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Real Estate Agent: From Executive Assistant to Real Estate Success: Karina's Career Leap
19 Plays10 months ago
This week, join us as we sit down with Karina, who's completing her real estate agent training. Karina shares her inspiring journey from being an Executive Assistant, where she focused on making others shine, to taking the leap into real estate, where she's now crafting her own personal brand and forging a career she's truly proud of. Tune in to discover Karina's insights on recognising the right moment for change and embracing new beginnings.
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Transcript
Introduction to A to Z Jobs
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to A to Z Jobs, the podcast that delves into the fascinating world of careers, one profession at a time. In each episode, we'll deep dive into a specific profession, exploring its history, requirements, challenges, and rewards. So get ready to expand your horizons, challenge your perceptions, and discover a world of possibilities. I'm Roxy. And I'm Nate. And we're excited to host you on this journey.
Karina's Career Transition
00:00:28
Speaker
In this week's episode, you'll meet Karina, who is completing her training as a real estate agent. Sometimes you can feel when it's right to make a change.
00:00:35
Speaker
You'll hear Karina's journey from being an executive assistant, having to make others look good, to now where she's building her own personal brand and a career that she is proud of. Hi, Karina. Welcome to our podcast. Hi. Thanks for having me. Oh, brilliant. Thanks for joining us this evening. We'll start with the first question. What do you do for the living?
00:00:55
Speaker
I work in commercial real estate as an assistant agent, specifically working in the tenant representative department, which everyone is always like, what is that? I don't understand what that is. And the best way that I can explain it is it's think of a buyer's agent when you're shopping for a house, it's the same, but for commercial spaces. So.
00:01:21
Speaker
A tenant comes to us and they're looking for a new office or an industrial site or a block of land. We source it. We negotiate the lease terms or the purchase.
New Role in Real Estate
00:01:35
Speaker
Yeah, it's a brand new role for me. So ask me again what it means in a year. I'll probably have a very different answer.
00:01:47
Speaker
but definitely bringing it back in a year to find out. The first thing that comes to mind for me is the barefoot investor talking about his investment properties and like where to start. You've just sort of joined that little connection for me of where would you even look? Yeah. And what size company is it? What sort of business?
00:02:13
Speaker
Um, you know, over the past few years, it's undergone a lot of changes. Um, and at the moment it's actually just the two of us, which is very interesting and new for all. Yeah. And in terms of, in terms of the daily, daily life, then what does your job look like from a day to day basis? Is there a routine or is it a bit more ad hoc? Um,
00:02:40
Speaker
Honestly, at the moment, it's a bit of a hybrid thing, just because when I decided to take this job, I didn't actually intend to become an agent. In fact, my whole life I've been like, I would do that. That's so not me. Here I am. Um, so the past few months since I left my last role to like, honestly, a couple of weeks ago, I've just been picking apart the business, which, um,
00:03:10
Speaker
you know, has been super interesting. And just finding new ways to improve processes and helping roll out projects that have been dormant for a really, really long time. But in the last couple of months, I've gotten more involved in really the agent side of things. So I, you know,
00:03:33
Speaker
uh, assist in or run inspections typically in the CBD or in sorry Hills or wherever, um, and work alongside my boss in facilitating the whole leasing process because I'm not technically an agent yet. Um, that's more in a administrative capacity or honestly, just sitting there and listening to him talk and learning the process. Um, but I am also studying
00:04:02
Speaker
for my real estate license.
Real Estate Training and Skills
00:04:04
Speaker
So doing a bunch of courses and stuff to beef up my knowledge as quickly as I can and just juggling that at the same time.
00:04:14
Speaker
Fantastic. And so what's, what's that commitment like? So the study, is that, um, it's like a diploma or it's a degree or what sort of? Uh, it is a, that's a great question. A certificate? I don't know. It's a, it's like a taste situation. Um, but I think, yeah, it's, it's a government program as well, much like a, an apprentice
00:04:43
Speaker
tradesmen, there's a similar, there's like a traineeship program for getting people into real estate. I mean, funnily enough, I'm sure that that's for like people fresh out of high school. But here I am at 30 studying and being a trainee.
00:05:03
Speaker
But, you know, it's great. It is an industry that my sister did exactly the same thing at 30. You know, she moved to real estate from being a software engineer. So, you know, like big change. Yeah. Um, it's, you know, something I've considered a lot. I think I've been on the phone with a guy at TAFE and Sydney a few times be like, well, how do you, where do you even get started in real estate? And I think that's, yeah.
