{"id":396,"date":"2014-03-13T13:39:07","date_gmt":"2014-03-13T13:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/me.business.holycross.edu\/?p=396"},"modified":"2014-03-13T13:39:07","modified_gmt":"2014-03-13T13:39:07","slug":"for-the-love-of-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.holycross.edu\/business\/2014\/03\/13\/for-the-love-of-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"For the Love of Buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Real<\/a><\/p>\n

On February 24, Holy Cross alumni who have distinguished themselves as leaders in the commercial real estate business shared their wisdom, advice and experiences in a COES event focused on educating students about careers in real estate.<\/p>\n

James Whelan \u201900, Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Colin Blair\u201900, Account Manager in the Corporate Services Group at Cushman and Wakefield, described some of the opportunities in the industry before introducing keynote speaker John Power \u201980, Principal and Co-Founder of Fairley, White.\u00a0 Four panelists, Matt Harvey \u201902, Principal at Cresa Partners ; Sean Duffy \u201986, Executive Director, Brokerage, at Cushman and Wakefield; Catherine Britt \u201804, Senior Project Manager at Northstar; and Tim Mulhall \u201910 of Colliers International\u00a0 also offered advice on how to stand out as a potential intern and job candidate.<\/p>\n

As someone who has been knocking on the door or real estate companies for the past several months, I was especially interested in hearing their views on what it takes to break into, and succeed in, the industry.\u00a0 Their response:\u00a0 passion, persistence and networking.<\/p>\n

John Power, who has more than 30 years of experience in the field , sought advice from another Holy Cross alum,\u00a0 Bill McCall, \u00a0and\u00a0 described how standing in McCall\u2019s office, he became fascinated by the buildings he saw through the window.\u00a0 He began to imagine the possibilities for the building and knew from that moment that he wanted to be involved in commercial real estate. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cCommercial brokerage is the best profession. It involves no risk, and it offers high rewards. But you must be willing to invest your time,\u201d stated Powell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Here are some other insights:<\/em><\/p>\n

— All majors can apply.<\/strong>\u00a0 Both Whelan and Blair pointed out that commercial real estate offers opportunities for students of all majors and with a variety of interests, whether it is sales, finance, law, or marketing. Work ethic and personality matter more than major.<\/p>\n

— One building, many opportunities. <\/strong>Every building offers a range of transaction\/business opportunities: \u00a0sales, rentals, leasing, purchasing, financing, management\/operations, etc.\u00a0 This is what makes the industry so dynamic.<\/p>\n

— Learn the business first<\/strong>.\u00a0 Harvey stressed that new recruits should take the time to learn the business and not be frustrated if they aren\u2019t \u00a0involved in big deals right away. \u00a0Knowledge about the business will help you in future deals.<\/p>\n

— Sell, grind and build relationships.<\/strong> Duffy emphasized that every day you need to sell both yourself and the product.\u00a0 He reminded attendees that relationships matter, always – and that persistence pays off.<\/p>\n

— The Holy Cross advantage.<\/strong>\u00a0 Power pointed out that Holy Cross students have an advantage in the field because of the school\u2019s high reputation in the real estate industry. Mulhall added that his Holy Cross education boosted his confidence and gave him an edge because his writing was stronger than his peers.<\/p>\n

The lesson?<\/em> Holy Cross\u2019 liberal arts curriculum and the reputation of its alum can help open doors to a vast array of career opportunities in commercial real estate.<\/p>\n

— —<\/p>\n

Thanks to Kevin Kennedy \u201916 for covering this event and to all the alum sharing insights to the real estate industry! As always, don\u2019t forget to \u201clike\u201d us on\u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a> and follow us @HCPrebusiness<\/a> Watch for our next blog post…<\/p>\n

Cassie Gevry
\nAssociate Director, Entrepreneurial Studies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 24, Holy Cross alumni who have distinguished themselves as leaders in the commercial real estate business shared their wisdom, advice and experiences in a COES event focused on educating students about careers in real estate. James Whelan \u201900, Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Colin Blair\u201900, Account Manager in … <\/p>\n

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