Published on: 02 February 2019
Last Updated on: 27 July 2022
Will a career in real estate work for you? It can be an exciting and challenging career change. Deciding on whether or not a real estate career will work for you depends on your personality. You will discover a new level of independence at work and there will always be new challenges.
Before you dive in, consider some of the pros and cons of a career in real estate.
Pros of Becoming a Real Estate Agent:
1) Money – Real estate agents work on a commission. Whenever you sell (or help your clients buy) property, you earn a percentage of that sale. Given that property is usually the most expensive purchase and investment the average family makes, that’s a large chunk of change. There’s no salary cap. If you can find a way to make a million dollars on commissions, there’s no one to put a cap on your earnings the way there would be in a salary job.
2) You’re Your Own Boss – Working as your own boss, you’ve got an unprecedented level of freedom to come and go as you please and vacation when you want.
3) Excitement – Real estate agents are constantly on the move. They’re always out there meeting new people and making new deals. If you’re the type to get bored at a desk job where every day feels the same, a real estate career will shake things up.
4) Knowledge & Experience Pay Off – The more you know, the more you sell. If you love to learn new things and experience more, it’s a career path that will pay off. You will have the chance to become an expert, not just on a neighborhood or types of property, but how to work with people and make sales.
Cons of a Real Estate Career:
1) Getting Started – The flipside of working in a commission-based industry is that it takes time to get started. If you’re working for yourself, there’s no one to pay your salary when you’re not making sales. It will take time before you can find clients and make sales, so be prepared financially to survive until you get the ball rolling. Many people start off part-time until their careers develop.
2) You Need Discipline – The downside to working as your own boss is that you need discipline. No one’s going to make sales and put money in your pocket if you’re spending all your time at the beach.
3) You Need to Know when to Take a Break – For others, the problem might be the exact opposite. If you’ve got a workaholic streak, you’ll need to discipline yourself to put the work away when it’s time to rest and recharge. Find a way to disconnect from your job and relax.
Real estate can be an incredibly rewarding career if you’ve got the personality to thrive in an environment where you’re independent and constantly meeting new challenges. Earning your real estate license is something you can do quickly and cheaply. With online real estate schools like RealEstateU, it doesn’t take long to start getting your real estate license.
Don’t worry if you’re not an expert in homes or home renovation. Your ability to tell whether a home has hard or soft water will not determine your success as an agent. The ability to work with people, work hard and go above and beyond for your clients will ultimately matter much more! However, the more knowledgeable you are in all facets of real estate, the better you will be at ensuring your clients make educated, long-term decisions.
Once you sign up for online real estate classes, you’re free to complete them at your own pace. They will prepare you for your state real estate license exam, and most states require you to complete the courses before you try writing the exam. With online real estate courses from real estate, you get all the resources you need to succeed at your exam, including video/audio lectures, a 200-page PDF textbook, and lessons from top real estate experts.
Get started on your career change today. Sign up for online real estate classes and be your own boss.
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The COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in the creation of a new working order that was only being used earlier in a sparing fashion. Remote working or working from home was models that were earlier employed by employees who could not make it to their offices because of some other reason.
As the pandemic resulted in the closure of physical workspaces because of governmentally mandated protocols, businesses rushed towards adopting remote working models and started hiring remote workers. This allowed businesses to stay afloat, run their operations, pay employees and carry on with economic sustenance.
In this article, we are going to look at a comprehensive guide on jobs remote. We are going to discover some of its benefits of it and prescribe how employees who are looking for full-time remote working opportunities should prepare themselves.
Remote Working: Meaning and Definition
Remote working/teleworking/working from home is the process of an employee working for an organization, not within the confines of office space. In this working arrangement, an employee can work from anywhere for a business.
Remote working means that employees do not have to travel to their place of work. It means that employees are no longer bound to come to office space, showroom, or warehouse to do actual company work. Remote working necessitates the use of technology, digital platforms, and software to enable employees to connect with their managers, bosses, and colleagues.
Major Benefits of Ful-Time Remote Working Opportunities
Many studies conducted over the last few months have shown that remote working comes with its own sets of advantages for both employees as well as employers. In this section, we will try to shed some light on both.