00:05:29
Speaker
It is, it's a lot like that trade where you can get the certificate and there's the New South Wales license and that side of it. It's also really interesting. I found out that it's not just the one avenue as well, right? Cause you can go into like property management as well as the real estate side. There are so many avenues. I mean, it's really early days for me, so I don't really know. It'll take me maybe a year or two to actually get
00:05:58
Speaker
my to finish the course. Currently, I'm technically an assistant agent, which is the first five units of the course. But, you know, in a couple years time, I might take all that real estate knowledge and go move into workplace, something or other. I don't know, like that. I didn't realize until now that real estate was so much more than like someone selling a house.
00:06:27
Speaker
There's so much to it. You can go into surveying and the workplace safety, the workplace analysis, and then you could be working with people in the film industry, which I always go back to, is that if you're running a studio, the management of the studio, and some real estate agents also run that management, those contracts, and the health and safety around it, a company that
00:06:53
Speaker
I used to work at had a room that wasn't really a room because they didn't have the right contracts for it. And only the real estate agents really knew that. So it's not until we put like a meditation space in there, did everybody start talking about it. It's fascinating what you can get. You're just at the very beginning of such an amazing journey. Yeah, that's it. And I think it's also it's
00:07:22
Speaker
something that can take me no matter where I am in the world. Even if this is how I kind of rationalized it to myself when I was making the decision. Even if I do it, I get my certificate and my life completely changes. I have multiple babies, I can stop working, whatever. I can pick it back up.
00:07:46
Speaker
down the line or if I move overseas I know something you know what I mean it's just one of those skills that I think there's no it's very transferable negative yeah and there's nothing negative to me getting my license particularly if there's government funding to help yeah thanks government that's brilliant so what does an actual day look like for you
00:08:16
Speaker
It varies. Some days can be purely working on leasing documents. Other days I'm running around the city going to 10 different building inspections. I think it's probably a hard question to answer just because of how dramatically different every day is. And I love that because honestly it's kind of what I'm used to. My previous rails know two days look the same. So it's not been
00:08:46
Speaker
a shock for me. It's not been a huge change. It's just another crazy day in my life. It's probably a good balance then. So if you're looking for a career that, you know, there's always going to be the admin part, obviously, but then it's also getting out into the field. You've got that client fake facing. Focus as well. So it's probably a good, a good balance for, you know, the people person that does, you know, a little bit of admin, but then also enjoys that, that engagement.
00:09:16
Speaker
Yeah, totally. And that's the part that I love most about it, really. The people, not the admin. Can't wait till one day I have someone to do it for me. But my admin days are well and truly done. I know what you mean when you come.
00:09:41
Speaker
Are you feeling inspired by everything you've learned so far? Keep that momentum going with our four-part Career Change Made Easy course. Dive deeper at thecareerchangecoaches.com. Now enjoy the rest of the podcast.
00:09:55
Speaker
Mad Men, you just never want to see another Outlook calendar ever again, or as much as you put data into it. Just leave me alone. That's not me anymore, please. Yeah. It's like Outlook gives me PTSD. But also like the admin side of it is almost like that core skill you were talking about with recruitment. You know, it's that point that's put you in different places at the right time. That's helpful.
00:10:21
Speaker
Um, it's that trade that you can kind of lay back on, um, whenever you need to. It's, it's really good grounding for them. So how did you get started in real estate?
From Executive Assistant to Real Estate
00:10:33
Speaker
Well, my boss is actually also my dad. It's all about who you know. It's all about who you know. That's right. Um, he has worked in real estate for I think almost 40 years, which is a very long time.
