Real Estate Resumes

Whether an entry level or experienced candidate, real estate resumes should be polished and stand out to land an interview. Employers spend little time reviewing a candidate’s resume, so extensive research and planning is highly recommended for the composition of these documents.  Professionals searching for real estate jobs should create a page that grabs the reader’s attention and intrigues them.  Candidates should research real estate help wanted ads to fully understand what employers are searching for in a candidate.  Before composing a resume, it is necessary to gather all pertinent information relating to past employment, educational, and related accomplishments.  Using this information, candidates should attempt to find direct correlations between experience and employers’ needs in order to make the most effective resume for a particular position. 

Excellent real estate or realtor resumes should consist of two primary sections, but not exceed more than two pages in length.  White space generally makes resumes appear less cluttered and more organized, so it is important to keep resumes brief, including only pertinent information.  The first section should highlight a candidate’s skills, abilities, qualities, and achievements.  The second section gives candidates an opportunity describe educational and occupational experience.  A basic resume format is as follows:

Name
Address
Telephone number
Email address

Objective:
It is important for the candidate to clearly name their intended occupation within this area.  Resumes should be formatted specifically to each position the candidate applies for, and it is necessary for career goals to be clearly stated.  Many real estate occupations require candidates to be confident and decisive, and these three to five sentences must convey that image. 

Summary:
These sections will vary greatly depending on the candidate’s experiences and the position applying for.  This area is designated to focus on candidate abilities.  Examples of Topics that may be included are as follows:

• Statement to describe profession
• Description of expertise whether broad or specialized
• Two to three of the following -
  • Extent or variety of skills to offer
  • Range of environments skilled in
  • Specific accomplishments (awards, promotions, or commendations)
• Professional or related character traits
• Very brief one sentence objective

Selected Skills and Accomplishments

• List only the most important skills that pertain directly to the real estate industry, or the position applying for
• List skills in the order of importance
• Use bullets to emphasize or organize information

The final section is the most common.  Many candidates will compose only this part, which consists of a candidate’s skills.  In this area, candidates include their educational background, past employment, and any other section(s) that relate to the position.  Optional sections may include foreign language fluency, certifications or licensures, military experience, or many others.  The majority of employers are familiar with chronological formats, so it is best if candidates list their experiences in reverse chronological order (most recent listed first). 

In an age where technology dominates the hiring process, candidates will benefit from composing a variety of resumes.  Ninety-eight percent of all employers and online job boards accept plain-text resumes, so candidates should compose a resume that contains no italic, bold, or underlined text, bullets, numbers, or other special characters.  Other employers will scan resumes into their database, therefore mailed or hand delivered resumes should be professionally formatted, but organized and printed well enough that they retain professional appearance once scanned into a computer.  The final resume type is generally left with employers directly.  These resumes often contain fancy text, and may be left after interviewing with employers who have only received plain text copies.  No matter the final document chosen candidates must research all aspects before developing their real estate resume. 

For more information and instructional advice on composing a resume for the real estate industry, please visit the following sites:

• Resumes for Real Estate
• University of Missouri-Columbia
• Rockport Institute
• About Jobs
• A Write Impression

Let iHireRealEstate help get your resume out into the real estate industry.  We offer resume fax and email blasting for real estate candidates to companies in your area for a small fee, or have your cover letter sent out for no charge. A few of our job titles include:

• Leasing Agent
• Sales Assistant
• Marketing Coordinator
• Real Estate Analyst
• Real Estate Consultant
• Site Acquisition Manager
• Land Development Project Manager
• Facilities Manager
• Property Manager
• Facilities Engineer