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Ultimate Guide on Questions You MUST Ask a Hiring Manager
Last week we talked about The Top 14 Interview Questions You MUST Ask Candidates for our hiring managers. This week it’s time to learn the Ultimate Guide on Questions You MUST Ask a Hiring Manager for those looking for a job. Whether you’re looking for your first job or are a seasoned professional, a positive impression during the interview is key to getting an offer.
When you ask a hiring manager insightful questions during a job interview, you demonstrate your professionalism, thoughtfulness, and commitment. Unfortunately, many candidates trail off when it comes to questions to ask a hiring manager.
We want you to end the interview in a powerful and impactful way. Here are some questions to ask a hiring manager and inspire your own brainstorming session:
1. What has the position been like in the past?
This is an important question to ask a hiring manage in an interview because if you are offered the job, you will have to work in the environment affected and shaped by your predecessor.
Perhaps this opening was recently created to support company growth. If that is the case, ask a follow-up question about who owned the responsibilities up to this point, and how the duties will be transitioned.
If you are interviewing for a position left vacant by someone’s departure, get a sense for what happened. Why did the predecessor leave the job? Was he or she promoted or internally transferred? If the predecessor left the company, ask about the circumstances.
On the same note, it is usually fair game to clarify whether the company is considering internal candidates for the position.
2. What would you want to see the person you hire accomplish in the first 3, 6, 9 months?
All too often, job descriptions present routine tasks and responsibilities. Asking about specific expectations and accomplishments can allow you to tailor the conversation to demonstrate your fit for the position. It also shows your commitment to adding value.
3. How would you measure accomplishments, and what could I do to exceed your expectations?
I like this question because it addresses expectations in concrete terms. Beyond stock descriptions of good communication and analytical skills, what does excellence look like for that position?
Read More: https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/13-of-the-smartest-questions-to-ask-a-hiring-manager
Contact Us: https://www.buildingrecareers.com/contact
Contact Carly Glova: CGlova@BuildingRECareers.com
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Southern California CRE Hiring Trends During COVID-19: What We Are Seeing
As summer comes to an end and we head into the fourth quarter of possibly the strangest year in our present history, we want to share with you the CRE hiring trends during COVID-19 we’ve seen in Southern California’s commercial real estate market since March 2020.
In mid March we hit an almost total hiring pause coinciding with mandatory lockdowns and most businesses wondering how COVID-19 would impact their companies both long and short term. Since then, hiring has been stop and go with the following being some of the top trends in the market.
A need for management: Once companies started to pick hiring back up, many needed additional support on the property and asset management fronts.
Opportunities for entry-level analysts: Solid analysts are always in demand and we’ve placed a number of entry-level analysts right out of school during COVID-19. With firms looking at limiting overhead costs and now having more time to train individuals with only internship/school experience, CRE hiring trends during COVID-19 show it’s been a rewarding time helping students who graduated during the pandemic find their first jobs in real estate.
Jack-of-all-trades: Companies who may have previously segregated roles are now looking for people who can wear multiple hats. For example, a company who may have had previously hired a development AND construction manager, may be looking for one person who now does it all, from entitlements through construction close out.
Personality and culture: In recent years, many companies have started acknowledging the importance of hiring the right personality and culture fit in addition to skill. In the last few months we’ve seen almost every firm emphasize the need for employees whose ability to align with the company and team culture is just as or, in some cases, even more important than skill.
Less growth: Hiring trends have pointed to companies adding to their teams less for growth purposes and more for replacements, additional analytical support and very specific construction projects. Life science and industrial are two sectors however that are experiencing significant growth currently.
Less layoffs: We anticipated seeing wider sweeping layoffs than we have since March. We’re hopeful this is a sign that many firms have the right plans in place to weather the storm and continue to be successful.
While summer is historically a slow time for hiring with vacations and people in and out of the office, this year being no exception as we all try to have some normalcy, we are seeing things pick up as we head into the fall. Within the last month we have had a large number of candidates reaching out looking to relocate to San Diego from various cities across the country. Many are using this time as a chance to reset and make the move they’ve been weighing for a long time. If you know of anyone locally or outside of Southern California that is looking for their next opportunity, we are a free resource for all candidates and happy to connect.
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The Top 14 Interview Questions You MUST Ask Candidates
When you interview an applicant, you have to gather as much information as possible in a short period. Gleaning enough about a candidate to determine whether they’re the best fit for a role is challenging — but by asking good interview questions, you’ll not only get a clearer idea of their skills and experience, but also get a sense for their conversational skills, problem-solving skills and ability to think quickly.
