Zach McCarthy: What’s Next
This past summer, I was able to intern with CA Ventures, a student housing developer based out of Chicago, Illinois. I was extremely excited for a summer in Chicago and a chance to be on my own living and working. However, the coronavirus heavily impacted the job market and how internships would be carried out. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to stay on with the company as a remote intern. I ended up working from my parents house in Phoenix, which presented multiple challenges as both my parents are working from home due to COVID. Working remote certainly required me to follow up with employees about specific details in order to complete projects, and required me to schedule out meetings and time for informational interviews. Working from home requires lots of looking at screens, and I would certainly prefer to be in the office working. I think CA Ventures did a fantastic job keeping me included in smaller projects, while giving me larger projects to work on during down time. One of my larger projects for the summer was creating a university market scorecard, which will better inform the future of CA Ventures investments in different university markets. Hopefully most of you reading this will not have to deal with working from home, but the experience will certainly be what you make of it, and it can be a fantastic experience.
I never thought I would be entering a job market when I graduate that is dealing with COVID. A couple years ago, I was thinking that the office market would be the strongest asset class within Commercial Real Estate to enter. Now, the office market faces overwhelming uncertainty due to the coronavirus. The job market will certainly be more competitive this year than it was a couple years ago, especially with an industry like real estate that is extremely prone to coronavirus. I am excited to see where I will end up, and I really just have to stay patient until the end of the year. Real estate recruiting mainly happens closer to our graduation, and I will continue to network and apply to roles throughout the year. I have been fortunate enough to become part of the NAIOP Developing Leaders program through the Santa Clara Real Estate Association. The Developing Leaders program has helped me make great connections for my career within the CRE industry. I am also getting my CA Real Estate License on the side to learn more about real estate transactions. I am super excited about the chance of staying in California post-grad, and am staying open to any opportunities that may come my way.
As I enter the “real world” in a few months, I truly can not believe how fast my time at Santa Clara has flown by and that I only have two quarters left. I would advise undergraduates to reflect after each year of college and think about what they have accomplished and how they matured over the year. Hopefully, you future Broncos reading this are able to be on-campus, and I hope you have a fantastic Santa Clara experience!