Women in Commercial Real Estate Conference

On March 31, we went to an exciting conference, organized by the New England Women in Commercial Real Estate (NEWIRE) and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). NEWIRE (www.newire.org) is a professional organization promoting the advancement of women within the commercial real estate industry.

The conference took place in downtown Boston at the new Fidelity building. It was an all-day conference for high school girls to learn about the many types of careers in commercial real estate and to meet diverse women professionals of all cultural backgrounds in these careers.

As soon as we arrived at the Fidelity building, we were warmly welcomed by the women who organized the conference. A big binder holding papers, nametags, and other goodies were placed in our hands. They even printed out business cards for us, each with our name and email address on it. There was a zing of success in the air.

Our day started off with an introduction and overview on how real estate is developed, and the different types of professionals who work together to develop a piece of real estate (such as a mall, an apartment complex, an office building, a train station, or a college campus). A developer is someone who comes up with an idea for a piece of real estate. A bank makes an investment in a piece of property by loaning money to the developer to make her idea possible. In order for the developer to start building, she must get permission. There are professionals whose job is to hand out these building permits. They ensure that the building will be safe and meets all regulations. Once the developer obtains a permit, she works with architects to design the building and engineers to design the mechanical, electrical and other technical aspects of the building. Construction managers work with contractors and suppliers to oversee the actual physical construction of the building. Real Estate brokers sell the property once it is completed. Finally, there are lawyers, who are involved in pretty much every aspect of the development of real estate.

Next we were ushered off with our different tour groups to learn about these career fields in more detail. We received mini presentations from various professionals, such as engineers, architects, lawyers, brokers, construction managers, and much more. It was so inspiring to get to meet all these successful women and to talk to them about their careers and why they follow the career path they took. I remember my friends beaming at how interesting their jobs seemed to be and how it might interest us to pursue some of those careers.

There was a break in the middle of our learning adventures to have lunch. During lunch, we learned about networking and why it?s important in job searching and in career advancement. We practiced meeting new people and introducing ourselves. This is when our business cards came in handy. We also learned about business etiquette, such as how to shake hands and how to interact with others in a professional setting. At first, it was awkward for us to practice these skills, but we believe these skills will come in handy someday.

We left the conference with a much better idea of how real estate is developed and all the job opportunities that are available. We learned that there is a lack of women professionals in these careers, and there is certainly a need for more women in commercial real estate. We really appreciate NEWIRE and CREW putting on this conference for young women to learn more about careers in real estate and to inspire them to someday pursue a career in this vast and growing industry. Thank you!