Post: #1

Fellas,

I want to throw some ideas around networking, not the usual remember names type of stuff but rather next level stuff. I am not sure West Coast will be checking this thread out, but it would right up his alley.

Basically, I'm interested in shifting from Corp. Finance to Real Estate Finance. I have zero experience in Real Estate, however I have spent most of my free time (when I used to have it) researching RE. More importantly, I’d like to be in that sector. The challenge is that it’s a pretty difficult to crack, because I understand that most people start on the entry level and work their way up. Still I’m not daunted by this possibility.

Presently , I’m pulling about 50-60 hours a week at work plus another 10-15 hours with school, so I don’t have much leeway with regards to face time. I do have ample vacation time, and will be finishing school by the summer.

For someone in my situation, what do you guys think should be the best option: Use my new (Masters) degree and position it as career change? Link it to FP&A? Harass alumni?

Post: #2

I seem to recall a real estate investment analyst/associate opportunity in ATL crossing my radar somewhat recently by way of a headhunter. That's about all I can tell you...I'll see if I can find the email I got about it. PM me if interested.

Post: #3

I don't know your specific industry, but networking is networking.

May I suggest the following game plan?

1) Identify which companies you want to work for
2) Identify employees at those companies. Get emails and phone numbers.
3) Make a list of a thousand plus people you are going to cold call/cold email
4) Cold call/cold email all those people with the goal of making an appointment to visit them during your vacation time
5) Do not ever mention that you are looking for a job. Use euphemisms, "I would like to explore what opportunities are available in your company."
6) Cold approaching a thousand people will probably give you roughly one hundred positive replies which will probably lead to about ten face-to-face appointments; on a bad day. Remember, it's a numbers game.
7) Try to fill up your vacation time with an endless string of face-to-face appointments at your target companies. If you have a day off, you're doing it wrong. Keep cold approaching and crunching the numbers game with the aim of filling up your vacation time completely.
8) Once your appointment book is full, finalise your travel plans, await your vacation, and then as soon as your vacation starts, hit the pavement running.
9) Meet your people. Ask questions about opportunities. Ask to be introduced to someone who can help you more with opportunities. I.e. go for the introduction, even if it's just an email referral - your social capital will suddenly build up.
10) Return from vacation exhausted, having met people, been introduced, squeezed in face-to-face time where you thought you couldn't, handed out CV's all over the place, and made a lot of new contacts on linkedin.
11) Be prepared to suddenly receive multiple job offers a few weeks later out of nowhere, assuming there is a demand for your skillset. This can end up being the biggest problem. I remember suffering from option paralysis when my networking in the medical industry ended up giving me 4 job opportunities all at once.

You can also network in your alumni group, your religious group, your sports group, etc. This sort of networking assumes that anyone you know is about 6 people removed from the guy who can hire you. This requires you to aggressively seek introductions from the people you know to the people you don't know. Do it long enough (a rule of thumb says one hundred introductions should be about enough) and you will eventually have moved along the links of then chain enough to meet your potential new boss.

Networking is hard work. Good luck. For more detailed discussion and strategies you can check out the links in my signature; as always I highly recommend John Davies 'The $100,000 + career,' which is the Day Bang of networking. I summarised it here: /thread-12264.html

Post: #4

(05-01-2013 08:52 AM)presidentcarter Wrote:  I seem to recall a real estate investment analyst/associate opportunity in ATL crossing my radar somewhat recently by way of a headhunter. That's about all I can tell you...I'll see if I can find the email I got about it. PM me if interested.

Much appreciate the info, however I'm pretty much limited to the Northeast and West Coast for personal reasons.

Thanks!

Post: #5

(05-01-2013 09:47 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  I don't know your specific industry, but networking is networking.

May I suggest the following game plan?

1) Identify which companies you want to work for
2) Identify employees at those companies. Get emails and phone numbers.
3) Make a list of a thousand plus people you are going to cold call/cold email
4) Cold call/cold email all those people with the goal of making an appointment to visit them during your vacation time
5) Do not ever mention that you are looking for a job. Use euphemisms, "I would like to explore what opportunities are available in your company."
6) Cold approaching a thousand people will probably give you roughly one hundred positive replies which will probably lead to about ten face-to-face appointments; on a bad day. Remember, it's a numbers game.
7) Try to fill up your vacation time with an endless string of face-to-face appointments at your target companies. If you have a day off, you're doing it wrong. Keep cold approaching and crunching the numbers game with the aim of filling up your vacation time completely.
8) Once your appointment book is full, finalise your travel plans, await your vacation, and then as soon as your vacation starts, hit the pavement running.
9) Meet your people. Ask questions about opportunities. Ask to be introduced to someone who can help you more with opportunities. I.e. go for the introduction, even if it's just an email referral - your social capital will suddenly build up.
10) Return from vacation exhausted, having met people, been introduced, squeezed in face-to-face time where you thought you couldn't, handed out CV's all over the place, and made a lot of new contacts on linkedin.
11) Be prepared to suddenly receive multiple job offers a few weeks later out of nowhere, assuming there is a demand for your skillset. This can end up being the biggest problem. I remember suffering from option paralysis when my networking in the medical industry ended up giving me 4 job opportunities all at once.

You can also network in your alumni group, your religious group, your sports group, etc. This sort of networking assumes that anyone you know is about 6 people removed from the guy who can hire you. This requires you to aggressively seek introductions from the people you know to the people you don't know. Do it long enough (a rule of thumb says one hundred introductions should be about enough) and you will eventually have moved along the links of then chain enough to meet your potential new boss.

Networking is hard work. Good luck. For more detailed discussion and strategies you can check out the links in my signature; as always I highly recommend John Davies 'The $100,000 + career,' which is the Day Bang of networking. I summarised it here: /thread-12264.html

This terrific info. It's so good that I copied and pasted your post and saved it to a word file. Also, that John Davies book summary is solid as well.

I'll put my plan into action based on your recommendations. You are credit to this forum.

Post: #6

What is it about not mentioning that you're looking for a job that's considered de rigeur for networking purposes? Seriously, wouldn't it be refreshing if someone networking with you just came out and said, "Frankly, I'm looking for a job in your industry. Now, I'm not interested in pressuring you for one - if you come across an opportunity you think I might fit, great, but otherwise I'm just trying to meet people and see what's out there at the moment?"

Post: #7

(05-02-2013 12:41 AM)lurker Wrote:  What is it about not mentioning that you're looking for a job that's considered de rigeur for networking purposes? Seriously, wouldn't it be refreshing if someone networking with you just came out and said, "Frankly, I'm looking for a job in your industry. Now, I'm not interested in pressuring you for one - if you come across an opportunity you think I might fit, great, but otherwise I'm just trying to meet people and see what's out there at the moment?"

The way you frame the question is reasonable - it's not desperate, it's aloof, it gives the person you're talking to multiple options to choose from to assist you.

The problem is most people will come across as desperate if they go direct. Also, people feel bad about not being able to help you, which makes them avoid you. By 'exploring opportunities' and asking for an introduction rather than a job you make it easier and more comfortable for people to help you. This paradox makes it easier to find a job.

Direct game might work for some people, but my guess is that indirect game will work better for most. It prevents you coming across as needy.