00:10:51
Speaker
you know, across America, I was born there, my mom's American. So he worked there for many, many years. And then obviously Australia, where we grew up. And he's kind of that, you know, been there done that wrote a book about not actually wrote a book, you know what I mean? He knows everyone, we walk down the street in the city, and it's like, hi, hi, hi. And it's funny, because I've never
00:11:21
Speaker
seen the the businessman side of him because you know you don't if you don't work with your parents you don't know what they're like in a professional setting so it's been really shocking for me because i'm like oh my my dad's a big teddy bear but i'm like oh no he's actually this really well known respected big dog in the industry and it's really cool to have the opportunity to um
00:11:50
Speaker
be taught by someone like that, you know, and also to have the kind of relationship, obviously, because I'm his daughter, that I can kind of ask questions, whatever I can debate things with him without feeling like, you know, I'm fresh out of uni, not a leg to stand on, just want to please whoever I'm working with, it's
00:12:16
Speaker
It's actually probably a better learning experience to be able to talk things through properly. So he came to me however long ago it was and said, come and work with me. And it wasn't the first time that we'd had that conversation. We've spoken about it for many, many years, essentially my whole life. And I just finally said yes, and I think
00:12:45
Speaker
It's one of those things where it's just all about timing. A lot of things in both of our lives had changed, family stuff, good and bad. And I think that that all brought us together and made us make this big decision to start working together. And yeah, I'm really glad that I did. That's brilliant. That is.
00:13:14
Speaker
it's sometimes a rule not to work with your family but then in some situations it is so good because there's none of that awkward first couple of weeks where you're sitting there going okay I need to ask this question but I'm really not sure if it's the right time they always look busy
00:13:31
Speaker
you know, there's all of these like, yeah, sitting on the edge of your seat, if you're the polite kind of person who was always too nervous or too quiet. So it would take weeks to go, okay, I'm gonna ask these 10 questions. I've got to ask them this way. Whereas with someone in your family, you can just bounce it off and wait, no, hold on your answer is wrong. I've got to ask it differently. Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And it's a I think it's a really rare experience.
00:14:00
Speaker
So I'm grateful to have such a incredible teacher and mentor and it just so happens that he's also my dad, you know? Yeah. So you mentioned it's not your first job. So can you give us a bit of a snapshot of what, what the career journey was like to get you to this point where, you know, the experience you'd gain to then make the decision to make this, this bit of a, bit of a leap. Yeah. Um, so, uh,
00:14:30
Speaker
It's been a bit of an interesting life for me because, so for the past few years prior to this, I was a EA, specifically a C-suite EA. And it was something I just fell into. I think maybe from a personality standpoint, I'm incredibly type A, I'm incredibly organized. I like telling people what to do.
00:14:58
Speaker
Just, it was all of these things that made sense. And, you know, I had been living overseas in London and came back to Sydney, needed a job, saw one advertised, applied for it. And then five, six years later woke up and I was like, Oh, okay. Um, so I think, you know, being an EA is one of the most underrated
00:15:28
Speaker
overlooked roles in any company. And I think that you only learn if you are friends with the EA at your company. It is an absolutely insane role. It's insane. Like it's crazy. And props to people that can just do it as a career, like a lifelong career, because it really does take a
00:15:56
Speaker
particular kind of person. And I mean, it's also about the execs that you're looking after, the relationships that you have with them, of course. But yeah, it's it's absolutely wild. So on the flip side of that, kind of through all of the good, bad and ugly, it is also really niche role in that you get to hear
00:16:24
Speaker
every aspect of a business and it's a position that only other C-suites or very senior executives find themselves in. So you're not only learning through practice, you know, you're learning through osmosis because you're sitting in on these meetings and you're hearing these things and you're actually, whether you like it or not, learning how a business operates.
00:16:50
Speaker
So I mean, that's invaluable, right? People can work their whole lives in a company and not even know 10% of what an EA does about the exact same company. So I think second to that, no one knows how to manage a stakeholder like an EA. It's the bread and butter of an EA. So those two pieces combined, I think allowed me to build up a really particular skill set.
00:17:20
Speaker
which then allowed me to just move into pretty much any other role, I think, with incredibly transferable skills. How most definitely. That stakeholder management, it's going to be with you for life. Are you going to? Yes. How to manage everyone upwards, backwards, sideways. You'll be across it. That's right. Yeah.
Career Shift Realization
00:17:42
Speaker
And what was that, was there a pivotal moment or when did, was there like a clear, okay, this is my time to leave and this opportunity came up at the same time or were you actively seeking new opportunities? I'm just, I always love to hear about the decision process and sort of the way things fall into place.