Benefits For Employers-
Data shows that remote working has allowed employees to become 13% more efficient and productive in terms of work output and task completion rates.
Businesses who opt for remote working can save a lot of additional overhead costs that are part and parcel of an office setup.
It has given businesses the ability to attract the best talents from any part of the world. This has opened up an exciting new prospect, which was earlier not possible.
Studies have also shown that remote working has allowed for the creation of a fitter and leaner workforce with fewer employees taking sick or casual leaves.
Finally, employers have smartly been able to add to the working hours as employees have on average been saving close to 5 hours on traveling to and from the office.
Benefits For Employees-
The remote working model has allowed employees to spend more time with their family members and carry on a healthy mix of work-life balance.
It has allowed for lesser travel stress, especially in developed countries of the world where traffic issues can lead to tensions and exhaustion.
The rise of the Digital Nomad means an employee that is enjoying his stay in a location of their choice while working full-time with an organization.
Remote working has also allowed employees to add to their savings. Whether it is the fuel or train costs, or additional money spent on lunches, everything is getting saved.
Lastly, employees are able to put in their best productivity and performance and win a good chance of getting higher increments, bonuses, and promotions.
5 Easy Steps to Help you Prepare for a Full-Time Remote Working Opportunity
In this section, we are going to look at 5 easy steps that can help professionals prepare for a full-time remote working opportunity-
1. Create your Home Work Station/Office-
If you think you are going to work on the kitchen top one day and in the bedroom, the other, think again. You need to set up a separate and designated workspace or create a home office for work. This will bring in productivity, and discipline and ensure all your official things are in one place and not getting lost. Systems, family photo frames, green plants, and so on can help.
2. Apply for Full-Time Remote Working Jobs-
Many businesses are using this bait to attract the best talent. However, you need to be very careful when applying for such jobs. It might be that the business is now working remotely, but can in the future ask the employees to come in. This is why choosing the best online job platforms that list 100% remote working opportunities should be preferred.
3. Create a Working Routine for the Day-
Working from home or remote working does not mean you are working for the first ten minutes and then doing something else. Remote working means you are setting aside office time just in the same way you would if you were working in the office. It is essential that you stick to the same in order to fulfill the timelines, responsibilities, and expectations that have been set on you.
4. Start becoming familiar and using Remote Working Tools-
As someone who is looking to not step into a physical office again, you need to start understanding how remote working tools work. This is because you will be doing all of your work using them. Workflow software, video conferencing apps, and cybersecurity protocols are some areas that you need to know about before you start applying for opportunities.
5. Make Family Members understand ‘you are at work’-
In most families, if someone is working remotely, family members tend to take them less seriously. It is essential that you make your parents, partner, kids or fiancée understand that you will not be able to step aside from your system during working hours. This will prevent them from having any expectations from you during that period.
The Bottom Line
Remote working has been proven to result in happier employees and better-run business organizations. If done in the right fashion, it is a win-win situation for both the employee as well as the employer. A lot of friction between managers and employees can also become better if they are not occupying the same physical space day after day.
In this article, we have tried to discuss some of the major advantages of remote working for both employees as well as employers. We have also discussed some important ways how professionals looking to pursue full-time remote working opportunities should prepare themselves.
If you have any other questions, you would like us to address, or require clarifications on any points mentioned in the article, feel free to state them in the comments section below.
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Unemployment is something that most people try to avoid. To facilitate these people have tended to avoid industries that appear to be, at best, uncertain.
The result has become a lack of skilled workers. This is becoming obvious in certain industries, such as manufacturing. Because this has been a volatile industry young people have not been interested in learning the skills. However, the older workers are now retiring and a huge gap in the skill set is starting to become exposed.
This means that skilled workers will be able to dictate their own terms as the need for them will be much greater than the number of them available. This may cause some businesses to struggle which is why it is essential they take steps today to rectify the issue.
This is one reason why skilled workers, like those you can hire at the Brix Projects are increasingly in demand.
There are several other reasons why skilled workers will own the future:
Lack Of Retention :
For many years firms have been taking on employees with little experience and training them while offering a low wage. This has helped the companies to be competitive and profitable.
