The Industry Is Hiring, But CRE Has Work To Do To Attract Diverse, Young Employees
The coronavirus-driven events of the past year have had profound effects on commercial real estate, including on the job market for CRE professionals.
More than three-quarters of commercial real estate professionals indicate they are open to a job change in 2021. That raises the question: What is the state of the job market today, and how can the CRE community keep up with fast-moving career trends?
One place to look for answers is the SelectLeaders Job Network, a site that enables CRE professionals on both sides of the interview desk to post or search for jobs and keep up with hiring trends in the industry.
Part of the Bisnow platform, SelectLeaders generates 9 million annual page views. More than 300,000 professionals have registered to take advantage of its job board, newsletters, trend information, annual hiring survey and more.
Professionals searching for the best jobs and employers looking to hire top talent need to know the trends most likely to impact job hunting and hiring in 2021. Here are some of the most popular job-related topics covered recently by Bisnow.
Parity, Diversity Remain Issues
One article from March reported that female CRE professionals have a tough time balancing their careers with childcare, and the coronavirus pandemic only exacerbated this issue. Meanwhile, minorities continue to be underrepresented in the industry, with a lack of mentors often cited as an obstacle to advancement.
Groups such as the Commercial Real Estate Women Network have helped members surmount career obstacles and grow professionally for decades. More recently, they have been joined by new networking and support groups such as the Black Commercial Real Estate Network and Asian CRE Network.
“We created something that we wish we had when we were much younger and getting started in the industry,” Asian CRE Network co-founder Jerry Won told Bisnow. “We want to help build our network and provide one for those coming into the industry.”
Technology Adoption Is Slow
CRE firms lag in technology adoption too. One industry observer commented that CRE is roughly one decade behind residential real estate in this regard.
“In recent years, people have come out of college with an expectation that there’s a technology system in place they can use to do their work,” SquareFoot President Michael Colacino told Bisnow. “Instead of saying, ‘I don’t want Salesforce to take something away from how I operate,’ new employees are saying, ‘I don’t know how to operate without it.’”
Those graduates are likely to be disappointed if the level of technology literacy at the office resembles something from the 1990s.
Plus, employers could be missing out on opportunities to connect with young job seekers where they are found. For instance, TikTok is beta-testing a new feature that will allow users to post video résumés to the platform. If a company doesn’t have a robust social media effort, it is likely to be at a recruiting disadvantage.
About Those Young People
A mere 4% of CRE employees are ages 19-24, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry’s dated approach to technology certainly doesn’t make it any more attractive to members of Generation Z. Compounding the issue, few recent college graduates see CRE as a career option. And if they do consider real estate as a career option, Bisnow reporting has found that they tend to think of HGTV reality shows, which represent a world far different from that experienced by most CRE professionals.
“I didn’t really know you could have a career in real estate. I didn’t really hear about it,” Rachel Horwath, a newly minted graduate, told Bisnow earlier this year. “There’s so much that goes into it. I try and explain it to friends, and nobody understands what goes into it.”
CRE employers that want to reach a new generation of talent are going to have to connect with students and convince them that a career in real estate is a viable option that will put them on a long-term path to success.
Attitudes About Work Are Changing
Young people are not the only CRE job seekers in 2021. The “great resignation” is a thing in this industry, too, particularly with many seasoned employees feeling burnt out and seeking a better work-life balance.
Concerned employers are responding by helping workers maintain better work-life balances. Improved benefits, the continuation of remote work options and extra time off are among the tools companies have at their disposal to help retain employees.
Whether they are seasoned CRE veterans looking for new opportunities, young graduates starting out in their careers or employers searching for their next great hire, SelectLeaders is a valuable resource, SelectLeaders Vice President Marc Torrey said.
“People can stay focused on what they do best while we focus on what we do best, which is to be an extension of companies’ recruiting efforts,” Torrey said.
This article was produced in collaboration between SelectLeaders and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.
