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Many job seekers believe that previous experience is required to get into the property industry. In fact, this could not be further from the truth, and many of our clients would now actually prefer to recruit inexperienced, yet talented individuals.
Since we commenced trading in 1988, Property Personnel have placed well over 1,000 trainees / graduates in the property industry, and we are now so successful in this area that we have a dedicated team of consultants who can offer such candidates the best advice, along with the best career opportunities, in the industry. Indeed, many of the trainees / graduates we have placed have been so successful in this industry that they are now clients of ours.
If you are unsure as to whether you are suited to a career in the industry, or as importantly, it is suited to you, then please read the information below. It should help you to make a decision, but if you are still undecided, then please call us on 01784 451456 to talk to one of our highly experienced consultants. You will get an honest appraisal, and maybe even the job of your dreams!
A career in Estate Agency - is it for you?
The purpose of this section of our website is to help you establish whether or not a career in Estate Agency is the right one for you. All those with a driving licence, read on!
QUALIFICATIONS: Not the most important requirement for the job, although many of our clients are keen to recruit graduates, as they very often have the ability to progress quickly within Estate Agency. Some clients offer specific fast-track graduate schemes towards management.
PERSONALITY: Estate Agency is a people industry, therefore, you need to be good with people from all walks of life. You should be confident without being arrogant, have the ability to remain calm under pressure, and possess excellent interpersonal skills. This is fundamentally a sales job, so it does help to have a persuasive but polite nature. Estate Agency is a dynamic, fast moving industry which requires a high degree of commitment and drive.
HOURS: Estate Agency is a service industry, therefore you should be willing to provide one! This involves making yourself available to the public outside normal working hours. On average, the hours tend to be 8.30/9.00am through to 6.30/7.00pm Monday to Friday, with varying amounts of weekend work.
SALARY: Salaries vary quite dramatically within Estate Agency, as what you earn will depend predominantly on successful you are. When you start in the industry you will probably be given a guaranteed salary for your first three months; this figure will vary depending upon the employer concerned, the geographical location and how much they value you, but will probably be somewhere between £15,000 and £25,000. Once you come off this gurantee you can expect to earn a basic salary of somewhere between £10,000 and £15,000 (though this could be higher) with commission on top. This commission can either be based on your personal sales figures, or on the office sales figures, or on both. In total, you should earn somewhere between £18,000 and £25,000 in your first year, although many trainees have earned much more. Ultimately, you control how much you earn, as your sales ability will be reflected in your salary.
THE JOB: You will be dealing with the public on a day to day basis, either on the telephone, or face to face. Your clients normally tend to fall into two categories; buyers (purchasers) and sellers (vendors). It is the vendor who will pay you a fee for selling his/her property. This fee is based on a percentage of the property price i.e. if you have sold the property for £200,000 and you are charging the vendor 2%, your office will have made £4,000. Subsequently, if you are being paid 10% personal commission you will have made £400. Getting to this stage can often be a bumpy, unpredictable ride and this is where you will need to call on all your resources to make it as trouble free as possible for both your purchaser and your vendor. For a more detailed insight into the day of an estate agent, please see below.
PERKS OF THE JOB: The job of a negotiator is varied, and is not desk bound. A negotiator’s day is divided between the office, and taking prospective buyers out on viewings. A negotiator will also be given a company car. This will sometimes be given on the first day, although usually it is an incentive that can be earned with the first year. Some of our clients offer other incentives such as private health care, mobile phones, pension schemes and extended holiday entitlements. Many companies not only reward their high achievers with excellent bonuses and commissions, but also better quality cars, holidays abroad and other such prizes.
PROGRESSION: Career progression in Estate Agency is based on performance. Therefore, effort and success are not only rewarded by more commission, but also promotion. Whether you commence your career in Residential Sales or Lettings, you will normally be on probation for the first three months. Normally at this time you will have a review, and provided your performance has been satisfactory you will become a 'Negotiator'. You will hold this position until you earn the promotion to a 'Senior Negotiator'. Provided you have been successful up to this stage, you are now in a position to start thinking about running your own branch. It can take anywhere upwards of two years before you have enough experience to get to this level, and how quickly you achieve this will depend upon the company you are working for, and more importantly - your performance. Managers earn a percentage of the turnover of the branch and very often the profits as well, and depending on the company and the location, a Manager will normally earn in the region of £30,000 - £50,000 per annum, though some earn well in excess of £100,000!
A typical day in the life of an estate agent
Firstly there is no such thing as a typical day in the life of a sales/lettings negotiator. However, the following should give you an overview of what you might expect:
Your day will probably start in the office somewhere between 8.30am and 9.00am. Usually the manager of the office will hold a morning meeting to discuss any new properties they have been instructed to sell or let with the negotiators, give an update of all existing transactions, and discuss any further news or changes that you need to be aware of. Having finished this meeting, the rest of your day as an estate agent will begin! This will vary from day to day, but you can expect applicants (ie: people who want to buy or let a property) and clients (ie: people selling or letting the property) to either walk in off the streets, email or phone you to discuss their requirements, and you will almost certainly also be out of the office showing applicants suitable properties to buy or let. Your success as a Negotiator to start with will, to a large degree, be dependent upon your interpersonal skills and your ability to build a strong rapport with the applicant in a short period of time, getting to understand their needs and tastes.
 The morning is usually the best time to make phone calls, so as well as everything else you will be doing after the morning meeting you will also be contacting solicitors to establish what stage each of your property sales has reached or, in the case of lettings, liaising with landlords and tenants to finalise the lettings contract. Keeping in contact with existing applicants on a regular basis is crucial to the job; lack of communication is a major criticism many clients have of estate agents. Every time a new applicant registers as a buyer or tenant they need to be informed immediately of any new properties that meet their requirements. Making appointments for your applicants to view these properties is absolutely vital. The majority of experienced negotiators will tell you that as an estate agent you are 'selling' the viewing, not the property. It sounds obvious, but it is a fact that unless applicants view properties they will not buy or rent them!
It is when you are accompanying applicants on viewings that your people skills really come into their own, with it being essential that you build a rapport based on the applicant liking and trusting you. As your results will be dependent on your viewings, you will spend large parts of the day out and about, but you will also need to keep in contact with your other applicants and clients so you will spend a lot of time on the phone, both in and out of the office. You will need to use a car to enable you to get to and from viewings quickly, sometimes with an applicant as a passenger.
If the viewing goes well, and you have been successful in your matching ability, the applicant may want to put an offer in on the property. At this point you will need to use your negotiation skills to get the prospective purchaser and vendor, or tenant and landlord, to agree on a figure. Once an offer from an applicant has been agreed by the client you will take the responsibility for seeing the transaction through to an exchange of contracts. This means liaising with solicitors, surveyors and financial advisors. In the case of lettings, you will liaise with the landlord.
Working in a busy office with a busy schedule can be highly demanding both physically and mentally, but the 'buzz' and excitement that this challenge provides is what attracts many people to this industry. Also, many agents find helping someone move into the home of their dreams highly rewarding.
Interested? Then please contact us now, search our database for suitable career opportunities, or simply apply on line now.
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