However, once the employees are fully trained they are likely to move on to another firm where their pay package is greater.
In fact, there has been a large number of skilled workers who have taken their skill set out of the country altogether. This simply shrinks the pool of available talent making it very difficult for a company to get the right skilled staff.
The consequence is that the employment market moves to favor the employee as opposed to the firm.
Training :
While some firms are happy to take on inexperienced workers and train them, this is not true of all firms. Add to this the flexibility of the market which ensures that many are not completing their training.
The result is a lack of investment in developing skilled workers and an ever-increasing gap in the workforce. This is a gap that cannot easily be filled!
Flexibility :
More and more firms are relying on specialist contractors to handle specific jobs. This is in a bid to drive costs down and be more efficient.
However, as fewer people training in skilled trades, it will become harder to locate someone when you need them. The result could be an interruption to your business when you really don’t need one.
The only solution will be to use a skilled tradesperson; regardless of the cost.
This is the real crux of the matter. The lack of skilled workers means that they will be able to charge what they wish for their services. But, this is certain to have a knock-on effect on other companies and their profitability.
The ones who survive will be those that start to prepare today; training and encouraging more young people into skilled careers is the only way to resolve this issue in the long term.
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Virtual assistant jobs are becoming common among professionals who want flexibility and independence.
If you want job flexibility but want to showcase your organizational skills, you can apply for a virtual assistant role. Generally, most virtual assistant positions give you the chance to have an excellent work-life balance.
In this article, you will learn general details about the virtual assistant job role. Apart from that, this article also consists of some popular virtual assistant jobs in the market.
Additionally, you will learn about the eligibility and qualifications for virtual assistant jobs. Finally, you will learn how to apply for such a job role.
Virtual Assistant Jobs: A General Overview
A virtual assistant provides administrative services to companies or clients. Basically, they operate away from the company’s office premises.
Generally, a virtual assistant can be a professional or an independent contractor. They operate from their home office. However, they can access all the important aspects of the company.
In general, people who work as virtual assistants have several years of experience as an administrative assistant or office manager.
Moreover, new opportunities for virtual assistants with social media and content management skills are coming up. Furthermore, companies seek virtual assistants with skills like blog writing, graphic designing, and internet marketing.
Nowadays, working from home has become a norm for employers and workers. Hence, the demand for virtual assistants is increasing day by day.
Top Virtual Assistant Jobs To Look Out For
Many companies are offering virtual executive assistant jobs and online assistant jobs to experienced individuals who can work remotely.
The following are some virtual assistant jobs you can apply for:
Virtual Assistant - Social Media Company: Live It UpJob Type: Part Time (25 hours per week) Salary: $5/hour USD Finance Assistant - Virtual R&P OfficeCompany: World ReliefJob Type: Full-Time Salary: $45T - $50T (Employer Est.) Virtual AssistantCompany: Travel To Freedom Job Type: Part Time (20 hours per week) Salary: Up to $17.28-$25 per hour Virtual Assistant Company: SF Global Consultancy Ltd. Job Type: Full-time Salary: $29,000.00 - $32,000.00 per year Mandarin Interpreter/ Virtual Assistant Company: Charter Group of Companies Job Type: Part Time (1-10 hours per week) Salary: $12.00 - $17.00 per hour Virtual Banking Assistant III - Plano, TX Company: JPMorganChase Job Type: Full Time Salary: Not Available Virtual Administrative Assistant - PT Flex ScheduleCompany: Melville Management Corp Job Type: Part Time Salary: $40/hour USD Purchasing Assistant (Remote - MI) Company: Otto Bock Patient Care, LLC Job Type: Full Time (at least 40 hours per week) Salary: $18.00 per hour
How Do Virtual Assistants Work?
Generally, nowadays, startups rely more on virtual offices to keep the costs down for their businesses. However, the use of the internet increases in such cases. Hence, there has been an increase in the rise of virtual assistants for businesses.
Basically, a virtual assistant is an independent contractor. Hence, when a business hires a virtual assistant, it does not have to provide the same benefits or pay the same taxes that they do for a full-time employee.
On the other hand, a virtual assistant is also different from a normal administrator who works from home. The latter is just another employee with the same compensation and tax structure for the company.