The best way to adequately assess a candidate for both skill fit and culture fit is to ask questions that are specific to the company or role as well as broader questions that give the applicant an opportunity to show their personality and ability to think critically under pressure.
Here is a list of interview questions you must ask candidates during your interviews:
1. Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your resume.
Job seekers carefully craft their resumes to provide the best summary of their professional experience, but you can’t learn everything about a candidate from what they put down on paper. This question is purposefully vague and allows the interviewee to decide whether they want to share something job-related or not. They may choose to tell you about their volunteer work, the sabbatical they took to travel the world or another defining experience.
The way they choose to respond to this question, and the story they share, can tell you a lot about the type of employee they will be.
Behavioral Questions Interviewers Should Ask
2. Describe a time when you had to work with someone whose personality or work style was very different from yours.
Being able to work well with others is an important part of nearly every job. This question gives the candidate a chance to show off their teamwork, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, including how they compromise, communicate and collaborate to achieve a goal or task. It can also give you deeper insight into their personality and work style.
Career Development Interview Questions
3. What are your long-term career goals?
By asking the candidate to discuss their long-term career goals, you can get a feel for how ambitious, goal-oriented and hardworking they are. Look for career goals that align with your company’s values, mission and/or goals. This question can also reveal how long the candidate plans on staying at your company. For example, if their long-term career goals can’t be accomplished by working at your company, it may not be the best fit.
Brainteaser Questions Interviewers Should Ask
4. How many jelly beans can fit in a suitcase?
This is a guesstimate interview question that doesn’t require an accurate answer. Instead, it gives candidates the chance to demonstrate their thought process. Pay attention to how a candidate attempts to solve the problem. Do they ask you additional clarifying questions? Do they break the problem down into smaller pieces? Ask them to think out loud to see their problem-solving skills in action.
Contact Us: https://www.buildingrecareers.com/contact
Contact Carly Glova: CGlova@BuildingRECareers.com
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Why You Should Choose Commercial Real Estate for your Career
Have you chosen real estate as a career and now you are confused whether you want to choose commercial real estate or residential real estate? There are pros and cons to working with both types of properties, but you have to choose the career that leads you towards success the best. Although it is easier to break into residential real estate, if you want to make more money during your lifetime, you need to choose commercial real estate.
Commercial real estate brings you the big deals because you are dealing with corporations instead of someone who wants to rent, sell, or buy a single house. Although you need to work harder in commercial real estate, hard work is necessary to be successful in every job, so why not get paid fairly for your hard work? Today we would like to tell you about the top 5 reasons why you should choose commercial real estate for your career over residential real estate.
1. More Commission
If you are dealing in commercial real estate, you will definitely make more money because the percentage of commission is more significant as compared to residential deals. The properties are more expensive as compared to a residential building, and the clients are willing to pay more because they need the property for putting their business on the ground. A commercial deal may take 9 to 10 months to be closed and fully funded, but it would definitely pay off commensurate with your hard work.
According to the National Association of Realtors, a commercial real estate agent makes $85,000 per year on average and a residential real estate agent makes $35,000 per year on average. You can see such a massive gap between the earnings and decide which one would suit you the most. If you can become a commercial realtor, you may even receive up to 100% of your commission.
2. Career Growth
A commercial real estate agent needs to have a proper degree to work in the market, which helps him or her to make full use of their knowledge in the field. On the other hand, residential real estate agents don’t need a degree. Regardless of college education, both types of agents are required by law to have a real estate license.
If you are working in the commercial market, you’ve got better chances to grow because you are in contact with different businesses outside of the market. The connections you make in the business community can lead you towards getting even bigger clients shortly.
A residential real estate agent is only in contact with small families most of the time, which cannot help them to take their career to the next level. Even if a small business needs to find a property, it would have to contact a commercial real estate agent, so you would be in contact with almost all the companies in your area looking for property to expand their operations.
Read More: https://realestatelikeaboss.com/5-reasons-to-get-into-commercial-real-estate/
Contact Us: https://www.buildingrecareers.com/contact
Contact Carly Glova: CGlova@BuildingRECareers.com
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How To: Maximize Your Resume Without Being Dishonest
Your resume has a single task— catch the eye of the recruiter and get you shortlisted from a bunch of qualified candidates. It is not an autobiography, but a sales pitch telling a story in a visually appealing manner, while highlighting key elements to get a favorable decision. It is not based on lies or fiction that can destroy your career. Here’s how you can maximize your resume without being dishonest.
