Are you ready to gain hands-on experience with an industry-leading real estate company? Essex Property Trust, an S&P 500 real estate investment trust (REIT), invites highly motivated college students to join our 8-week, paid summer internship program in Corporate Accounting. This is your opportunity to support a high-performing accounting team, expand your technical skills, and contribute to meaningful financial operations that drive business decisions across the organization.
This is a full-time internship, Monday through Friday, with a pay rate of $26.00 per hour.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Support Month-End and Quarter-End Close – Assist with preparing journal entries, account reconciliations, and close schedules to help ensure an accurate and timely monthly/quarterly close process.
Perform Financial Analysis – Contribute to income statement and balance sheet fluctuation analysis by researching variances and preparing supporting schedules.
Support SEC Reporting – Assist with preparation of quarterly SEC filings including drafting disclosures and reconciling financial data to ensure compliance with reporting requirements.
Assist with Debt Administration – Support the maintenance of debt schedules, interest tracking, and quarterly reviews to ensure accurate accruals and reporting.
Reconcile Key Accounts – Work alongside Corporate Accountants to complete reconciliations in areas such as cash, investments, debt, prepaid expenses, accrued liabilities, and equity, gaining exposure to essential corporate processes.
Help Clear Deposits and Transactions – Learn to clear deposits, checks, and miscellaneous transactions in the Company’s accounting system (Yardi Systems) as part of daily accounting operations.
Support Cashbook Maintenance – Assist with maintaining the Corporate and REIT consolidated cashbook, including daily updates, investigation of unidentified items, and month-end procedures.
Assist with Audit Preparation – Partner with the team to prepare supporting schedules, workpapers, and documentation for quarterly reviews and annual audits.
Participate in Process Improvements – Help identify opportunities to enhance reconciliation schedules, documentation practices, and workflow efficiency across the Corporate Accounting team.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Education – You must be enrolled in a four-year accredited undergraduate program, majoring in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field. Rising juniors (Class of 2028) and seniors (Class of 2027) are encouraged to apply.
Skills & Attributes – Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent attention to detail and accuracy, strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Word, solid organizational and multitasking abilities, and a high degree of integrity, professionalism, and honesty.
Work Environment – This is a hybrid role, requiring you to be in our San Mateo office four days a week (Monday – Thursday).
WHAT THE JOB REQUIRES
A genuine interest in accounting, finance, and real estate
The ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team
A proactive, solutions-oriented approach to assigned tasks
Strong communication skills to partner effectively with Corporate Accounting, Property Accounting, Property Management, and Treasury teams
WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE TABLE
- A growth mindset – You are eager to deepen your accounting knowledge and gain real world experience.
- A team-player attitude – You enjoy working with others to achieve shared goals.
- A detail driven work style – You take pride in producing accurate and high-quality work.
- A strong work ethic – You take initiative, ask thoughtful questions, and meet deadlines consistently.
Essex provides great communities in which to live, work and invest. We are a purpose-driven company, and we pride ourselves on promoting an internal culture of growth and opportunity by engaging, enabling, and empowering our teams. Working at Essex is not a destination. It is a journey where you can confidently build your career.
New hires generally start between $22.12 - $26.20 per hour. The final salary offer will be determined after reviewing relevant factors, including but not limited to skill sets; relevant experience; internal equity; and other business and organizational needs.Top Skills
What We Do
Essex Property Trust, Inc., is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Since its founding in 1971, Essex has made a commitment to the vibrant coastal economies in which we operate, we continually push to innovate, improve, and add value to the lives of our residents, associates, and shareholders. Working at Essex is more than just a job. We believe our employees deserve a rewarding career with opportunities to grow their knowledge, skills and experiences, and we pride ourselves on five values to ensure we're staying true to ourselves and the communities that we serve: act with integrity, care about what matters, do right with urgency, lead at every level and seek fairness. Our employee experience is driven by an inclusive culture and a diverse team of people with common values. We pursue excellence at every turn and aim to re-imagine our people programs with technology-driven innovations, upgrading and standardizing how we work, and offering programs that allow our employees to achieve physical, mental and financial well-being. Working at Essex is not a destination. It is a journey where you can confidently build your career, knowing we’re always dreaming up what is next at Essex.
