What a Controller at Clear Sky Capital Wishes They Had Known Before Entering the Real Estate Industry
Max, a Controller at Clear Sky Capital, wishes they had understood the diverse range of asset classes within real estate before entering the industry, noting "so many different routes," and the importance of considering "all the different parties that you'd interact with," beyond just the accounting team, for a good overall fit.
Career Exploration, Job Search, Industry Realities, Networking, Workplace Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Max Kazimierek
Controller
Clear Sky Capital
University of Arizona 2013
N/A
Accounting
Real Estate
Finance
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. The real estate industry encompasses diverse asset classes and investment avenues; it's crucial to research and understand these before committing to a specific area.
2. Networking and compatibility with colleagues are essential; interacting with various teams, like property managers or VPs of operations, impacts your work experience.
3. Thoroughly investigate the company culture and the teams you'll be collaborating with, considering the long-term implications of these relationships on your job satisfaction and success.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
I think I mentioned before all the different asset classes and avenues you could pursue. I naively just bucketed real estate into one category.
There are so many different routes. Right now, I wouldn't want to work at a company specializing in big-box retailer real estate, as stores are shutting down frequently.
I'm in a good asset class, but I didn't really think through all the different avenues available. Understanding that there are many channels you could go down for real estate is good advice to have early on.
In accounting, everything is downstream from everything else. When you're interviewing, you want to make sure you mesh well with the accounting team.
You also want to meet the people you'll partner with from an operations side. If you're a staff accountant, you'll likely partner with a property manager, speaking with them daily or weekly.
At a higher level, you might partner with a VP of operations. Making sure it's a good fit all around is good advice for any industry.
Think about the different parties you'd interact with and how that might impact you. Get a gauge for that before you jump into something.