Career Moves on the Internet

Online Job Hunting... At the start of a new year, career introspection always hits a peak. Job compensation and psychic benefits are typically re-evaluated. What kind of meaningful career hunting is possible on the virtual pavement for real estate professionals? Are online job boards just for lower-end recruiting or can executive positions really be found via the Internet? According to one recruiter, 10 months ago, 90% of real estate resumes were faxed. Today, over 90% come in via e-mail. If a candidate can't figure out how to e-mail a resume, something must be wrong!

Surprisingly, the nirvana job site for real estate has yet to be created. Depth, geographic diversity and range of seniority are tough to find comprehensively in one site. The endeavor requires plenty of site hopping, as several of the mega-career sites don't specifically provide an industry search category for real estate. A quick survey of the major job sites that do allow a specific real estate search as well as a date check produced the following number of current postings:

In my opinion, the easiest-to-navigate job listing service for real estate professionals is still LoopNet's Job Directory. LoopNet allows the user to quickly drill down into 19 different sectors by choosing, for example, acquisitions, brokerage, development, legal or property management. Without a doubt, the company with the greatest posting visibility among all the job sites was Jones Lang LaSalle.

What trends can job seekers expect for 2001? Two executive recruiters, who specialize in senior real estate hiring, provided me with their perspectives for the current job market. Matt Slepin, a partner with Heidrick & Struggles commented, "the gold rush is over and no longer is there an exodus of talent from legacy to technologies companies. Indeed, the reverse is clearly in effect. In the long run, however, the pendulum will swing again and the dot-coms will find a stasis. When balance is achieved, the lines will blur between legacy companies and the technology companies, and thus between the people at legacy and technology firms." Tom Owens predicted the following outlook in the commercial sector: "Development managers -- replacement only as most firms are staffed completely; asset managers -- strong; property managers -- strong; brokers -- strong; corporate real estate executives -- weak; finance -- good demand, but only for the best." Happy hunting! Remember to start with the 47 job site links on the PikeNet Jobs Channel.

--Eileen Circo