NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Young CRE professionals should focus on what drives value in real estate in order to further their careers and prepare themselves for future success, Glen Esnard, principal of Esnard Advisors Inc., an executive CRE recruitment firm here, tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. We spoke with Esnard about how job candidates can position themselves for success and how the hiring landscape looks for young candidates these days.

GlobeSt.com: What are the most important things for job candidates to do in order to find future success and drive their careers?

Esnard: The most important thing you can learn in real estate brokerage is what drives value in real estate. If you understand that, you can think like your client much more effectively and advise more effectively. Go be an analyst, learn how to underwrite leased investment properties or how to be an appraiser. You'll come out of there with a far deeper understanding of how things really work from a client perspective. Then, figure out if you're going into leasing, sales or corporate work. I didn't learn how to do a discounted cash-flow valuation until I was in the business for 12 years, but it changed my perspective on how to advise clients.

The second thing is, once you have analytical experience, look for a company that provides you an opportunity to join a team. The old way was to train somebody for a year, then they kick you out for a year and you're like a cork in a stormy sea—lots of bobbing around. Find a team that's well led, that's very disciplined and needs a junior associate, and work your way up in that environment. You'll learn a lot more in a structured team as opposed to with an individual broker. You might as well build your career in that direction—pit takes a lot of the risk out and allows you to learn better practices and techniques. Your focus when you're young should be, “How much can I learn?” not “How much money can I make fast?” That part is nice, but it doesn't provide the right foundation for long-term success in commercial real estate brokerage.

GlobeSt.com: What should CRE brokers and professionals take into account when considering a change in career?

Esnard: To me, the most critical element in any career decision starts with leadership and culture. Define the environment you're going to be living in for a long time. If the culture is consistent with your personal values and practices, you'll be happier for a much longer time. If you're making a lot of money but are miserable every day because you have to work with people you don't respect, that's not a life.

Next, does the brand of the company help you? Does it open more doors for you? Does it give you a lift? Look at it aerodynamically. This doesn't mean it has to be a giant firm.  A small boutique firm that does one thing really well and has a reputation for that is good, too.

Next is do you fit? Is what you do important to them? Let's say you're an industrial leasing broker and they already have 20 industrial leasing brokers. Yeah, you fit, but is there a need? If the hole is, say, office investment sales, and you're surrounded by people who do complementary services, that's a really good thing. It reduces conflict and creates leverage for your business.

Finally, look at resources. Are they willing to support you? The last thing I would worry about is splits. If you have all those other things, your business is going to explode. Splits become irrelevant.

GlobeSt.com: What do hiring companies look for in their candidates today that they may not have looked for five or 10 years ago?

Esnard: Most organizations, managers and leaders are looking at the business much more strategically now. They look at where they want to take the organization and what are the talent and services they want to bring in to help them grow a certain component of their business. It isn't just body count—it's much more deliberate. What are our priorities, and how do we identify people who have those?

Second, is there a cultural fit? When new people join an organization, they either fit into the culture or they don't, and if they don't, they tend to erode the existing culture.

Third, with the advent of teams, firms need more people with complementary skills rather than everybody being a clone. Some of the old models look for a particular profile, but you can't build a team of three or four people around those who have the same profile: you need different skill sets. All of that has an impact on how efficiently and effectively the company is using their resources.

GlobeSt.com: What do job prospects for young professionals look like now that the economic recovery is in full swing?

Esnard: There's certainly more opportunity to be brought on board today because people are hiring and expanding, and organizations need more talent. Some are very actively recruiting young, entry-level talent expecting to grow them; others are looking for experience because they don't have the resources to train them from the ground up.

The flip side to that is I've seen lots of people who came into the business when it was good, made a lot of money fast and never developed the skills to survive when it got bad, and they leave. You have to build discipline, do things more right, work harder and smarter and do all the things you need to do to survive when things suck. Those are the skills and aptitudes and attitudes that stick with you forever and prepare you for other down cycles. Opportunities are there, but if you can get in when the market's bad, it's not fun, but you may end up being a far better professional because of what you learned.