00:18:01
Speaker
I mean, I think I always knew that being an EA wasn't a lifelong thing for me, but I didn't know what the other side of that looked like. You know, there are a million things that I think would be fun to do, but whether or not I was actually ever going to do them is a completely different question. You never know. You still have this kind of time. You're still playing. Sure. No, that's right. Yeah, you never know. You never know. But I kind of was in that role and
00:18:30
Speaker
I think I was good at it, so it's just easier to keep going, right, than try and face the music of what am I actually gonna do with the rest of my life, because this isn't it. And it's not that I didn't like it, it's just I just reached my capacity and I just didn't feel like I could give what needed, you know what I mean? It just, I just,
00:19:02
Speaker
Yeah. It gets to a peaking point where you get to a point in your career that that's it.
00:19:09
Speaker
you know, you've done what you want to, you've been in it and in some ways you've been in it longer than you really should have because you're comfortable, you understood the role, you understand the process and you look for similar things because that's what life sort of makes you feel. You want to put yourself in a better spot whereas standing on the edge and trying a different role altogether or even, you know, saying yes to your dad, it's a whole different trajectory, it's a whole different way of thinking and
00:19:38
Speaker
you have to kind of reach that peak in your career of, okay, I've been here for two years, I've been here for six, or I've even been here for six months, and this isn't really what I'm incredibly keen on. I'm good at it, and I love it, but it's not what I'm keen on doing right now, which is awesome. Yeah. It's a pretty scary tunnel to be looking down, you know, having spent
00:20:05
Speaker
however many years on one career path and then all of a sudden realizing that there's no, cause being an EA is a bit of a glass ceiling. I'm not going to become the COO, you know, and like, what's the next step after? I mean, I could if I wanted to, but not at, you know, what's the next step? There's no like executive senior EA. Like it's just like you're either a PA or an EA and EA is the most senior.
00:20:35
Speaker
And that's it. So I think for me, it wasn't enough. And I didn't feel like I was working for myself anymore. It was just for the success of other people. And I think that realization, that outside of the great times and the learning and whatever,
00:21:04
Speaker
outside of the great things that I got from being an EA, ultimately, at the end of the day, everything that I was doing was for the success of whatever executive I was looking after. And is that really what I wanted with my life? No. So when my dad came to me, I had timeline is just
00:21:32
Speaker
so bad but i think it was i had gone to japan for christmas got engaged um and had come home and a couple of other family things had happened and he just sat me down very formally like invited me out to lunch and had a proper conversation and i think
00:22:00
Speaker
No matter how many times in the past we had spoken about me working for him, this was the first time that it was almost like you scheduled a meeting with me. Like I knew he meant business and having very recently at that time come to the realization that I was at the top of what I could do as an EA. It was just this perfect storm of
00:22:25
Speaker
What am I doing with my life? And then it kind of being not handed to me, but the universe handed it to me, right? That it just so happened that he, according to my mum, had, you know, been debating how to ask me for however many months. And it's like we were both kind of just on parallel paths looking for the same thing.
00:22:51
Speaker
It's funny how the universe sometimes just lines everything up. It's just weird. It pushes you in a direction to take that leap. For me, it's like your apartment was coming to an end in Sydney and all of these things that there was five or six different aspects that I couldn't control. But then when, OK, well, I've got to take the leap. I'm going to do it now. And that's that. And sometimes the universe just gives you that little bit of a
00:23:19
Speaker
I'll push. And it's needed. We need to do a podcast on Roxy and I on our career moments, but that was the same thing for us. I had just moved to Hong Kong and all these new experiences and just was at the same point sort of reevaluating everything. At the same time, Roxy was having a debrief with me saying,
00:23:43
Speaker
all this stuff is happening but I've got this little idea and then from there we you know it all lined up we were both in the same mindset at the same time and happened to be having a conversation that week and it's just fascinating how see our question doesn't line up or or you just you get to a point where you're more open minded your mindset's more open and you're more you're more open to suggestions
00:24:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think it's a bit of column A bit of column B, right? I think if, if my dad had come to me, even six months ago, I would have said no, I really would have because I never in a million years saw myself being a corporate girl. You know, like I've been, I've, I've always worked in creative industries. And so I've gone from.
00:24:35
Speaker
baggy jeans and sneakers to a pencil skirt and high heels every day. I never thought this would be me but then now that I'm on this side of it I'm like oh no it's
00:24:46
Speaker
It is. That was the most disappointing part of the creative industry for me. I wanted to be in the suit. And then when you met me, I'm that baggy t-shirt. Everyone is. I remember my first day at one of my previous roles, I
00:25:08
Speaker
I came to orientation in, this is such a stupid story. I came to orientation in boots that had a little heel and the looks that I got, it was like, like I was an alien. And from that day on, I was like, all right, sneakers it is. I turned up in a full dress and a whole outfit and everything. And yeah, the recruiter at the end went, I'm going to get you to come up for a follow-up interview, but just wear something more comfortable next time. Crazy.
