1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Real Estate Development - What is your job title?
Senior Financial Analyst - Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for (size and general description of what type of organization it is)
My company is a real estate investor/developer that specializes in adding value to high-end residential, resort, and commercial developments. The company typically acquire raw land and puts it through the necessary entitlement strategies, ultimately putting in the vertical improvements and selling to third party buyers. The company has a staff of approximately 50 people with offices in Chicago, Hawaii, New York, and the USVI.
- How long have you been employed in this position?
12 months - How many hours do you work a week on average?
60 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
60 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
1) Responsible and accountable for supervising all aspects of development financial analysis for complex mixed-use real estate developments ranging from $5 million - $500 million. 2)Assist in the site selection process, entitlement strategy, and other strategic matters by analyzing specific sites and identifying all primary obstacles to the development process.
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
75000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
75000 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
2 Weeks vacation, personal and sick days, health and dental insurance - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
Under compensated
2. Work environment!
- Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
I would say about 50% of my work consists of working with the other members of the development team, whether it be construction managers, marketing directors, etc. I like the team aspect however it is sometimes frsutrating because I don't know if we necessarily have the strongest personell. I believe if we did have a strong time working in a team environment would be much more effective and enjoyable.
- Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes - Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes - Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 2 Income
- 4 Work Environment - co-workers
- 3 Work Environment - supervisors
- 7 Benefits
- 5 Hours
- 6 Level of responsibility
- 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 8 Job Title
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?
- If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Given the current market, submitting their resume (whether directly or indirectly through a job search site) will not be effective. They need to network with people they know or don't know. They need to brainstorm and come up with contacts who i) are in the industry whether directly or indirectly, ii) know people in the industry, and iii) went to the same college as they did, etc. Networking is the key to finding a job in this market.
- What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)
Social skills is a must. There are too many people who look the same on paper. Also, patience is a must. Getting frustrated will cause them to rush through their cover letters, interviews, etc. Make sure they brush up on their technical skills, specifically with regards to MS Excel, Argus, and other real estate cosftware. These days, employers may have potential canidates run sample models.
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
NO - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Get ready for the most frustrating, challenging, and fast paced environent you will ever be a part of. Real Estate Development is sometimes like war: long periods of silence followed by surprise fire drills where you always need to be on your toes. Nonetheless, the intangible reward you get when a job gets done is absolutely pricessless. Its not a question of "will the hard work payoff?" but its a question of "when will the hard work payoff?"
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
Met the CFO on an airplane - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
Submitted resume, brief questionaire, phone interview, in house interview - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
Yes. There was a 1-hour phone interview followed by a 3-hour in-house interview where I met with the CFO, COO, Office Manager, and various employees of the company. - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
Several brain teasers. One good question was how would I underwrite a deal if I was just given a photo of the site with a location. Other questions like long term goals, my opinion of the capital markets and how they are affecting real estate, what I want to get out of a job, etc. - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
No - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
I originally wanted to work in investment banking but I needed to expand my financal foundation. As a result, after college I took a job with a commercial bank. The Bank only invested in commercial real estate. After seeing how much money the developers were making, I made the transition.
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
None. Everything was on the job training. - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes. He told me it would be brain damage and although it was more than I expected, I knew what to expect. - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes. I was an economics major and the theory of supply and demand is always applicable in real estate. - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
The "sexy" projects we work on, the teamwork that is necessary to get by, and the fast paced enviroment. - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
Most fufilling - working with major financial institutions, creating mutli-million real estate developments, working under one of the most experienced real estate professionals in the city. Least fufilling - No set schedule so its hard to make plans outside of work, compensation on the bonus level is low these days because the market is so weak. - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
Yes, I want to ultimately run my own real estate fund and I need to get a greater understanding of the business before moving on on my own. - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
To work on the analytical side of every type of deal structure before moving into a producer role. I want to be a deal guy and once I've established as many relationships as possible, I want to run my own fund. - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
Arrive in the office after a long wedding weekend in Detroit. Although I am exhausted, I need to get in early to prepare a presentation for our lenders who are meeting with our Hawaii team at our Honolulu development site. In order to do this, I collaborate with my project manager so I can outline all pressing items. - 8 am - 9 am
Continue to work with the project manager. Meanwhile, our development proposal for our marina project in Ft. Myers was rejected. I of course have to be the bearer of bad news for our lender. I call the EVP of Commercial Lending and get yelled at because he felt we misrepresented how easy the approval process would be. Back to the drawing board. - 9 am - 10 am
Finished with the lender presentation. After going over it with my CFO, I am asked to pdf the document and send it out to Hawaii so it will be in their inbox upon arrival. Meanwhile, the President of our company has decided that he wants to sell our 1200 acre site in the Mid-Hudson River Valley. He asked me to research the big buyers of real estate from Russia. I was able to identify many in addition to several brokers who cater to this market. - 10 am - 11 am
Market plunges. The House of Representatives has just rejected the bailout plan and the market is plunging. The President has asked me and the CFO to do as much research as we can on the implications of this event. In addition to internet research, I called several of our lenders and brokers to get their take on the event. - 11 am - 12 am
Conference call with our architects for the marina project. We were very dissapointed but life goes on and we need to come up with a new scheme. New proposals were made and I was asked to run some financial models on these scenarios. - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
I have a meeting with my project manager for the marina project to see how much and how long it will take to build out our revised plan. I need this information in order to run the financial model for the plan. We go back and forth because I am doubting his projections. After a long discussion on the cost of steel, we reach an agreement. - 2 pm - 3 pm
I have a long conference call with our marketing and and sales team in Ft. Myers to see the size and appetite of the current market. With this information I am able to figure out what the sales absoprtion and pricing will be for the revised marina project and I can incorporate it into the model. Our broker out there also mentioned of a developer who is about to lose their waterfront site to foreclosure. I jot this down becuase it could be a potential acquisition opportunity for us at a cheap price. - 3 pm - 4 pm
Market plunges. The House of Representatives has just rejected the bailout plan and the market is plunging. The President has asked me and the CFO to do as much research as we can on the implications of this event. In addition to internet research, I called several of our lenders and brokers to get their take on the event. - 4 pm - 5 pm
I get a phone call from the guys out in HI. Even though its the end of my day their day is just beginning. They've decided to phase the development rather than build it all out at once. They've asked me to run a model to see how much it would cost to build out just a portion of the site and what our margins would be. - 5 pm - 6 pm
I begin running the financial model for the new Hawaii development plan. Of course they need these for their meeting in the next 30 minutes so I have to do a rush job. I get it done faster than expected and send it out to HI right away. Hopefully there weren't any mistakes. - 6 pm - 7 pm
I could stay at the office longer but I am exhausted. I need to unpack, go to the gym, and just have some downtime before any later night calls from HI. I go to the gym and work out all the bad things I ate and drank during the weekend. - 7 pm - 8 pm
Get home, unpack, turn on the TV. I go right to CNBC to get a better understanding of what went on in the marketplace today. Wow, much worse than I thought. Hopefully my company is still open tomorrow. - 8 pm - 9 pm
I get a phone call from HI. Thinking their going to ask me to run more models, they thank me for turning around everything so quickly. The meeting went well and we got a 24-month extension on our loan facility. Good news for once. - 9 pm - 10 pm
I can't keep my eyes open. Tomorrow is going to be very busy so I call the girlfriend in San Francisco and tell her good night. I apologize for not being able to talk more today. - 10 pm - 11 pm
Sleep - 11 pm - 12 pm
Sleep