5 Tips to Strengthening Your Real Estate Resume

One of the biggest factors as to whether or not you get an initial interview is the quality of your resume. Your company will receive at least 100 resumes for each job opening. They need to whittle that stack down to 10 candidates that they will then interview.

To get through this pile of resumes, reviewers will spend maybe 30 seconds per resume and take any opportunity to throw your resume out.

​Here are 5 ways to strengthen your real estate resume. As a plug, our company also offers an incredible resume review service that will instantly take your resume from zero to hero.

Pepper your resume with real estate activities

As much as you can, you need your resume to scream "I love real estate!" One of the most important things you can do is get a real estate related internship. That should be the main event on your resume and should be 4-5 bullet points of solid information. Show any real estate classes you have taken, real estate case competitions you've participated in, MOOCs you've taken, etc. You should also talk all about your experience with your school's Real Estate Club. If you don't have a Real Estate Club, start one!

Show, don't tell

As much as possible, quantify your bullet points. Don't just say, "Assisted in the underwriting of commercial loans in compliance with the firms underwriting standards" but instead say "Assisted in the underwriting of more than 10 commercial loans which totaled $75 million in value". Also, don't talk about your day to day activities. People don't care much about that. Instead, talk about projects you worked on, changes you helped make, properties you underwrote, etc. This will show 1) that you had a fulfilling experience and 2) give the reviewer talking points.

Show that you are a leader

Real estate is a very entrepreneurial industry and managers expect their people to have that same self-starter spirit. Therefore, taking initiative is essential. Clearly show ways in which you led a team, a project, or a change (leadership is more than leading people). If you are an undergrad and lack experience, put your experience as the VP of your Real Estate Club as one of your major experience points.

Get some real estate education outside the classroom

People often bemoan the fact that their college does not offer any real estate classes. Who cares! There are plenty of ways to get real estate education. For one, take a real estate financial modeling course. This is a great way to demonstrate your interest in real estate and your technical skills. Start a Real Estate Club on your campus and make it a meaningful club (this will also check the boxes mentioned above). Enroll in an online real estate certificate program from a school like Georgetown or NYU. Take an Argus course (since this will be your new best friends as an analyst/associate). Take an unpaid internship at a local real estate company. And make sure you put all of this on your resume!  

Follow simple resume conventions

Here are our 10 resume commandments:

1. Your resume should only be 1 page
2. Show your education first and experience second (unless you are a working professional)
3. Don't have a summery section. This is pointless and a waste of space
4. Don't list your references
5. Follow the standard Wall Street format
6. Don't get cute with fonts, format, etc.
7. Each section should only have 3-5 bullet points. 2 bullet points looks like you gained nothing from the experience. 6 bullet points will lose your reviewers interest
8. Put the most important bullet points first
9. Make sure your grammar is perfect
10. Quantify as much as possible

Check out our Real Estate Career Guide for even more information on crafting your real estate resume!