00:25:37
Speaker
And then from that point on, yeah. I was wearing a suit. But the worst part was I knew someone at the company and they didn't warn me dressed down for the interview. Oh no! In the middle of summer I could have been more comfortable.
00:25:53
Speaker
See, when I used to be a recruitment coordinator, I used to send in the email, we are not a corporate company. You can wear your pajamas if you want to. That's good, you should do that. Yeah. That's great. I used to greet people with a shiny pineapple shirt on, so really. So it's really early days, but what's one of the favorite things about your new role?
Networking and Personal Growth
00:26:21
Speaker
I think just...
00:26:23
Speaker
meeting new people. You know, every time I go on an inspection or an event or whatever, I'm meeting people that I in no other world would have ever crossed paths with. And I really enjoy that part of the role. I think
00:26:47
Speaker
What drew me to being an EA and what is currently drawing me to being a real estate agent is just being able to speak to people all day because I love to have a chat. And if I can get paid to do that, then great. Definitely. I think we need to send you with some of our cards to find some podcast guests. Recruit podcast recruiter. Add it to the single.
00:27:16
Speaker
Do I get a 10% cut? But it is, it's the best part, the networking, the getting to know people. And I'm sure that, you know, as you keep going in the next couple of years, you'll probably find some fascinating stories and some people with interesting jobs and roles and
00:27:36
Speaker
you know, and all of that stuff that you're kind of looking under the hood, just like you were in your business as an exec assistant, you were sort of like the fly on the wall sort of situation. And now you get to look under the hood of what other people are doing and how they do it. Yeah. Um, and I think, I don't know if this is the right word for it, but I'm finding it quite empowering.
00:28:05
Speaker
to no longer just be the fly on the wall or no longer be the person behind the other person. It's the first proper job I've really ever had that is just me. I'm just working kind of promoting myself and doing things for me and being Karina versus my EA, you know? And it's, yeah.
00:28:33
Speaker
It's a really good feeling. It is, yeah. When you spend years looking after someone and how they run and your whole life is sort of about their mental health, their career, their life, and in some cases, their personal life because you're so involved. And then to come away from it and start another job where you can breathe a bit, it's not almost a 24-hour feeling. You can kind of go, okay, you know, this is,
00:29:02
Speaker
It's not easier, but it feels easier because you're not attached. You've got that wonderful feeling that you can do what you need to do, do what you want to do, and you're not waiting on other people's decisions and opinions, which is... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. And it took me, like, I'd say, quite a while to... You feel like you're doing something wrong. ...decompress. Yeah. Oh, my God. All the time.
00:29:32
Speaker
I would ask my dad if it was okay for me to go on a lunch break and he just did not understand. And I'm like, it's because I come from a world where you always have to be available. Always. It is 24 seven. And so to not be so tethered to some communication line was not only shocking, but like quite honestly life changing. I think for my mental health and
00:30:01
Speaker
my relationships with the people around me, just like my ability to be more present in my own life completely changed once I was no longer attached to the hit to somebody else. You feel like you've got a lot of spare time that you're missing out on something and you've forgotten something. It takes a long time to get over that feeling. It is so hard. Yeah.
00:30:29
Speaker
But it's so good once you do. And the nice feeling is that you don't feel like someone's chasing you as well. So you've got a lot more freedom in your job. You can go on that lunch break. And if that lunch breaks a bit longer, somewhat. Yeah, literally. But I still, if I'm five minutes over an hour, I'm like, oh, god. I'm going to get totally off. I don't know if that's just me being not a rule breaker or if it's that. I don't know. We'll see.
00:30:59
Speaker
I'm still the same way. Even with the baby and her husband trying to extend it out. Not happening. Gonna go back to work. Sorry guys. So still new obviously, but is there anything that stands out as a negative yet? Have you sort of started with anything that you don't like about the new career? Yes, but it probably says more about me than anything else. I think that
00:31:28
Speaker
And I struggled with how far behind my peers I am. Cause obviously a lot of people enter real estate straight out of high school. Um, so as a 30 year old coming in with my cohort being 18, I look at people who have been in real estate since they were 18 and I regret, I know I shouldn't, but I regret not having done it sooner because I know.
