Timesharing Your Expertise

Had an interesting discussion with a survivor from the RTC days. In the late ‘80’s, this gentleman was laid off from a civil engineering firm he’d worked with for the past ten years. Full time jobs in his field were in short supply and when they did surface, the competition was fierce due to the oversupply of candidates. He landed a few consulting assignments here and there while he continued his search for a full time position, but nothing of a consistent nature. He desired a more certain future... if not a full time job, then at least some type of recurring work he knew he could count on and look forward to. Any of this sound familiar?

Well, the solution he came up with proved to be unique, timely and cost efficient. Rather than pursue piece-meal assignments on a scattered schedule, he “sold” his services for one day a week to four companies, none of which needed a full time employee but all needing extra help. Just as today’s companies are doing more with less people, these companies could easily justify this arrangement to avoid overloading their regular staff. Plus, they knew what they were getting in terms of expertise each week and tailored the workload according to this person’s skill sets.

Our friend didn’t replace his income 100% nor did he reap the benefits of a full time employee, but the fractional strategy helped him survive the recession of the late ‘80’s. He also expanded his sphere of influence by working with four companies vs. one and was able to use them as references when the need arose. Best of all, he no longer faced the uncertainty of what lied ahead in the weeks to come.

There’s something for companies to learn from this story, too. We’ve made this case before: there is an amazing wealth of talent sitting on the sidelines, just waiting to be tapped– if not permanently, then part time. Not just line staff, but senior level executives from companies known for best practices. What would your company gain by hiring the former Corporate Controller from a national real estate developer for one day/week for a few months? Or, the former VP of Customer Service from an award winning home builder? Tap into the brain trust while it’s available.

How to do that? Well, we’ve got some ideas on that which we’ll be sharing soon. Stay tuned.

FDIC Opportunities, Part II- Navigating the RAC List

One of our recent posts focused on employment opportunities with the FDIC. However, most of those require prior experience with bank workouts and represent only a small portion of the total opportunities. For most real estate professionals, the gold mine of opportunities is with firms approved as primary subcontractors for the FDIC. These are the firms that actually manage the assets, determine values and strategies for liquidation, etc. For example, CB Richard Ellis is said to be targeting 600 new hires nationally for FDIC related projects. As more real estate portfolios end up in FDIC receivership, new positions will continue to surface with FDIC contractors requiring expertise in general operations, sales and marketing. Here's a strategy on pursuing those opportunities, sometimes before they've even been posted.

Step 1: The FDIC Receivership Assistance Contractors (RAC's)

The FDIC has published a list of firms approved to help with the management and liquidation of REO assets. The list is divided according to specialty or disciplines, some that appear to cross over each other. Your first task is to build a spreadsheet with the companies and contact names that could apply to your field of expertise. Don't be surprised if you end up pulling contacts from four or five of the listed groups; that alone should give you 30-40 potential employment contacts.

Step 2: Use Jigsaw.com to go beyond the immediate list

Here's an example of how to expand your reach with the RAC list: scroll down the RAC list to the second group that's focused on Owned Real Estate (ORE). The first subcontractor listed is CB Richard Ellis' Dallas office. A general email address is provided as well. You should certainly send your information there but I'd recommend going one step further by identifying one or two others in the same CBRE office whose titles indicate some involvement with asset management or liquidation. Using an online directory like Jigsaw will save loads of time and help you quickly identify who's who in a company. The monthly fee of $25 month is a bargain and allows up to 150 contacts to be pulled each month.

Don't stop there: use Jigsaw to determine if CBRE has an office in your local market... for example, Phoenix. Look for anyone in the Phoenix office with a title related to asset management, REO, distressed assets, FDIC, etc. If you find two or three potential contacts there, you now have 4-5 potential networking contacts vs. just one from the primary list. Repeat this for all the companies in your primary groups and soon you'll have 100-200 names on your spreadsheet. Note: make sure you capture the following for each contact: name, company, title, mailing address, email address and phone.

Step 3: Send each an email but don't attach a resume

Emails with attachments from unknown senders tend to get sidetracked by spam filters. You want to share the key details of your experience quickly and simply, without the need to open an attachment. Hence, we present the "Blackberry resume". It's clear, concise and can be easily read on a smartphone. Best of all, it's almost impossible to miss the keywords which really matter. Here's an example:

John... please keep me in mind if your future needs require a Phoenix based real estate finance professional. A brief summary of my experience:

• VP Finance- Gables Residential, a nationally recognized multifamily REIT
• VP Investments- Brookstone Capital, debt and equity partnerships for real estate projects
• Sr. Analyst- Deloitte & Touche, specialization in real estate and manufacturing

• BSBA- University of Arizona
• MBA- Arizona State University
• Licensed Real Estate Agent, Arizona

I'd be happy to forward a complete resume if you're interested. I'm available on a contract or full time basis. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Bill Smith

bill.smith@anywhere.com

602-333-5555

Step 4: If you don't receive an email reply, send a resume by mail one week later

Your mail follow-up should include a cover letter that is virtually identical to the one above; the only change would be to the closing paragraph ("I've attached a complete resume..."). Resist the urge to ramble or write something longer; it will do more harm than good. The cover letter needs to clearly define who you are, what you do and where. Keep it short and sweet for maximum impact. The goal is to detail your experience in as few words as possible.