You’ve heard about speed-dating, but what about speed mentoring? On March 14, ULI Toronto invited a number of students and young professionals to participate in an evening of candid discussion with a diverse group of leaders in the real estate and land development industry. Attendees of the ULI Toronto 2017 Career Event got to choose to engage in casual conversations with four speakers by rotating at roundtables at 20-minute intervals to gain valuable insight into the job market, network with peers and meet a diverse group of speakers.

Held at the Toronto Region Board of Trade offices, it was the second year that ULI Toronto took the roundtable approach to the Career Event after its success last year. Right from the beginning of the event, there was a buzz of excitement, as participants eagerly planned and strategized which tables to sit at and which industry leader’s brain to pick, all while poring over the speakers’ bios and considering what questions to ask next.

After a quick welcome and introduction to the event by the organizers, at each table speakers abandoned the pre-set questions they were given to guide the conversation and instead decided to keep the discussion open, light and breezy. Speakers asked each participant at the table what their professional interests and aspirations where, and what they were looking to gain from the event. With this as a base, the speakers tailored their commentary on their role within the real estate and development industry and their own academic and professional journey to be of relevance to the eager faces around the table.

As I rotated around the room, listening to the lively discussions, a common theme in the advice from speakers was that the clichéd advice that people give you does work — “keep at it”, “don’t give up”, and “don’t be afraid of networking and speaking to people at events like this.” They noted that it is a competitive job market out there, but that shouldn’t be a deterrent. Instead, get out there, make those connections, and make a positive impression as to what you (uniquely) can offer.

After the event, I was reflecting on the discussion that evening and relating back to my own professional journey as a planner and the piece of advice that really resonated with me was from Chad B. John-Baptiste (Planning Manager, WSP/ MMM): “Be flexible. Don’t have preconceived ideas about a role, company or municipality where there may be an opening. Don’t be afraid to move out for jobs and locations that aren’t in the City; those experiences will give you a great opportunity to experiment and gain valuable experience.” Andrea Oppedisano (Planner, City of Toronto) echoed this advice: “You have to start off somewhere; get your foot in the door.”

It was truly an engaging evening, with valuable and practical advice offered to all those involved. The organizers went to great efforts to assemble a roster of speakers that had a passion for their work and city building.

Speakers included:
Ian Andres, Partner, Goodmans LLP
Sima Chavooshi, Business Development, Humphreys & Partners Architects
Hugh Clark, Vice President, Development, Allied REIT
Mehakdeep Dhillon, Manager, Development Analytics & Valuations, Build Toronto
Chad B. John-Baptiste, Planning Manager, WSP/ MMM
Lee Koutsaris, Director of Project Management, Sales & Marketing, Metropia
Ara Mamourian, Broker, Spring Realty
Dev Mehta, Associate, Quadrangle Architects
Andrea Oppedisano, Planner, City of Toronto
Lina Wong, Development Finance & Analysis, Dream Unlimited