00:31:57
Speaker
how advanced I could be in my career at my age now. And so, yeah, the feeling of being behind. And I also don't like being bad at things. I don't like not knowing things. And yeah, that's probably what I'm struggling with.
00:32:18
Speaker
I saw a quote, I think I sent it to Rox the other day, I'm probably going to get it wrong, but it was, you're not starting from scratch, you're starting from experience. So yes, these 18 year olds might have longer sort of in terms of time, but you're going into it, you know.
00:32:35
Speaker
starting here but you've got all that experience behind you and that stakeholder management and all that all that transferable skills that you've developed already so yeah you're new now it's going to be a bit awkward but you're going to catch up and and leap in front of a lot of these people i hope so you definitely will you're already worrying about it and therefore working harder than an 18 year old would you've got
00:33:00
Speaker
the core value puzzle, which I keep talking about, which is you've set up and understood what you want in life at a point where
00:33:10
Speaker
Ah, you know what, when you turn 30, it feels like a complete, not a rite of passage. I'm 31 now, but it feels like you sort of sit down and you look at everyone around you, what they've done, how they've done it, if it's any good. You feel like you like wasted so much time, but you really haven't. We interviewed a guy the other day who was talking about his last career and how he's planning for his last career. That's his last 10 years of working. So from 55 to 65, he wants to be a psychologist.
Embracing Career Changes at 30
00:33:39
Speaker
so he's doing the training for that in his 40s and he's thinking about it the other way around and it's just such a wonderful way of thinking you know you have this wonderful background of communicating and also managing probably some of the hardest people in the world with people who are ea's you know and then going into real estate with someone who's got 40 years of experience who's so eager for you to learn
00:34:04
Speaker
And you're already pointing out what your gaps, your skill gaps are, what the puzzle piece is that's missing in your core values. And I think you're going to do brilliantly if you're already working that out and moving forward. And everybody that we talked to who've changed their careers to 30 or even 40 have moved so much quicker than the people we've talked to in 18 and 22. Yeah, unsure.
00:34:31
Speaker
I do understand that, but I think that it's all part of that imposter syndrome. If I'm in a room with other 30-year-olds and they're at director level and I'm an assistant agent, it's a hard pill to swallow. And honestly, maybe it's more about pride than anything else. Maybe it's more just my egos hurt that they're more senior than me.
00:35:01
Speaker
I hear what you're saying. It is an advantage I have that I've already worked in the professional world for X amount of years in game skills. Next step CEO.
00:35:17
Speaker
I do exactly the same thing in the film world, because I've worked in admin roles in the film role. But I go to networking events, and I meet up with these producers who are producing their indie independent movies. And I talk about my wall a lot, where I've got a giant slasher movie that I'm trying to produce. And it's a massive imposter syndrome. And I used to sit in those networking events or those meetings with people who are younger than me.
00:35:45
Speaker
and who have achieved all of this stuff and it's only recently that I've actually gone into those events and gone it doesn't matter what they've done I'm trying to kick this thing off the ground so I'm actually going to talk to them about how they did what they did and put more of the focus on them so they don't kind of reflect on me and what my project is and what's missing and the more focus I've put on them
00:36:10
Speaker
the more they've actually reached out to me to support my project in the last couple of months and been like, well, how can I help you? I found this location. And this is after six years of doing this and going to these networking events and feeling like a complete utter imposter to finally go, okay, I've switched the way of thinking. I'm actually just going to be like, I'm networking with you. You have these years of experience. I'm going to collect them.
00:36:33
Speaker
How do I get to know you? Let's go for a coffee. Let's break down this negative feeling that I have that I actually, in my own mind, made up, like the women that I talk to. They're like, no, your idea's been so good, but just wait until you see the product. And I'm like, oh, I thought you didn't think I could do it.
