Acquisition Pros See Few Want Ads
Acquisition specialists still hunting for jobs may not catch a break anytime soon.
Openings for senior positions started to dry up in July, and it’s unclear when they will become available again, according to principals at RETS Associates, an executive-search firm in Newport Beach, Calif.
Several factors are at play. Chief among them is the fact that most real estate players have already staffed up following the long market slump, which left many pros out of work.
Kent Elliott, a principal at RETS, said there were about a half-dozen searches for a high-level acquisition executives on the West Coast at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. But now there is just one, a holdover from the beginning of the year. “The firms that were prepared, that had the capital, that wanted to grow, they’ve made their hire for a senior-level acquisition role,” said Elliott.
Another factor is timing, according Jana Turner, also a principal at the firm. She said that uncertainty over the presidential election and the general yearend slowdown has curbed recuirtment. But she added it remains to be seen whether hiring will resume early next year.
Many shops are continuing to recruit senior analysts and associates, positions that are typically filled at much lower salaries.
