I don’t quite know where to begin. Let’s just say the Affordable Housing (LIHTC) group is the most dysfunctional group of people you will ever encounter in your life. I’m sure the rest of CBRE corporation is fine but this group that got acquired by CBRE a few years back has its own toxic culture that in any normal company would have been reported as illegal.
- toxic, gossipy, immature coworkers: I have never worked at a place that feels more like middle school than actual middle school such as this group. People have nothing better to do so rather they talk about each other and spread rumors behind people’s back. The most soul-sucking place ever because even if you don’t want drama, drama just comes to you. This stems from the fact that there is no diversity in this group. They hire a bunch of frat boys and former college athletes with the most close-minded minds and like to act superior who, chances are, were bullies back in the day and never grew up from that. Then there’s also the underdog that try way too hard to fit in and are willing to feed into the gossip so they can feel included. Literally a bunch of followers.
- everyone is overworked and underpaid without knowing that they are. When they first give you the job offer, they’d lowball you as much as possible and quote “you won’t add any value in the first year.” As soon as you start, they hold you to impossible standards and start making you feel like you underperform, pressuring you to ramp up at a pace that’s not what you expected. This way they can keep you at the same level forever and not have to promote you. This stems from bad hiring methods. During the hiring process, they don’t have clear processes to identify good candidates because they completely hire people based on stereotypes and bias.
- absolutely no advancement: there will be a ceiling and not just in terms of titles, but also in terms of learning and growth. As an analyst, you practically do the same thing you do 10 years later no matter what your title is now. Your peers elsewhere already make managers and have direct reports. You still are, not to be harsh, an analyst no matter what they call you.
- the work is absolutely irrelevant: do not be fooled by the title “financial analyst”. These guys and girls aren’t doing traditional corporate finance or fp&a or anything like that. It’s purely LIHTC underwriting which is the most niche area even within the real estate world. Folks who work there for too long get stuck aka “pigeonholed” and can’t find jobs elsewhere. Even if you get out early, it’s still hard to find another job having background in this random field. Avoid at all costs if you care about your career potential.
- this is the type of place that attracts lawsuits because of however many workplace rules it breaks everyday (sexual harassment, hostile environment, racial discrimination, etc.). If you are a normal human being, please do not involve yourself here. This place is hidden by the CBRE name so you won’t ever see reviews about it unless you dig up reviews from before it was acquired (read reviews for “tax credit group of marcus and milichap”). Do yourself a favor, save yourself time and mental energy by not even considering to work here. CBRE itself even hired management consultants to help try salvage the culture and morale of this group but don’t bother. If they want the culture to change, they might as well fire all the people that are working there right now.