00:36:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's a really, really hard pill to swallow, I promise you. But it's, yeah, we're definitely going to interview in a year's time, see how you're going. Yeah. Our next question is advice about getting started. So what steps have you kind of taken to start kick off your real estate industry? I mean,
00:37:23
Speaker
I guess my main reason why it probably doesn't, it's not specific to real estate. It's more just if you are sitting there thinking, what am I doing with my life? And an opportunity comes your way, even if it's something that you never thought you'd do, that you should just say yes to it. I wish that someone had told me that a year ago, two years ago, five years ago, I wish that someone had
00:37:53
Speaker
pushed me when they were listening to me complain about not liking my job. I wish that I had had, yeah, I don't know, I wish I had had kind of that force. And I think, you know, particularly switching jobs when you're at the stage of life where it's all about getting married and buying a house and having babies
00:38:20
Speaker
you know, particularly for women, like we have to consider children and the timing around that and how that will affect our career. And so when, when I'm, you know, when I was in such turmoil about what to do and taking all of those factors into consideration, I wish that someone had just told me it's fine. Just, you know, hold your breath, jump through the fire. Everything will, will turn out fine.
00:38:51
Speaker
So I don't know if that really answers. No, it can be. Yeah, it is. It's that yes, you know, it's the it's it's the understanding that what you're doing right now is the biggest building block that you can go to if you're doing a good job in your career and you leave that job in a polite and nice manner.
00:39:11
Speaker
There's always something to fall back on and therefore say yes, move forward. And then on the other side of it, you can't plan when you have the kid. COVID comes along and ruins your wedding. I can talk to you about this for like five years. Go on and live your life. Pray the chances.
Taking on New Opportunities
00:39:31
Speaker
I had a manager once tell me, actually it was quite recently saying you should look for, if you're sitting on the fence for something,
00:39:40
Speaker
look at what the change is, and if you can do 70% of it, then it should automatically be a yes, because the rest of it you can learn and jump into. So if you're sitting on the fence and you think, yeah, if 70% got this, the chances are you should probably make the jump, or take on that task.
00:40:01
Speaker
It wasn't a career change conversation. It was just more like a build your portfolio of skills. Look at what's happening in the job around you. And if there's another job that's right next to yours and you can do 70%, put your hand up. Chances are you can have a good shot at it. Yeah. No, I agree with you. I just wish someone would have pushed me off the fence. The fence is scary.
00:40:27
Speaker
The fence is really scary, but sometimes all it takes is someone who's been in that position before saying to you, you know what, I did it. I was in a similar circumstance and look at how happy, healthy, successful, whatever their goal is.
00:40:48
Speaker
Is that validation? Sometimes you're asking the question, you already know the answer, you know you should be doing it, but you're just looking for that little bit of validation just to make that leap a little bit easier.
00:41:00
Speaker
and the understanding because you know as a woman at a certain age you just there is so many things pulling you in different angles different areas and you just feel like you're running out of time and you're not in any way shape or form or any step you've got plenty of time for all of it so it's yeah it's just yeah there's a lot of things to think about a lot of steps to move forward and I think just being that yes person from now on you
00:41:26
Speaker
There will be no more fences. Hopefully, fingers crossed. So you've already had a bit of a chat to us about your education. So you're doing the training through the government program. Is there any other education you've done or anything you've read or seen that that's helped you on this career journey that you think is worth highlighting?
00:41:53
Speaker
specific to what I'm doing now, not really. As I said earlier, it's kind of like no amount of studying in the world could have prepared me for, no amount of studying in the world could help me build the people skills that I was able to build. I am a firm believer of learning on the job or learning through the path because, you know,
00:42:20
Speaker
writing an essay about something is very different to actually doing it. So no, I think it's more the school of life that taught me well versus getting in there and get some experience and learn where you that's right and where the strengths are and obviously you loved that that engagement which got you on that journey with the people engagement.
00:42:48
Speaker
you're leading on those core value puzzles. So our last question is, is there a quote that inspires you or keeps you going? You know, I am not typically one for inspirational quotes. However, this is a well timed question, because right before
00:43:16
Speaker
actually right before I resigned from my last role, I had, so lame, but I had seen it on Instagram and it was the old proverb of the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now. And it
00:43:39
Speaker
spoke to my core. Again, very out of character. Normally I would be like, roll my eyes and scroll past. But it's something I think about every single day and speaks so much to the decisions that I've made. And it was just one of those weird, I'm sure that my brain was seeking
00:44:04
Speaker
to see things like that, right? But at the time I was like, oh, it's a sign. I'm doing it. But yeah, it's all about the whole, there's no better time than the present to make that change or to take that leap or to learn that new skill. Ironically, of course, it took me many, many years to learn this lesson. But I feel like in my old age,
00:44:34
Speaker
I will bestow that quote upon the youth and say, don't do as I did. Plant your tree now. Don't wait 20 years. I love it. I really love that. It's very similar. One of my other favorite quotes is very similar. It's six months from today, you will wish you had started. So you should start today because in six months time, you're going to regret not starting it. Yeah. It's so true though. It's so true.
