and knowledge base—they’re looking to other companies to do
that—and firms need to realize that’s not a negative. If they want to
retain talent, they’re going to have to change with that person and
create opportunities that enable that person to grow.”
Curry adds that having an open dialogue with the employee to
ask what their professional goals are is key. “They may find a fit
where the company can grow along with the employee as well as
make strides in their market. Ask, ‘Where do you want to be in the
next year? In three years? What are your professional and personal
goals?’ As companies seek to grow in an industry, tapping into the
personal goals of those individuals can be a win/win.”
It’s important for hiring managers to outline potential growth
opportunities and keep young professionals stimulated and chal-
lenged from day one, says Endelman. “They want to be pushed,
and they want to be respected and trusted.”
Contrary to popular belief, Millennials can
be very loyal—companies just have to earn it,
says Pesek. “Young professionals tend to ‘work
for themselves’ even when they work for a
large company, and the most successful
Millennials take the driver’s seat of their own
career, rather than accepting ‘that’s just the
way things are done.’ The traditional corpo-
rate ladder has no appeal to this generation;
they prefer to have the option to zigzag as they
develop skills, interests and capabilities.
However, they crave a clear roadmap that
shows a variety of paths for advancement.”
Pesek adds that the best way to attract and
retain high-performing Millennials is to offer
multiple career progression options, all
clearly identified. “This generation, much
like Gen X before it, values opportunity over
title; they are quick to respond and excel
when offered coaching and mentoring pro-
grams. For that purpose, we offer extensive
online career-mapping tools and actual bio-
graphical success stories that show the many
different paths our senior executives have
traveled to get to their current positions.”
Sevim says identifying those candidates who have the capacity to
put in hard work with no shortcuts is essential. “It’s still a business
grounded in local market knowledge, relationship building, trust
and integrity—putting in the hours and listening to mentors.”
Scanlon says hiring managers should make sure finance/invest-
ment candidates they’re considering are not only skilled in finan-
cial modeling, but can also think critically apart from the numbers.
“We don’t want robots who just know how to insert numbers into a
spreadsheet. We’re training people to think about the assumptions
that go into it. There’s a lot of emphasis on the analytic part and
the thought that goes behind it. “
It’s important to realize that what motivates a 55-year-old profes-
sional is very different from what motivates a 25-year-old, says
Glickman. “Companies need to understand that working hard
40 Under
40
Congratulations
Local Market Leadership, Worldwide.
At NAI Global, we believe that global leadership in
commercial real estate begins at home. We are the
world’s largest, most powerful network of local
market-leading commercial real estate brokerage
and property management firms all actively
managed to work wherever you do.
Put the power of our local market
leadership to work for you, globally.
For more information about
NAI Global please contact
Jay Olshonsky, President
at + 1 212 405 2500.
www.naiglobal.com
Ry
a
n
Mi
ll
e
r
We proudly congratulate Ryan Miller, NAI Global
Executive Vice President for the Eastern Region of
North America, and in-market resource for business
development among NAI Global Members, for being
recognized among Real Estate Forum’s 40 Under 40.
The CRE
environment
has to be
thought of in
a different
manner. You’re
building up
intellectual capital so you can
provide a high level of service
and advisory to the client.”
ROBERT SEVIM
Savills-Studley
