At Cambridge Finance, we understand that if you are applying for a job in a real estate investment firm, private equity company or bank, you are a highly ambitious person and may know some Excel tricks already. However we also understand that you can do more, and by acing your financial modelling tests you are already showing your prospective employer that you are prepared for whatever challenges they may throw at you.
The financial modelling test tends to be the first hurdle in any interviewing process for such jobs (after they read and approve your CV, of course); after all valuation and financial modelling are an integral part of the day-to-day responsibilities of any finance professional.
Tests can take from 1 to 3 hours, be sent to you to be completed at home or you can attend a testing session and be put under strict surveillance. From our experience, the testing sessions at the employers’ premises seem to be more popular in the UK and Europe.
Tests for real estate investment jobs tend to be very similar (rent roll calculations, gearing with low or null interim capital repayments, financial ratio calculations). So even if you do not pass the first test, the likelihood that you will pass the second is high, as you will have already practised it. But you will need to have a full repertoire of financial mathematics, Excel functions and modelling skills in order to successfully complete the tests.
As such, financial modelling has become the number skill that will make or break a new job offer in the real estate investment sector. So if you have recently qualified as a chartered surveyor or are sitting your APC soon, or you are an accountant, an architect of a generalist property professional, and you are looking for a job in the investment side of the property markets, join our courses as soon as you can. A financial modelling test will come your way sooner or later, and you’d better be prepared.
Cambridge Finance courses that will upskill your real estate financial modelling competencies.
Cambridge Finance Certificate in Real Estate Financial Modelling
Real Estate Development & Financial Modelling
Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis in Excel
Real Estate Financial Modelling Sample Test
Real Estate Financial Modelling Sample Test
If you need to practise, fill out the form below so we can send you a sample real estate financial modelling test.