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Real estate is a complicated and competitive industry. To get ahead of the game, you need to be able to communicate your skills in a succinct manner that will appeal not just to potential clients but also to other professionals who may be qualified for a position on their team.
I’ll discuss the best practices for creating a real estate resume for both new and seasoned agents in this tutorial, as well as give you free printable real estate resume templates and examples that you can copy and alter for your own resume.
Steps to writing a great real estate agent resume
If you’ve never worked in the industry before, writing a real estate resume can be pretty intimidating. What should it say? Will they ever call back? Don’t worry, we have you covered.
1. Instead of an “Objective,” start with a “Summary” or “Professional Summary.”
Your “goal” is self-evident. You are, after all, looking for a position as a real estate agent. It’s pointless to start your CV with that goal. Because they already know what your goal is, you should concentrate on swiftly explaining why they should choose you. Begin your overview by stating that you just obtained your real estate license and briefly mentioning relevant abilities and expertise (e.g. sales, marketing, technology).
2. Expertise (Emphasize Experience in Sales or Marketing)
Whatever your previous positions were, you must be able to discuss them in a manner that emphasizes your sales or marketing abilities. If you were a Marketing Coordinator, for example, you may have divided your time between PowerPoint and assisting customers. You should highlight the aspects of your career that included sales or marketing. Here are a few additional considerations for the Experience section:
- Make use of specifics. When discussing your previous achievements, you should be as explicit as feasible. It’s far better to claim you “raised widget sales by 15%” rather than “successfully sold widgets.”
- Emphasize experience working on your own or taking charge. Highlight any jobs in your CV where you have worked independently or on a freelance basis over your career.
- If you’re a recent graduate with limited job experience, don’t worry about it. Many brokers will still be pleased to speak with you if you are just starting out. You might emphasize your GPA or extracurricular activities that are linked to marketing or sales instead of past professional experience (creative writing, photography etc).
3. Educate yourself
In this box, state where you got any college or professional degrees. Mention any leadership roles you had in school or related extracurricular activities you participated in. Put it on your CV if you got a strong GPA (3.5 or more is an excellent benchmark). Consider taking it out if your GPA isn’t very good.
4. Emphasize your technological abilities
Real estate is becoming more tech-driven. Those who have experience with social networking, digital photography, video editing, and site design have an advantage over those who don’t.
For experienced agents, there are four steps to writing a great real estate agent or associate broker resume.
It is considerably simpler to shift to a different business and receive interviews once you have worked as a real estate agent for a year or two. However, you will still need a strong résumé. You’ll be able to negotiate larger commission splits and increase your chances of being interviewed at highly competitive boutique businesses if you have a strong résumé.
1. Instead of an “Objective,” start with a “Summary” or “Professional Summary.”
Always keep in mind that the purpose of any persuasive writing assignment is to respond to W.I.I.F.M. as soon and effectively as feasible. Your “goal” is self-evident. You are, after all, looking for a position as a real estate agent. It’s pointless to start your CV with that goal. Because they already know what your goal is, you should concentrate on swiftly explaining why they should choose you.
2. Expertise
Include sales volume or the number of deal sides if you performed well at your previous business. Brokers searching for experienced agents, after all, seek agents with a track record. You might mention sales volume in your cover letter or include it under each job description.
- Let’s face it: the first few years in this business are difficult. Because all brokers are aware of this, having a lower-than-average sales volume in your most recent year in the business isn’t a deal-breaker. Instead of mentioning an actual sales amount, use something like “raised sales volume by 35 percent from the third quarter.”
- Mention the farm area where you concentrated your efforts. Include details on your CV if you specialized in working in a certain community.
- Include awards and accomplishments. If you’ve earned salesman of the month, year, or most improved, be sure to include it on your CV. You may also include personal milestones or accomplishments if you didn’t win any awards. You may include milestones like “highest selling price in XZY area for 2015” or “listing sold in record speed” on your CV. The only stipulation is that you must be truthful. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever
3. Include memberships and continuing education.
Have you taken any worthwhile continuing education courses, such as web design or public speaking? Make a note of them on your CV. If you like, you may make this a distinct section.
Are you a member of the community board in your neighborhood? What is the mayor’s council? What is the Rotary Club? Include them as well in your CV.
4. Include Designations & Certifications
As a professional real estate agent, you may get a variety of certificates. Include any NAR E-PRO, CRS, or ABR certifications on your CV in a separate area (you can include these next to your name or in a separate section).
7 Resume Writing Tips for Real Estate Agents
Remember that your CV must first and foremost address the recruiting broker’s W.I.I.F.M. (What’s In It For Me?) query. To do so successfully, you’ll need a resume that’s clean, appealing, and simple to read. Here are a few pointers to help you get started.
1. There’s No Need to Reinvent the Wheel
There are hundreds of free, easy-to-read, appealing resume templates available, in addition to the two free templates mentioned above. On Graphic River, you may get templates for Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and high-end Indesign.
2. Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date.
Many brokers will look at your Linkedin profile to see whether you are connected to anybody in their network, so make sure your Linkedin page is up to date when you update your CV. Your LinkedIn profile and resume should complement each other.
3. Try to keep it to one page.
While your resume will almost certainly never be printed, you should still attempt to keep it to one page. If you can’t make it fit, don’t use really tiny fonts. Instead, use two pages.
4. Make it Scanning-Friendly
Successful brokers are busy brokers, so keep that in mind. Your objective is to respond to W.I.I.F.M as soon as possible. Before reading your resume, they’ll probably skim it quickly to determine whether it’s worth their time. This is why you should choose a professionally designed template such as the one shown above.
5. A Headshot Is Probably Not Necessary
In most circumstances, no, since your look has little bearing on the work. It can’t hurt, however, if you have a beautiful headshot and a nice template to utilize with it.
6. Proofread
On your resume, spelling problems, grammatical errors, and blunders are just unacceptable. Take your time to ensure that it is as precise as possible. Reading the resume backwards is one proofreading approach for catching mistakes you may have overlooked. You may be startled to discover errors that you overlooked the first time you proofread.
7. Don’t rely on Spellcheck to correct your errors.
It doesn’t matter whether a word is spelled properly if it doesn’t belong there. You could have meant “broker,” but instead typed “broken.” A spell-check will not repair your error since the term broken is spelled properly.
Why Your Real Estate Agent Resume Is More Important Than You Might Believe
The real estate sector is a little out of the ordinary. Because brokers do not pay their agents a salary, they will recruit anybody who they believe has the ability to sell property, regardless of their prior experience. As a result, agents, particularly young agents, believe their real estate background is unimportant. Nothing could be farther from the truth, though. Your resume is more important than you may believe. This is why.
Instead of giving you a salary, brokers spend far more important resources on you: their time and effort. This is why reputable brokerages recruit only the best candidates. As a seasoned New York City real estate agent, I can tell you that getting your foot in the door requires a strong CV. A nice cover letter is also required.
Final Thoughts
If you want to work for a top firm, whether you’re a brand new real estate agent or an experienced Real Estate Agent, or Associate Broker, you need to take your real estate resume seriously. Writing a solid summary, emphasizing on technical skills, adding ongoing education and certifications, and showcasing your CGI or GCI progress if you’re new are all things to consider.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I write a resume for a new real estate agent?
The most important information to include in a resume is your Social Security number, which you should place at the top of the page. You can also list skills and experience that will make an employer interested in hiring you.
What is the best resume format for 2021?
The most popular resume format in 2021 is chronological. This means that it will detail all your experience, qualifications, and education over the course of time instead of listing them in one sentence or paragraph.
