter and they\u2019ll help you plug in. \n\nGetting on local councils is huge. Attending the big events is OK. Cocktails afterward is where the real relationships flourish.\n\nEdit: there\u2019s a different website for each chapter, so you need to Google the chapter in your city. The \u201cBig ULI\u201d website won\u2019t get you anywhere.", "replies": [{"id": "iv2bclk", "text": "I know this is an older thread, but why would 'getting on local councils' be an important aspect?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs5w1hp", "text": "I just joined in November and love it. There\u2019s informational courses, books,  events, groups, etc. It\u2019s what you make of it", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs6bw6z", "text": "I am a recruiter for a large, global integrated developer and I can tell you that we have made several hires via referrals from current employees who recommended people they knew from ULI. Can't speak much to what goes on there but it does seem to get the job done in terms of networking", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs6enyx", "text": "Get involved with the ULI Young Leaders and Cohorts if your area has it. Be patient and honest with others.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hs7bn9r", "text": "It\u2019s mostly brokers, architects, designers, engineers, and other service providers.  If you want to network with them, then ULI is a great organization.  The % of developers and PE funds is low.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]