What are you willing to do today… to gain the experience that you need… to create the career that you want?
That question has been bouncing all around my nerdy entrepreneur brain since we published my interview with Cory Phillips a week ago.
How many of us have gotten a chance in life that we don’t really deserve at that time? I’m reminded of so many opportunities that I received early in my career that I was unqualified for. As I reflect back on the people that chose to give me a shot, they often didn’t care what was written on my resume. My mentors chose to walk alongside me because of my willingness to do whatever it took to learn.
In our interview, Cory Phillips shares a story about one of his first jobs after college. Cory worked as a banker, and he really admired the success of a particular client of his. Cory knew that he wanted to move out of the lending side of the business into real estate investing. His client was the perfect person to approach for the next phase of his career. Cory took him to lunch to pick his brain, and he asked him for an opportunity. Not only did he ask for an opportunity… Cory asked for ANY opportunity to work with this real estate investor. He even offered to take out the trash at his client’s office.
Cory’s story reminded me of a story of my own. During the summer between my Junior and Senior year, I really wanted to have an internship before graduation. I was studying for a degree in Finance with a minor in Banking and Financial Services. Naturally my first target was to go work at a bank. I didn’t grow up in Laramie, so I didn’t really have many connections. I decided to make my own connections. I got a Yellow Pages phonebook and started cold-calling banks in Laramie, Wyoming (there aren’t many banks in a small town so it was a really short list). Finally, I got an interview with the President of the Bank of Laramie which was later renamed to: American National Bank. We had a great conversation over several meetings, and I felt like he might hire me to work as a summer intern.
I called back to follow up on our final meeting, and I asked Mr. President if he would hire me. He said that he really couldn’t offer me a job. The bank simply didn’t have the resources to hire a short-term intern. Translation: he didn’t have a training platform established for this role, and he didn’t want the distraction for the full-time employees. Beat it kid! (Just kidding)
In a split second over this phone call, I made a decision that changed my life… I said, “I’ll work for free!” I really just need some experience, and I will do anything (within reason) to work for you. I’ll work ANY job! Mr. President asked me to come back into the bank. When I arrived, he said that made a few calls and he could offer me minimum wage to work a summer internship. The biggest benefit of the internship was that he wanted to speak with me every Friday for a few minutes to hear about my learning experiences from the week. Our Friday discussions were some of my favorite memories from that summer.
Kyle Malnati’s Summer Internship
You don’t have to be young for this to resonate. This message will benefit anyone that wants to make that next step in their life. Sometimes you have to work for free, or you might have to do the low level jobs and do the grunt work to get the most valuable benefit… experience.
I have a saying around our office, “regardless of the money you made, no one can ever take away the experience you earned.”
I will ask you the question again. Are you willing to do the WORK that it takes – to get the EXPERIENCE that you need – for the career that you want?
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Kyle Malnati is a commercial REALTOR specializing in multifamily and investment sales. Kyle is a Partner and Shareholder of Madison & Company Properties which is a respected and established boutique real estate firm located in Central Denver.
Kyle and his wife, Courtney, reside in Centennial, Colorado. They have three children: Charlotte, Amelia, and Henry.
You can hear more from Kyle on the Kyle Malnati Show: Learn more about his real estate podcast.
Connect with Kyle on Facebook and Twitter.
– See more at: https://kmalnati.wordpress.com