Switching Careers Into Commercial Real Estate? Do This.

Most people don’t know exactly what they want to do the minute they graduate from college, which often results in a career change at some point down the line.

And if you’re reading this and thinking about making a transition into commercial real estate from a different industry, there are a few really important steps to successfully make this happen.

So to help make this process a little bit less daunting for you, this post walks through four must-do things when making a career pivot into commercial real estate, and how you might want to go about each.

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Step #1: Explain The Transition

The first thing I want to mention here should be priority number one in this process, and this is to include a detailed cover letter (along with your resume) in every job application you submit, which clearly explains why you’re trying to make the move into commercial real estate.

If you spent multiple years (or multiple decades) in a different industry, the first question that employers will ask is, “Why are you making this change now, and what makes you qualified to do this?”

Career switchers are often risky hires compared to other candidates, not only because they don’t have direct real estate experience, but also because they don’t know what it’s like to work in this industry on a day-to-day basis.

And because hiring costs are so high in most businesses, companies will often pass on career switchers to avoid hiring a ‘flight risk’ who might quickly realize they don’t want to be in this business.

This means that to be competitive for real estate analyst or associate jobs when coming from a different industry, you need to clearly communicate why you’re making this change, and ideally, how this path was intentional all along.

A good example of this might be someone who graduated from college during a down cycle in the market, when hiring in this industry was extremely slow across the board. This person decided to take a job in an unrelated industry, with the goal of starting full-time work as quickly as possible to make student loan payments that were now coming due.

Another common example of this is someone who spent time working in a field like accounting, architecture, engineering, or corporate finance, where they’ve been around real estate over the years, and they’ve built an interest in working on the investment or development side of the industry as a result of that

Regardless of what your reasoning is, you have to be clear about why you’re making this change and why you’re committed to doing what it takes to make this transition happen, regardless of how difficult or how lengthy the process might be.

Step #2: Demonstrate Success in Other Paths

The next thing you’ll want to do is make it clear that you’ve succeeded throughout your career, even if you were working within a different industry altogether.

If you’re making a career change, you don’t have to hide the fact that you might not have a real estate background. However, you do need to show that you’ve contributed to measurable achievements in whatever field you were working in, which could mean highlighting that you:

• Exceeded sales targets in a business development role
• Cut costs in an operations role
• Made a process more efficient in a finance role

Regardless of what you choose to mentioned, these should be things an employer would look at on a resume and feel confident that you could come in and make a meaningful impact.

If at all possible, it would also be extremely helpful to add information that shows you’re a fast learner. This might mean highlighting different projects you took on outside of your immediate job function, new software you learned to implement in the business, or any other projects or achievements that show you can pick up new things quickly.

Step #3: Tap Into Your Alumni Network

The next thing I’d recommend doing is something I’ve found to be extremely underutilized by people going through this process, and this is tapping into your alumni network.

A huge part of getting your foot in the door in this industry is having relationships that can get you in front of the right people, and if you’re trying to build these relationships and coming from a different industry, your alumni database could be a huge help.

One of the best ways to find these people is to run an advanced LinkedIn search for alumni of your university working in the “Real Estate” or “Leasing Non-Residential Real Estate” industries on LinkedIn, ideally in the city where you’re currently located. From there, the next step is reaching out to these people to set up informational interviews, with the goal to learn more about what these people do on a day-to-day basis, how they got to where they are today, and where they see you fitting best in the industry.

Cold outreach tends to have a very low hit rate overall, but by using a shared university as a connection point, you can significantly increase your chances of getting responses to these messages, and these conversations can ultimately make you top of mind when job opportunities come up.

Step #4: Highlight Relevant Experiences

The last thing I want to mention also goes back to your resume, and this is to highlight your most relevant work experiences that would be applicable to commercial real estate.

A lot of people coming from different industries use the same version of their resume when applying for real estate roles as they would when applying for more senior-level roles in their current field, keeping the same industry jargon, certifications, and skills front and center.

But if you’re applying for an analytical role in commercial real estate, there are specific skills that hiring managers are looking for, and these usually aren’t the same things that you’d highlight in a different field.

In most cases, real estate employers hiring analysts and associates are looking for a strong analytical skill set first and foremost, and this means that any projects or tasks you can mention that showcase your Excel skills, your analysis skills, and your general knowledge of finance are all going to be really impactful when applying for these positions.

This could also involve highlighting any coursework you’ve taken that can prove out your technical skills and your knowledge of commercial real estate in general, whether that’s:

• Real estate financial modeling coursework
• An ARGUS certification
• A real estate salesperson’s license

These types of things show your commitment to making a career change, and that you’re spending your own time and money to learn the things you’ll need to know to be successful in this industry.

Make The Switch

If you’re looking to transition into commercial real estate and want to make sure you have the technical skills you need to highlight on your resume and pass an Excel modeling exam that might be given to you during the interview process, make sure to check out our all-in-one membership training platform, Break Into CRE Academy.

A membership to the Academy will give you instant access to over 120 hours of video training on real estate financial modeling and analysis, you’ll get access to hundreds of practice Excel interview exam questions, sample acquisition case studies, and you’ll also get access to the Break Into CRE Analyst Certification Exam, which covers topics like real estate pro forma and development modeling, commercial real estate lease modeling, equity waterfall modeling, and many other real estate financial analysis concepts that will help you prove to employers that you have what it takes to tackle the responsibilities of an analyst or associate at a top real estate firm.