Paying Tribute To NYC's Real Estate Market's Military Vets
This year has seen a lot of unrest and debate over what America is and/or should be, but on this Veterans Day, we honor those who have defended our freedoms and rights in the most dangerous of situations.
We spoke to five NYC real estate professionals who served to find out how their military careers have helped them in their new positions and what the real estate industry should be doing to continue to help.
Where/when did you serve? I served in the USMC Reserve from 2000-2006. I went to boot camp at Parris Island, SC, and went to the school of infantry at Camp Geiger, NC. Then I had active duty stints at Camp Lejeune, NC, from 2001 to 2002, and in Kuwait and Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
How did you make a transition to the real estate industry? I saw a job posting for an internship at my college's career services department, and interviewed with Shimon Shkury (my current partner) when he was at Massey Knakal. Shimon's a veteran of IDF, and I believe those similar experiences allowed us to connect right away.
What skills from your military career do you use at your job? All of them, but I'd say the skills I most apply are having the emotional resiliency to deal with setbacks, and the ability to adapt to a fluid situation.
What are your plans for Veterans Day? This'll be a normal workday for me, but a few of my old platoon members and I are hoping to get together for some drinks on Saturday.
What are the challenges of hiring veterans in real estate? Unfortunately, we just don't see a steady stream of veteran applicants. My partners and I have discussed being more proactive about it, but have yet to implement a real strategy. Someone I know in the business recently mentioned they're thinking of putting together a networking organization for veterans in the NYC real estate world, and I think that'd be something I'd look to leverage as much as possible to recruit new talent.
Where/when did you serve? In the Washington, DC, area from 1956 to 1958.
How did you make a transition to the real estate industry? I am a native New Yorker. It was easy.
What skills from your military career do you use at your job? You have to show up every day.
What are your plans for Veterans Day? Celebrate! It’s my birthday.
What are the challenges of hiring veterans in real estate? I’ve had none.
Where/when did you serve? In the US, I was based in Georgia and Fort Riley, KS (right near Manhattan, KS, The Little Apple.) I was deployed twice: first to Kuwait in 2001 (the Towers fell while we were there), and then again to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
How did you make a transition to the real estate industry? It’s a long and funny story better told with a beer. The short version is a West Pointer recruited me to work in Tallahassee, FL, in a residential real estate brokerage and development firm, but it became clear that New York was the place where I could get a sense of community and grow professionally. A co-worker mentioned his brother was being recruited by Cushman & Wakefield, so I went with him to a recruiting event at Florida A&M. The rest is history.
What skills from your military career do you use at your job? Discipline, hard work and the ability to work independently. You must be tough and never give up if you want to make it, and that applies to military and to life. I think, as a group, most veterans are hard-working, loyal and deeply care about the organizations they are a part of.
What are your plans for Veterans Day? I'm attending a Veterans Day symposium at Nasdaq. I'll also try to swing by the Veterans Day parade with a few buddies of mine from West Point and end the night with some buddies from business school.
What are the challenges of hiring veterans in real estate? Professional networking. Vets don’t have a network since they move around so much, and there’s not much connectivity between the industry and the armed services. I’m doing my part (as is C&W) to try to increase our impact. Hiring a veteran isn’t charity or "helping," they’re an asset to an organization and it makes business sense to bring them in.
Where/when did you serve: I served in the USMC in 1988.
How did you make a transition to the real estate industry? I served right out of high school, many years before my real estate career, so it was a pretty normal transition.
What skills from your military career do you use at your job? Discipline, motivation and hard work.
What are your plans for Veterans Day? Having a glass of wine with my girlfriend celebrating our freedom.
What are the challenges of hiring veterans in real estate? I don't know of any specific challenges in hiring a vet. The only one I can think of is that there are some time restrictions with active reserve veterans that may interfere with scheduling.
