How real estate recruiting works
Real estate has no single recruiting calendar: large firms post in the fall, smaller firms and regional brokerages hire later, and much of the field hires through contacts. This guide covers the main roles, how to prepare, a plan for each class year, and what Upwind's catalog shows right now.18,19,20
Real estatein Upwind’s catalog
- Internship listings
- Full-time listings
- Employers
How real estate recruiting works
Large firms run structured internships. CBRE lists separate tracks in sales and brokerage, finance, capital markets, property management and investment management, and Cushman & Wakefield's New York summer 2027 internship is a paid, eight-week program.1,4
Much of the rest of the field hires through relationships. Career offices describe real estate internships as highly networking-driven and note that most real estate companies do not formally recruit or attend job fairs. Larger companies recruit earlier in the fall, and full-time roles are often filled as needs arise.19,20
Internships feed full-time hiring. JPMorganChase says high-performing interns in its commercial real estate summer program may receive offers to stay, and Welltower reports a 90% acceptance rate when it extends full-time offers to its interns.5,8
The main roles
Acquisitions and asset management
Find and buy properties, then manage how they perform.21
Acquisition teams identify and buy commercial properties, and asset managers oversee their operation and performance once they are owned.21
The work is financial. Career offices list Excel, ARGUS and CoStar among the core software skills, and describe ARGUS as the industry standard.21,22
Development
Take a new project from concept to completion.21
Developers oversee the whole process of bringing a new project from an idea to a finished building.21
Some large owners combine development with other tracks in one program: Greystar's 10-week summer internship covers development and construction alongside property and investment management.7
Brokerage and leasing
Help clients buy, sell or lease property.21
Brokers and agents earn most of their income from commissions, and commercial brokerage is typically paid entirely on commission. Investment sales brokerages hire entry-level underwriting, marketing and research analysts.12,22
CBRE's sales and brokerage internship, open to juniors, seniors and graduate students, has interns researching companies and properties, keeping a prospect database current and preparing marketing materials.2
Lending and capital markets
Finance the investors and developers who buy and build.21
Banks hire for real estate lending. JPMorganChase's commercial real estate summer analysts learn to build financial models and write credit approval memos, and its full-time analysts join one of three commercial real estate lines of business.5,6
Property managers oversee residential, commercial or industrial properties. BLS notes that commercial employers prefer degrees in fields such as business, finance or real estate, and that most states require a property management or broker license.13
Appraisers value property from market data, inspections and comparable sales, and federal law requires a state license or certification for appraisers on federally related transactions.21,14
What matters and how to prepare
Excel first, then ARGUS
Employer postings ask for Microsoft Excel, and career offices describe ARGUS as the industry-standard software, alongside CoStar.4,22,21
Cash-flow models
Lending and investment analysts build pro forma cash-flow projections to underwrite deals. Practice building one before your interviews.22
Know the licensing rules
Agents must generally be 18, complete prelicensing courses and pass an exam, and the course requirement varies by state: New York asks for 77 hours, Texas 180 classroom hours, and California three college-level courses. Most states require experience as an agent, typically at least two years, before a broker's license.12,15,16,17
Join a professional organization
The Urban Land Institute, ICSC and NAIOP offer services, conferences and publications, and many offer student rates.24
Strategy and common mistakes
Strategy
Network before you apply
Students who landed real estate internships recommend LinkedIn coffee chats and real estate club events, and career offices say the best way to find an internship or entry-level job in the field is to network.23,20
Apply broadly
Apply to several firms rather than one, and learn each firm's property types and markets before you reach out.23
Keep searching into spring
Smaller firms and regional brokerages post from January, and much hiring happens in the spring, so a fall without an offer leaves most of the season ahead.18,19
Common mistakes
Stopping after the national firms
National firms post first, but smaller developers and regional brokerages hire later and often through contacts. Keep applying through the spring.18,20
Waiting for a job fair
Most real estate companies do not formally recruit or attend job fairs, so reach out to firms directly.20
Taking a commission role unaware
Brokerage pay is mostly commission. Read how a role is paid before you accept.12,22
Your plan by class year
First-year
Use the first year to meet the industry. Employers hold info sessions and coffee chats throughout the year, and real estate clubs run meetings and field trips.18,23
A few programs take students this early. Artemis Real Estate Partners runs a five-week summer program for rising sophomores and juniors, aimed at widening opportunity in commercial real estate, and its 2027 application opens November 1, 2026.11
What to do this year
Apply to an early pipeline program
SEO Career's commercial real estate track takes first-years, sophomores and juniors with a 3.2 GPA (a 3.0 may be considered), reviews applications on a rolling basis through the year, and gives first-years and sophomores access to externships.9,10
Ask smaller local firms for project work
Most real estate companies do not formally recruit, so write to a local brokerage, property manager or developer directly. Offer something specific, such as pulling comparable sales or surveying rents in a neighborhood, and ask for a few hours a week or a summer project.20