00:45:04
Speaker
I'm annoyed at myself for not having done this, don't I? I mean, I know everything happens for a reason and all that, but I just want to like scream it from the rooftops that if you have this big thing that you need to change, just change it. Yeah, plant your tree. Just go and plant your tree right now. Yeah, plant your tree. Get up and plant your tree.
00:45:27
Speaker
You better have a tree, we need to get you one. To keep reminding you every day. Yeah, seriously. Although, you know, I tried to grow it. Have you ever tried to grow an avocado from a seed? It's just... No, can you do... I mean, obviously you can do that. Yes, you can. You put little sticks in and a bowl of water and all this stuff that I could spend 20 minutes explaining. One worked, one didn't work, and then somehow my husband killed it, but...
00:45:58
Speaker
Wouldn't it take a really long time to grow? I mean, I guess that's all. Yeah. So an avocado tree takes seven years to fruit. Yeah. Whereas a pineapple plant takes a year and they topple over. But yeah, we could, I could, I guess, I could promise you I could talk to you about this for hours.
00:46:16
Speaker
You have another class about plants. Planting with rough teeth. The promised plants. But yeah, is there anything else that you've learnt in the last couple of weeks in changing your career that you might want to pass on? I mean, outside of my decree of change your life so that you're on a path that makes you happy, not really.
00:46:45
Speaker
I feel like it's something that so many people say all the time. I've heard it a million times in my life, but it only works if you're open to hearing it, really. You know, you can sit there and complain for years and years and years that you hate where your life is career, whatever, whatever aspect of it, but you'll only start listening to that advice when you're actually open to it. So, yeah.
00:47:15
Speaker
make that change, make self happy, make self proud. Start that line. I sound like an inspirational speaker. That's your next career on the horizon. You can start working on your next minute. I'll be like doing TED talks about trees.
00:47:37
Speaker
Yeah. I think it's also also worth noting is
Tools for Career Development
00:47:41
Speaker
I don't know.
00:47:41
Speaker
a lot of people that that they say they're stuck. They say they don't know what they want to do. So they just keep doing the same thing. And my answer to that is they're
00:47:52
Speaker
There's tools out there, there's exercises out there, there's journaling. Okay, it's a bit, might seem a bit lame, but journaling is one of the tools you can use to really unlock what you're looking for. And I think it's difficult, but you shouldn't, nobody should feel they're stuck in something. If you're unhappy, you need to just talk to someone and find these tools. It's out there, you just need to be aware of it. And without doing that process, you can't then, you can't plant your tree if you don't know what you wanna plant.
00:48:23
Speaker
but also understanding that what you're doing next would be incredibly exciting and new and interesting and what you're doing right now might be comfortable and easy or there are aspects of it that you're just dealing with or getting over or there are aspects that you're holding on to. There are some fun parts of that industry that you're involved in and you never really want to let go of.
00:48:51
Speaker
There's a best of both worlds you know there's the world where you still are friends with the people you work with and you can still get involved with the things that you do and then you can also move on to that new adventure try something different and although it's scary it's exciting and to just try and build that fire a bit.
00:49:14
Speaker
Okay, well, thank you very much for everything tonight and taking up your time to be on our podcast. I love your journey and I want to definitely want to bring you back in a year to find that way. I'll be there. I'll be there. Just call my call my EA. Put it in the shoulder.
00:49:39
Speaker
You've been listening to Roxy and Nate. Thanks for tuning into A to Z Jobs and always remember it's your career and it's up to you to shape it. So dream big, make bold moves, stay curious and keep exploring. Check out our website at thecareerchangecoches.com for more resources, tools and upcoming training. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification bell so you never miss an episode of A to Z Jobs. Remember your dream career could be just one episode away.
00:50:15
Speaker
Are you feeling inspired by everything you've learned today and ready to take the next step with your career change journey? Dive into our four-part Career Change Made Easy course. We'll help you gain career clarity, understand your transferable skills, and put them into play with application, negotiation, and interview advice. Head to careachangecoaches.com.