Narrate your Experience
This is a sure way to maximize your resume. The recruiter is interested in what you can achieve and not in the job description of your previous role. So, don’t speak about how you were responsible for sales. Talk about reducing costs by 10% instead of being responsible for budgeting. Use a common XYZ format to share your story—in situation X, I did Y to achieve Z. For example, established the first overseas office, contributing 10% to the company’s revenue in Year 1.
What to Include
Make your story relevant and not comprehensive. Tailor your resume to the job description provided. Talk about latest job first —in reverse chronological order and keep education below work experience. Include your hobbies only if you are a fresher and can showcase your extracurricular achievements instead of professional experience. If you have 15 to 30 years of work experience, club the first 10-20 years under a single heading. To share additional details, include your LinkedIn profile, your website containing your design portfolio or your finance blog that demonstrates your market expertise and reputation.
Contact Us: https://www.buildingrecareers.com/contact
Contact Carly Glova: CGlova@BuildingRECareers.com
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CRE Survey Shows a Brighter Future
If COVID-19 didn’t halt the plans of commercial real estate investors, it definitely fogged up their view. The latest Investor Sentiment Survey by Colliers International has brought some much-needed good news though. Take a look the investor outlook and what has changed the most since the “complete unknown” on display in the last CRE survey.
“Investors are more optimistic, as there is more information in the market and a better understanding of where capital allocations will go and how debt markets are operating,” said Amsterdam. “Investors expect to remain in a low interest rate environment in the near-term, and with the debt markets showing positive improvement, this should set a sound backdrop for a resumption of sales activity.”
Patience is Still Required
However, the CRE survey respondents expect a return to transaction volume normalcy next year, with nearly half saying by the halfway point and a quarter looking toward the end of 2021. A slower recovery is expected for asset pricing though, with nearly one-third of respondents predicting a return to previous peak pricing in 2021, 35 percent in 2022, 23 percent in 2023 and 10 percent in 2024.
“The sentiment on deal volume is a very positive sign for investor psyche,” said Jodka. “There is tremendous capital sitting idle on the sidelines with investors wanting to get back in. Safety is paramount today. The durability and credit of the income stream is a top priority.”
E-commerce
This strong and socially distant demand driver, continues to propel the industrial sector. Rent gains are expected by 36 percent of Colliers’ survey respondents, up nearly 10 percentage points from the first survey. Nearly six in 10 have not changed their expectations for industrial returns, and very few (8 percent or half the rate of the first survey) expect value declines of 10 percent or greater.
“Industrial investors are more bullish, the optimism and strong investor appetite with this asset type are apparent,” said Amsterdam. “Where multi-tenant office is harder to transact today, multi-tenant industrial is not seeing that same level of difficulty.”
Many have speculated on how the work-from-home trend will affect the office sector. Colliers found that investor attitudes are brightening, with office investors less bearish than in the first survey. Almost 54.7 percent expect flat to 10 percent declines in pricing, but nearly three in four respondents noted that they need a higher return target. More than 13 percent of respondents expect rent gains in 2020.
The Retail Investment Sector
This sector remains a pessimistic place, with those expecting a 20 to 30 percent decline in pricing jumping nearly 20 points to 53.3 percent. The expectations for rent declines have gotten worse, too — only 6.7 percent of respondents, down from nearly 20 percent, expect less than a 10 percent rent decline — something not seen in other sectors in the survey. More than 93 percent of investors require an increase in their return target.
Multifamily Investors
They’re more optimistic in general, with an increasing share (21.4 percent) expecting flat to 10 percent rent growth. On the valuation side, nearly nine out of 10 respondents expect no more than 10 percent pricing declines. “We have seen strong investor demand for middle market assets, while finding success with strategic targeted marketing of properties. This is yielding pricing that is in line with, if not ahead of pre-COVID-19 levels,” said Jodka.
Perseverance is still imperative for CRE investors, but as the Colliers survey shows they increasingly have a better idea of where they stand. And they’ll use that knowledge to adapt their plans.
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The Need for Diversity and Inclusiveness Leadership in CRE
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, there was a renewed call for diversity and inclusiveness in CRE. It’s clear there is no more room for inequality and exclusivity in our country and in our industry. And fortunately, many leaders in commercial real estate are showing us the way forward.
