Career Path Of A Land Acquisition Project Manager At D.R. Horton
Hayden's career path began with early internships, including one at a family law firm and later at Dick's Sporting Goods, which helped them realize their interests lay elsewhere. Following internships in architecture and then construction with D.R. Horton, where they "spent most of [their] time out in the field," Hayden found their passion in land acquisition, leading to their current role as a Land Acquisition Project Manager.
Career Exploration, Project Management, Internships, Networking, Homebuilding Industry
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Hayden Berson
Land Acquisition Project Manager
D.R. Horton
California Polytechnic State University
Environmental & Related Sciences
Real Estate
Real Estate
Video Highlights
1. Interned in various fields (law, retail) before finding the right fit in the home building industry.
2. Family background in home building influenced career path; started with internships in architecture and construction.
3. D.R. Horton internship exposed all aspects of home building, leading to specializing in land acquisition
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
I actually started my internships back in high school. I did an internship at a family law firm and kind of started that whole process earlier than most.
From there, I realized I didn't want to be in law and didn't want to go through all the extra paperwork. I then worked at Dick's Sporting Goods for a little bit, but realized I didn't want to do retail or spend my life folding shirts.
Then I started applying to the home building industry. My family has been in home building my entire life. I grew up going to model homes and running around the office, so I figured that might be where most of my skills would be best put to use.
I did an internship for Dwell and Architecture, one of the leading architectural firms in the country. I was their first marketing intern, and that was fun. I realized architecture wasn't really what I wanted to do, but it was a great experience. I met a lot of great people, and I still talk to them to this day.
From there, I ended up doing a construction internship with D.R. Horton. The cool thing about D.R. Horton is they allow their interns to spend time in every aspect of the home building process, from land acquisition through land development, purchasing, and all the way through sales.
I actually spent most of my time out in the field on construction sites. I spent time with all the different trades and city inspectors, understanding what they're looking for and how to keep a job site continuously moving to meet deadlines. That's where I spent most of my internship.
I really enjoyed the land acquisition part. So, I pleaded to come back during my winter break for a couple of weeks to spend more time with the Land Acquisition department. They were gracious enough to open up a couple of weeks of their time to let me spend more time with them.
That's really where I started and where I've continued to be to this point.