Get comfortable in Excel
Employer postings ask for Microsoft Excel, and the modeling and ARGUS work that analysts do later builds on it. A first-year summer is a good time to learn it well.4,22
Sophomore
Short online programs teach the basics. CBRE runs five- and six-week online fellowships for college students in areas such as capital markets, affordable housing and loan servicing.3
Start the search for a junior-year internship early: national firms begin posting in September and October of the year before.18
What to do this year
Apply to programs that take sophomores
Artemis's five-week summer program takes rising juniors as well as rising sophomores, and SEO Career's real estate track gives sophomores access to externships. CBRE's online fellowships add a short, structured introduction.11,9,3
Work for a local firm this summer
Much of the field hires through contacts and as needs arise. Ask the property managers, brokers and developers you met as a first-year whether they need summer help, and take on whatever research or leasing support they offer.20,19
Look into a salesperson license
If brokerage appeals to you, check your state's rules: agents generally must be 18, complete prelicensing courses and pass an exam. Brokerage pay is mostly commission, so ask how any role pays.12
Build your target list before fall
National firms post junior-year internships from September. List the firms, property types and markets you want before the summer ends, so you can apply as postings open.18,23
Junior
The main internship cycle runs from fall to spring. National firms such as CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield begin posting in September and October, more roles open in November and December, and smaller firms and regional brokerages post in January and February.18
Some summer 2027 postings were already open in early October 2026. Cushman & Wakefield's New York internship, running June 7 to July 30, is for rising juniors and seniors graduating between spring 2027 and spring 2028.4
What to do this year
Apply to national firms in the fall
CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield begin posting in September and October. Apply to several firms, and learn each one's property types and markets before you reach out.18,23
Write to regional and local firms in winter
Smaller firms and regional brokerages post in January and February, and most real estate companies do not attend job fairs, so contact the local firms you know directly.18,20
Practice a cash-flow model
Lending and investment analysts build pro forma cash-flow projections to underwrite deals. Build one before your interviews so you can talk through each line.22
Senior and new grad
Full-time interviews and offers for analyst, development and brokerage roles peak from September to November, and applications continue into February.18
Many firms also hire closer to graduation, as needs arise, and entry-level jobs keep appearing through the spring semester.19,20
What to do this year
Treat your internship as your interview
Internships feed full-time hiring: JPMorganChase says high-performing interns in its commercial real estate summer program may receive offers to stay. Near the end of the summer, ask your manager where you stand.5
Apply for analyst roles in the fall
Without a return offer, apply in the fall, when interviews for analyst, development and brokerage roles peak. JPMorganChase's full-time analysts, for example, join one of its commercial real estate lines of business.18,6
Stay in touch with smaller firms
Firms that fill roles as needs arise may hire close to graduation. Keep in contact with the local firms you worked for or met, and tell them when you are available.19,20
What Upwind’s catalog shows
These figures come from a read of Upwind’s catalog on October 3, 2026. 11% of real estate listings state a deadline between October 2026 and March 2027; the rest don't state a deadline, say applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, or name a later date. Too few listings state a deadline in this window to chart them by month.
Much of real estate hires on rolling or as-needed timelines, and smaller firms post later in the year, so an open listing may have no fixed close date. Check employers' own pages through the spring.19,18
The catalog files developers, builders, investors, property managers and brokerages together under this field, which is why a senior-housing investor and a construction company appear below.
- JLL
- Welltower
- The Rockefeller Group
- Gilbane Building Company
- Ryan Companies
- Harbor Group International
Counts are rounded down, and they count listings: one role posted in three cities is three listings. We can’t guarantee every listing is current, so confirm dates on the employer’s own site before you apply.
Sources
- CBRE. Students & Graduates Internship Opportunities.
- CBRE. Sales and Brokerage Internship Program.
- CBRE. Capital Markets Opportunities.
- Cushman & Wakefield. EIC 2027 Summer Intern, New York.
- JPMorganChase. Commercial Real Estate Summer Analyst.
- JPMorganChase. Commercial Real Estate Full-time Analyst.
- Greystar. Internships.
- Welltower. Careers.
- SEO Career. Real Estate.
- SEO Career. Apply & FAQ.
- Artemis Real Estate Partners. Impact.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Property Appraisers and Assessors: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
- New York Department of State. Become a Real Estate Salesperson.
- Texas Real Estate Commission. Become a Real Estate Sales Agent.
- California Department of Real Estate. Requirements to Apply for a Real Estate Salesperson License.
- Miami University Farmer School of Business. Recruitment Timelines.
- Cornell Career Services. Recruiting Timeline by Career Pathways.
- Colgate University. Career Paths in Real Estate.
- Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business. Career Paths in Real Estate Finance.
- Merage Real Estate Association, UC Irvine. Career Paths.
- Wisconsin School of Business, Graaskamp Center for Real Estate. Lessons Learned: Real Estate Interns Share Their Summer Experience and Tips for Landing an Internship. Published September 29, 2025.
- USC Price School of Public Policy. BRED & REFD Career Services.