JLL’s Patrick Baughman and Maren Christian are two early-career commercial real estate professionals who recently shared insights about their path towards a successful CRE career, JLL’s internship program and how young professionals can break into the industry.
Patrick and Maren, tell us a bit about yourselves and how you ended up working in commercial real estate at JLL.
Patrick Baughman: My original plan was to go to medical school. However, as my time at UGA progressed, the business classes sparked my initial interest in commercial real estate. Through a friend, I met [Executive Managing Director at JLL] Rob Metcalf, who helped me explore opportunities to learn more about the business. The summer after my junior year I secured a spot in JLL’s internship program, where I learned so much about commercial real estate, specifically brokerage, and at the end of my 10-week internship I knew JLL was where I wanted to be. I was able to work with the brokerage team remotely as I finished college, helping with various tasks and giving my time wherever possible.
Following graduation, I was hired on through JLL’s Analyst to Broker program, which allowed me to dedicate my first two years to learning the business and building relationships, both within and outside of JLL. These relationships I built early on were crucial to me growing into the role of a broker.
Maren Christian: I studied finance at Auburn University and initially thought I wanted to pursue a career in investment banking. It was through an internship the summer after my junior year on a JLL account in Charlotte that I fell into commercial real estate. That was a great experience for me, and like Patrick, I was able to figure out a way to stay on part-time while attending Auburn my senior year.
During that time, I began to focus on what exactly in real estate I wanted to do. I knew I wanted a role that would challenge me every day, but also one in which I could really invest in building relationships. I discovered brokerage would allow me to not only continue my passion for real estate, but also work on cultivating and maintaining relationships with clients.
I’m currently in JLL’s Analyst to Broker program, having filled Patrick’s role. He has been a tremendous mentor to me, teaching me everything he learned throughout his time in the program. Along with so many of my other colleagues at JLL, he’s been a great resource as I begin my career.
What do you value most about JLL’s culture?
Baughman: No matter what age you are, everyone respects everyone equally. At no point have I ever felt discounted because I’m younger or more junior. Everyone is open to working with me and I feel like they value my input.
As early-career brokers, we’re able to provide a unique perspective that prospects and clients value. As companies focus on attracting and retaining young talent, we’re able to chime in during pitches and on assignments with a Millennial/Gen-Z point of view.
Outside of the office, I’ve been able to form strong bonds with my coworkers and now friends. We go to Braves games, concerts, play volleyball in Piedmont Park during the week, and JLL even sponsors our volleyball team.
Christian: We have a ton of support from senior leadership to create a strong company culture through the events Patrick mentioned, along with the work that we do together each day. That’s one of the reasons our team is so successful. It’s important to work well with your coworkers and have a close relationship with them — both inside and outside of the office.
How can Atlanta companies better attract young talent?
Baughman: Office space has a lot to do with it, in terms of quality, location and amenities. If you relocate to a part of town like West Midtown, Midtown or the Avalon in Alpharetta — a location where you can go out for happy hours or just take a walk during your lunch break — it’s a huge draw for early-career talent looking for an environment they cannot get working from home. Once they’re in the office, they’re able to build those valuable relationships with their colleagues and peers that I was able to build during my first couple of years.
Christian: The way a company’s space is designed can be a selling point, too. For instance, JLL recently underwent a large renovation at our Buckhead headquarters that added more areas for collaboration and different ways of working. It creates a sense of belonging and makes us excited to come into the office each day.
If you create an atmosphere that is worthy of the commute, it encourages employees to come in and create culture together. Once that culture is in place, people don’t view the job as just a job; instead, it becomes something they’re passionate about and somewhere they want to be.
What does JLL’s internship program look like, and what advice do you have for the class of interns wrapping up their internship now?
Baughman: I’ve been heavily involved with the brokerage portion of JLL’s summer internship program, and we view it as a catalyst for getting talented college kids excited about commercial real estate. Although the internship has a structure, they get out of it what they put into it. It’s been amazing to see our class of interns this summer use their short time at JLL to learn and grow personally and professionally. While our interns may be focused on brokerage, we encourage them to gain experience within other groups at JLL as well.
Christian: In an internship like this, you have to hit the ground running to get a feel for what being a broker is like. JLL’s 10-week internship program provides that — a hands-on experience and understanding of how the commercial real estate business works. We’re here to teach them everything they want to learn.
We’ve also made sure to connect each intern with people they can go to with questions — both within and outside of brokerage. They each have an assigned mentor, which is a crucial part to the program. Seeing how much they have grown and learned over the past 10 weeks has been incredible.
What do you hope the interns get out of the program?
Baughman: JLL works hard to provide interns with real-life experience and opportunities to learn, and to introduce them to a broader industry network. We want to make sure they leave with a big-picture understanding of what CRE in Atlanta looks like and hopefully a desire to pursue a full-time position after graduating.
Christian: We want our interns to know they can count on us for advice and connections as they begin their careers, whether it’s within JLL or not. Navigating the time directly following college graduation is not easy, and as someone who recently went through what they’re experiencing now, I want to be the person for them that someone else was for me.
Baughman: We’re here to support these young professionals as they leave our internship. If they bring their talents back to JLL after graduating, all the better.
Learn more about early careers and internships at JLL or view open roles at JLL in the Atlanta area.
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