Minorities Speak Up
When the recent protests over inequality flared up, Bisnow reached out to racial minorities to discuss diversity and inclusiveness in CRE. Leading the way, the popular industry news journal opened up a much-needed dialogue with the racial minorities working in CRE to better understand how they feel and what solutions to pursue. The responses provide a unique snapshot and roadmap for improving diversity and inclusiveness in the CRE industry.
First, they asked how it feels right now to be a racial minority in America and in CRE. While some responded with frustration that this even had to be a topic, many others expressed hope that this time was different. Many feel positive change is in the works – not only for commercial real estate, but the nation at large.
Next, they asked what CRE leaders can do to bring about a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Helpful responses poured in. A common response was to praise the various programs and organizations pushing for inclusion, like:
- Leadership in Engineering Equitable Participation (LEEP)
- Project REAP
- The Diversity in Commercial Real Estate Conference
- African American Networking Group at Keller Williams
- Boston CRE Summit on Equity, Inclusion, & Diversity
But the primary response was to stress the importance of awareness and dialogue. We cannot pretend diversity and inclusiveness in CRE are not real and valid concerns. Leadership in this area requires meeting the issue head on and then working on ways to solve it.
Other Leadership Examples
Bisnow’s project is not the only example of leadership on this matter. There are other notable members of our industry making firm commitments to diversity and inclusiveness in CRE.
- CREW Network, long an ally for women in CRE, has introduced measures to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for the whole diversity spectrum, including ethnicity/race, culture, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and age. We at Building Careers are proud of our involvement with the CREW Network and of the work they do to broaden our industry.
- CRE Finance Council, the trade association for CRE, described as the leading voice for commercial real estate finance, has issued a strong statement on diversity and inclusion. In it, they stressed the need for proactive leadership and discussed their creation of an endowment to “heighten diversity through increased opportunities within the commercial real estate finance industry.”
- Another San Diego local, Dustin Sutton, has created a group called the Black Commercial Real Estate Network (BCREN), whose goal is to provide a community of connection, idea sharing, support, and mentorship for Black members of the commercial real estate industry nationwide.
- The Real Estate Executive Council (REEC) was formed to promote the interests of minority executives doing business in the commercial real estate industry.
- CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services, created an in-depth mission statement dedicated to diversity and inclusion. In the various videos and talking points the mission statement contains, CBRE makes the point that diversity and inclusiveness in CRE isn’t just a good idea, it’s their competitive advantage. They point out that in an industry as diverse as real estate, there is incredible value in cultivating a workforce with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
The commercial real estate industry has a spotty track record on diversity and inclusion. But there is hope for the future. As leaders rise to the forefront and make the case for a colorful and varied industry, others are listening and following in their path. We can no longer pretend away this problem. But through tackling it head on, we can find creative and enriching solutions for a more colorful and expansive CRE.
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How To: Network During a Pandemic
In just three weeks, more than 16 million Americans have lost their jobs, and before the coronavirus pandemic fades, many millions more will become unemployed. And that leaves many with only one critical tool to recover their career: network during a pandemic.
To be sure, the normal routes we used—in-person meetings or coffees and networking events—have vanished. Here’s a sobering stat: until COVID-19, event planners were putting together more than 5,200 meetings a day, each with more than 10 attendees. And while the odds of hearing responses to new LinkedIn connections were never great, they are even tinier when people holding jobs are in turmoil themselves
Nonetheless, experts say there are still a host of systematic approaches to remind the business professionals you know that you’re around—and letting others realize you exist. But it’s all different in the era of COVID-19. And trickier. Here are some thoughts on how to network during a pandemic:
“Face-To-Face” Meetups
Networking is often done over coffee or during breaks at a conference, but meeting people in person is almost impossible at the moment. But instead of just settling for a phone call, experts say networkers should set up video chats to actually see each other. The video calls can make it easier to establish a connection and be authentic—especially with a new person.
It’s About Giving, Not Receiving
Nobody should start a network conversation with “I need a job.” Successful networking is about building relationships, experts say.
It can start with making a list of the possible things you can do for people in your network. Perhaps you can make a connection to an important partner in someone’s field. Or point to a little-noticed but important new research paper. Even small things, experts say, if done sincerely and are genuinely meaningful to the other person, can jump-start your networking.
Read More: https://www.kornferry.com/insights/articles/job-networking-search-coronavirus
Contact Us: https://www.buildingrecareers.com/contact
Contact Carly Glova: CGlova@BuildingRECareers.com
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