CAREER OPPORTUNITIES in CRE ASSET MANAGEMENT, PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT, ACQUISITIONS, or DEVELOPMENT
Hi all,

This is my first time posting in this forum. I’m 23 years old working in management consulting as an analyst in our (banking, capital markets, and insurance practice) in Charlotte, NC. I graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Finance in 2020. I’ve been struggling to find any success in breaking into commercial real estate since 2019. 

My dream is to work in acquisitions and asset/ portfolio management in the Charlotte area. I’ve done a lot of different things to try to break into CRE including cold calling, reaching out to people on LinkedIn for informational interviews, I’ve had coffee chats with a MD tenant rep at JLL and a CRE debt manager at PNC, I’ve had multiple interviews for this one CRE opportunity at another practice in my firm, I’ve had an interview with a valuation consulting firm, I’ve had an interview with a CRE private equity in DC, I’ve had an interview with one of the largest developers in my area for their office sector, and one of my most recent and I’d say where I got the closest was for a real estate debt portfolio management role at Nuveen where I went through 3 rounds and got rejected. 

While working in my current role, I’ve taken Adventures in CRE financial modeling and I’m working towards my brokerage license. I’m still working on mastering real estate modeling. 

I’m not sure what else I can do, and I’m getting somewhat depressed about this, and I’d appreciate any steps or actionable advice that I can do to help me succeed in just getting in. I’m willing to work part - time or free as an apprentice just to gain experience at this point while balancing my day job and my extra-curriculars. 

 


