Interviewing For a Real Estate  Agent Position

Being a New Real Estate Agent can some times leave you with hard choices to make. Who should  I work with, and why? It is a very important question. All offices do things differently.

There are different types of agencies out there. Some are large franchise firms, small independent firms, and everyone specializes in some type of Real Estate. It could be commercial, residential, specialty agencies like buyer agency or seller agency only.

Many agencies charge monthly fees for desk space and leave you to pay for all your advertising and long distance or just anything they decide to do as their office policy. 

Find an office that is right for you. 

As an example: When I first got into Real Estate I chose an office that also had a vacation rental program as well as resort Real Estate Sales. 

Now granted we sold all types of Real Estate, however I also got benefits from my office having more than one face. It operated on four different levels. We had the rentals in our rental program, we also had the Real Estate area, then there was the maintenance to the rentals that we did, and last we had our own house-keeping. 

The reason I told you all of  that was to tell you this: My office did routine mailings and had a very substantial amount of business prominence to begin with.  That allowed desk space with out charge, free long distance and advertising to an extent. Larger companies with various faces can usually do this a little easier than the smaller firms. 

 The thing I probably appreciated the most, was an in house secretary that did nothing but wait on us hand and foot, she was great. My first office had many luxuries. 

I had had other friends that went to work for other offices that did not have such a good structured system in place and no secretary. Every time I would call a specific agent, I would get the same ole, same ole, "Mr. So-and-So is not in ", then I would get directed straight to the voice mail with out another thought. Customers got treated the same way I suspect. Other agents were not willing to take messages for the other agents. If there is no secretary I think this system of business stinks.

Ask about training, it is very important if you have no formal real estate experience.

Another thing to look at as far as I am concerned, is how leads are handled. Make sure that you understand the process, it can get messy between agents if the policy is not real clear. Even then it can become frustrating at times.

My advice is to read the office policy toughly, ask plenty of questions about anything you don't understand, take notes during your interview, have confidence in your self.