“What do you want to do when you graduate?”
It’s the question that brings sweat to a young student’s brow and sometimes tears to their eyes, especially when they’re juggling a class load that might include everything from Fundamentals of Accounting to Public Speaking. Giving an answer that defines your career path in a sentence or two is impossible, yet the question is top- of mind for most.
The two of us have had the good fortune of working for a premier multifamily development, investment, and property management firm, Kairoi Residential, over the course of the past couple years (Shah was a summer intern, and Roper now works full time as a development analyst). While at Kairoi, we learned many aspects of the multifamily industry and broadened our professional skill set. We learned about what a career in the multifamily industry could potentially provide to us and help shape our professional future.
These are our stories that we hope might lend some insight to our peers who are just starting out in the industry or are considering it as a career path. We also hope our experiences can become a guidepost to HR professionals who want to attract smart and skilled graduates to their companies and help them to succeed, the same way Kairoi did for us.
Shared Experiences From Shah
As a high schooler, I knew I was interested in business by my junior year, but I only moderately considered real estate. For the most part, I was very misinformed about the real estate industry. My information base was limited because I never forced myself to truly research real estate and discover the expanse of the industry itself. In my mind, real estate was all self-started, with much individual work.
Even though I considered going into real estate, a bigger part of myself was nervous that it was a risky endeavor that might not offer the diverse experience I was looking for. I was quickly proven wrong once I entered college. Starting college at Southern Methodist University, I immediately joined the Real Estate Club. Just through joining the club, I immediately learned that real estate has much more to offer. The Real Estate Club offered treks to different cities to learn about the corporate world of real estate.
By my spring semester of freshman year, I decided to go through Project Destined’s Commercial Real Estate Fundamentals Certificate Program, which offered me insight into the commercial side of real estate. Through both of these experiences, I quickly learned that the real estate industry is actually quite massive, which quickly increased my interest and desire to learn more about all the opportunities it has to offer.
In May, I was extremely fortunate to be offered a summer internship at Kairoi Residential. In this internship, I worked under asset management in the development section as a development intern. Though I had a general idea of the work I would be involved in during the summer, I learned extensively more about asset management and the multifamily industry as a whole.
One of my biggest takeaways from the internship is that real estate has opportunities that can suit many different personalities or skill sets. I was exposed to not only asset management, but also marketing, design, accounting, deal-sourcing, and risk management, all of which require different traits to be successful in the role. On my last day, I sat down and outlined these traits, discovering for myself that I could see a career in asset management, but also roles beyond this.
By going through the internship, I realized that many of these roles appealed to me and could fit my personality and what I am looking for in a job, beyond asset management. Overall, my internship with Kairoi accelerated my interest in real estate immensely and excited me with the vast amount of opportunities and pathways within the industry. Another takeaway I gained from the internship is that real estate is immensely rewarding in two ways. One is the connections you make in real estate, both in a company and externally.
Being able to collaborate with associates across all sections of Kairoi, from asset management to regional managers to accounting, diversified my own perspective on the industry. The constant collaboration also made work extremely rewarding because I was able to learn and apply from different people, causing my mind to think in different ways every day. Real estate is also rewarding because every single task you work on goes toward a development or a managed property that creates value for everyday people, in everyday spaces.
Sometimes it can be easy to get lost in work and not realize its impact, but in real estate you know which properties the work goes toward and how the work you do creates value for both the properties and the company as a whole.
Now, as I am beginning my sophomore year in college, I have been able to apply my knowledge and dig deeper into the opportunities in real estate.
My advice to HR leaders who are working to attract young college graduates would be to focus on the unique characteristics and personality traits of each potential applicant, and highlight more than one role that could suit them. More often than not, one may be a great fit for many different roles within a company, not necessarily the position one is applying for. I have observed that soft skills and one’s behavior is extremely important to many companies, as this is what sets one apart from everyone else who may have the same technical skill set, yet completely different personalities and character strengths.
Shared Experiences From Roper
When I first started searching for jobs in college, I aimed for a career in physical therapy or sports management. However, my perspective shifted after attending my first career fair, where I spoke with groups of young professionals about their roles. I began focusing on more well-known industries like financial services, technology, and marketing, as they seemed to offer a stable job market and attracted the interest of my peers. But when I met professionals in the multifamily real estate industry, I began to see a different path. I discovered opportunities that many of my peers might not yet be aware of but would likely find compelling.
When I started my career in multifamily real estate, I began at the property management level. The shift into real estate allowed me to combine my outgoing “sales” personality with an analytical mindset. I first worked as a leasing professional at a medium-sized Class A community, where I could showcase my customer-centric and marketing skills. As I immersed myself in the industry, I began to explore the drivers behind rental rates, renewals, budgets, and operational practices. After nearly a year in property management, I transitioned to a corporate role as a financial analyst intern during college, where I learned how multifamily growth is shaped by the real estate cycle, supply/demand, migration patterns, and many more.
Now, two years later, I work as a development analyst on one-of-a-kind, ground-up multifamily developments across the Sun Belt region. The industry fosters an “eat what you kill” mentality, requiring you to integrate niche strategies and innovative perspectives to stay ahead of competitors. Unlike many entry-level positions, multifamily real estate allows you to contribute meaningful work that directly impacts the success of a project.
These experiences have given me a comprehensive understanding of the entire project life cycle, from start to finish, and taught me to execute business plans at an elevated level. My view of multifamily real estate evolved as I saw the meticulous attention to detail that Kairoi puts into creating vibrant communities. Every employee I have worked with at Kairoi shares a passion for success and growth, and the opportunity to help create communities where residents not only live but thrive is something I wanted to be a part of. The growth I have experienced by being in the “Kairoi Kanoe” has propelled me ahead of my peers and positioned me for future success.
The multifamily real estate industry offers young professionals unique experiences, ranging from the hands-on nature of property management to the strategic complexities of real estate development and acquisitions. Regardless of your major, the industry covers diverse fields, including marketing, finance, sales, legal/risk management, accounting, and information technology services.
Working in multifamily real estate gives young adults the chance to thrive in a fast-paced environment, contributing to projects that shape communities and impact lives. The experience you gain in this industry is more than just a job—it’s an opportunity to make a tangible difference in your life and in the lives of others, something rarely found in most entry-level roles.
My advice to HR leaders who are working to attract young college graduates would be to reveal the numerous opportunities that arise from starting a career in the real estate industry at an early age. The real estate industry has a career path for many majors and allows employees to provide value to people and communities all over but if young professionals are not exposed to the industry, it will remain hidden.