Edit: This is why I love Reddit. Thank you all for your advice.I plan on taking further action based on the feedback that was recommended and I want to document my results and any further road-bumps on this post, as it could be helpful to hold myself accountable and for anyone else who is in the same boat as me. Based off of what the majority of you are saying, it seems that my biggest crux is not meeting enough people in the industry, which I agree. I plan on scheduling at least one in person coffee chat meetings per week and three phone informational meetings per week.
[{"id": "hq551zx", "text": "Start hustling. Someone will notice you once you start making some money.", "replies": [{"id": "hq58zzu", "text": "Thank you for your input. Can you add some clarity as to what you mean by hustling? Based on my performance review, I\u2019ve been validated as a consistently strong worker and I\u2019m doing all that I know how to do outside of work to educate myself in this space. I\u2019m helping my parents whenever I can with their real estate portfolio and exploring opportunities for acquisitions and syndication with family and friends. I plan on joining ULI Charlotte too once I\u2019m done with my 12 week core accounting engagement for work and get my NC brokerage license.", "replies": [{"id": "hq5zv5h", "text": "If you have enough money saved up to live off of for a year and pay for advertising, go get a job as a commercial realtor. Get some listings and start selling/leasing. Don\u2019t wait for what you want, go work for it.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9waed", "text": "I see, hopefully once I get my brokerage license, I can consider that option. I finished the Superior real estate brokerage school, so hopefully that\u2019s soon. Thank you!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "hq66zhi", "text": "You sound like you\u2019re doing all the right things. Yes, eventually you have to start applying all the book knowledge. Once you get some deals under your belt it will all be much easier.  Hopefully you\u2019re in this for your own freedom and not to become an employee but everyone is different.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9w4j2", "text": "I appreciate the support, I hope it will get easier once I get some experience.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq5922b", "text": "Network your ass off. I was in an incredibly similar boat to you. Have a defined target, and every person you meet with, end with \"who else would you suggest I talk to?\" Keep a spreadsheet of everyone you talk to and every company you are aware of. Calls, lunches, drinks. It took me close to a year but it was well worth it. You can do it.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9w2eq", "text": "Thank you so much. I definitely needed to hear this, in fact the JLL MD office tenant rep I had a coffee with said the same thing. I feel that I DEFINITELY need to improve in the networking area.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq5e04v", "text": "Breaking into CRE is hard since the most value you can add is from experience and market knowledge. My best advice is if you can't find a salaried role, start with a commission-based role. Also, don't quit networking or applying for jobs.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9wcp8", "text": "Definitely something I\u2019m considering based off of my current results, thank you.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq5h4ea", "text": "If you're not hunting for jobs via LinkedIn, I'd start doing that. Also, handshake and of course the couple websites that are popular are good to hunt around in\n\nYour resume probably needs fixing up because if you've been in finance for around 2 years with a degree, it shouldn't be this big of a problem - make sure your resume is 1 page, list out relatable bullet points to the job you want, and make sure their quantifiable, not \"I was proficient in sales\" or something like that. \n\nAlso I'd get way more specific on the type of job you want. Think of what really interested you to get in the real estate field - acquisitions, asset management, development are different and require different personalities and also have different pay structures. Also, don't forget that CRE has a capital markets field and it sounds like you have most experience with that.\n\nIn interviews or chats, talk about the CRE market - how are interest rates looking, what are cap rates recent trends, which asset class looks interesting to you, what kind of trends are you seeing in your hometown - show that you are interested in the market and are knowledgeable.\n\nLast thing - connect with people on LinkedIn. I started in healthcare RE so I followed almost every healthcare PE and REIT I could and connected with every executive I could. They like to 'like' or post job openings in their company, plus it will help with my previous point of staying knowledgable. Then I expanded and started following all sorts of REITS and PE pages I could, always connecting to the top level guys (you don't want a bunch of trash connections not adding value to your page)\n\nAlso, the brokerage license won't help a ton in interviews if your not doing brokerage work - it's worth 1 sentence, a quick glance though. Something just extra to mention but don't spread yourself thin. Talk about transferable skills you have that will benefit the next job, not about random things", "replies": [{"id": "hqeiv2e", "text": "Thanks Jman, this is very comprehensive advice. I might need to seek a professional Resum\u00e9 writer. My friend who worked at Barings real estate debt two yr program and now works in their private equity space, gave me a lot of criticism towards my r\u00e9sum\u00e9. The main thing that he told me was that it does not tie to real estate, but I don\u2019t have formal real estate experience. \n\nTalking about CRE markets in interviews is something I\u2019ve never thought of, I always came from the point of view of explaining what I\u2019ve done and how I understand their business and what I still would like to know about their business in order to add value.\n\nAs an analyst in Advisory, I\u2019m somewhat of a master of none generalist, and while I understand capital markets from a textbook level, I don\u2019t have direct experience to speak on it. I\u2019ve been on two engagements so far doing staff aug as quality control auditor for loan origination and forgiveness program and I\u2019m currently supporting a really big Asset Manager\u2019s core accounting team. \n\nWhen looking at opportunities in CRE, I originally thought it would be good to try to market myself for any property type. (Beggars can\u2019t be choosers mentality) I just want tangible the experience to know what I like and don\u2019t like. After taking the underwriting course, retail and multifamily peaked my interest the most, more specifically mixed use. As of late, single family reits are also something I\u2019m looking into, as single family is my favorite property type to study and research and ultimately got me interested in real estate at a young age. I definitely need to expand my knowledge and start following people to understand macro and industry trends.\n\nI\u2019ve heard mixed opinions about the brokerage license. Personally, I enjoy learning the material in brokerage and ultimately I was planning on using it in case I need it to do investment sales, brokerage, and property management for a firm and for myself, family and friends.\n\nThank you for the advice Jman", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq5nsrq", "text": "Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Keep doing them and keep applying it will eventually work out. You can also search for cre recruiters and reach out to ask what they are looking for for their clients and then become that. If you arent afraid to work then becoming an analyst for a broker team can get you a great deal of experience very quickly as well. I did brokerage to break into CRE then acquisitions after 2 years.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9wp3v", "text": "This is great advice, after the interview with the developer, I reached out a few months later for a coffee chat and he mentioned that the best experience that he got to help him towards development was working in investment sales.", "replies": [{"id": "hqig2kw", "text": "Working in brokerage you will see a lot of deals and a lot of different structures and ways investors look at deals and structure them vs working at one buy side shop that does things a particular way. That experience can be invaluable", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq5qywu", "text": "Have rich parents. Alternatively go make some deals yourself. If you can't make money for yourself why would anyone hire you to make money for them?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq61rty", "text": "There are several top-notch developers/ regional REPE firms in Charlotte that might be a great place to start. Is there an in-person CRE event in January that you could attend? Some cities have a \"state of the market\" or something similar that attracts a decent group. BizNow may have one in Charlotte, otherwise NAIOP or a major broker might sponsor something. (1.) get a target list of local companies (2) try to get a personal introduction (3) go to the event, skip the bad scrambled eggs, and introduce yourself to as many people as possible in hopes of meeting someone from a target or getting a name to all later. Dark suit, white shirt, conservative tie, nice shoes.", "replies": [{"id": "hq9x1jc", "text": "This is great and I\u2019ve never thought about dedicating a list for events. I\u2019m definitely going to try organize a list of in person CRE events to get my face out there and showcase my personality and skills and hopefully learn more about the industry and expectations. Thank you Icy.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hq9x4v4", "text": "That\u2019s an interesting perspective, thank you I\u2019ll take that into consideration.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]