Real Estate Career Fair Connects Students with Job Opportunities

The event connected students with companies such as, AAPL, CREW Memphis, CBRE, Heritage Properties Inc., Matthews CRE, McCabe Restoration, Old Republic Title, Oxford Rental Properties and Regions Bank. The event allowed approximately 85 students to directly engage with professionals and learn about workplace culture.

“We have brought in people in real estate from very different groups, we try to find a very diverse set of groups they can talk to, just to get different ideas,” said Charles Hilterbrand Jr., instructional assistant professor of finance/real estate. “Having events like this gives them different ideas of what they may want to do.”

The fair’s primary goal is to expose students to different real estate concepts and provide opportunities for employment. Having a broad group of professionals including landmen, mortgage experts and title specialists provides diverse perspectives to students interested in the field.

One of the professionals at the event, Kaitlin Grant, vice president at CBRE and president of CREW Memphis, emphasized the importance of understanding the different areas of real estate. Her firm focuses on commercial real estate valuations and appraisals, giving students insight into an area of real estate they might not know much about. 

“Being curious is really important because there’s always something new to earn, especially in valuation,” she said. Grant also advised students to start networking early and build relationships with people in the industry.

For many students, the career fair was a chance to begin building connections for their future careers. Michael Murphy, a junior finance and real estate major from Virginia, attended the event to practice his networking skills and distribute his resume to potential employers.

“I’m here to practice talking to people because I’m not used to doing this. Also, maybe making some connections to figure out what these companies are about,” said Murphy.

The event can be viewed as an opportunity to learn more about different companies and make meaningful connections within the real estate industry.