Moreover, a virtual assistant does not work onsite. Hence, the company does not need a desk or a workspace. Rather, the virtual assistant has their own computer equipment, workspace, software programs, and high-speed internet.
Essential Requirements Of Virtual Assistant Jobs
Generally, the duties of a virtual assistant vary according to the needs and demands of the company or the client. Apart from that, it can change as per the contract terms.
The following are some of the major requirements of virtual assistant jobs:
👨🏻💻Duties Of A Virtual Assistant
If you want to be a virtual assistant, you must learn about the duties of the job role. However, you must understand that a virtual assistant has no common duties. Generally, your duties can change depending on the needs and requirements of your client and the terms of the contract.
In terms of tasks, some virtual assistants handle clerical or bookkeeping tasks. On the other hand, other virtual assistants post updates on social media or write blogs for the company.
Apart from that, the company can also hire an individual who is well-rounded and can handle other tasks like travel arrangements, data entry, scheduling, file storage, etc.
👨🏻💻Qualification Of Virtual Assistants
To become a virtual assistant, there are no proper educational requirements. However, most companies prefer those individuals who have a higher level of education. Moreover, getting special administration and virtual assistance training helps a lot in this regard.
Apart from that, some online companies and community colleges offer certifications and courses on virtual assistance. Hence, if you are unsure where to start, you can look for various virtual assistant courses on top platforms offering professional skills.
Generally, a virtual assistant must be tech-savvy and have enough skills to understand various computer software and business platforms.
For instance, if you are good at bookkeeping as a virtual assistant, you must also be able to perform basic accounting tasks. These include account reconciliations and double-entry bookkeeping.
Virtual Assistant Jobs: How To Get One?
The following are the major steps you must take if you want to get a virtual assistant job for yourself:
1. Develop The Skills
Before searching for virtual assistant jobs, you must assess your current skills. For instance, it is really important to have skills like communication and time management. However, you also need technical skills like MS Excel, Content Management System, HR systems, and more.
Moreover, you must be willing to conduct research and know how to deal with clients. Also, check job descriptions to learn about specific software or processes you need to learn. If possible, get the necessary training for the skill you need to learn.
2. Create A Business Plan
If you want to work as a freelance virtual assistant, you first need to create a business plan. Once you write a business plan, it will help bring structure to your career plans. Hence, you can define your target market, services, financial goals, and more.
Also, you can include information about how to handle your clients. Moreover, you can focus on the pricing structure of your business. Apart from that, you also need to handle invoices and payments for your virtual assistance business.
3. Create A Home Office Space
You need a dedicated home office space to work as a virtual assistant for your business. However, you do not need an entire room for it. All you need is an organized and quiet space to work from.
Apart from that, you must also set up a phone line using a virtual phone system. This will help you take business calls.
4. Create A Professional Portfolio
As you grow as a virtual assistant, you must consider showcasing your skills and experience to potential clients. Also, make sure to get resume tips to build a professional resume for your job role.
Additionally, you can include client testimonials, past projects, and relevant certifications. Moreover, you can create work samples if you want to get client work at the start.
5. Develop A Strong Online Presence
Apart from having a portfolio of your projects and achievements, you must also have a strong online presence. This will increase your credibility as a virtual assistant. Apart from that, you also need to have active social media accounts and listings in business directories.
Moreover, you can build your online presence faster if you respond to potential clients. Furthermore, you can use online platforms like LinkedIn to network with other professionals.
6. Start Networking On Various Platforms
One of the most effective growth strategies is word-of-mouth advertising. This can help you grow your virtual assistance business faster. Here, you can contact your friends, alumni, and family and tell them about your services.
Apart from that, you must develop new connections. To do this, you can attend networking events, conferences, and seminars to help you network with other virtual assistants.
7. Start Looking For Jobs And Client
As you continue your interview prep, you must research quality clients. One of the best ways to get quality clients is to stick to top platforms. However, you must be proactive with your follow-ups and communicate professionally.
How To Get A Virtual Assistant Job Without Any Experience?
To get a virtual assistant job without any experience, you will need to do the following:
Start developing your software skills by learning about different software systems that virtual assistants use.
Learn how to create a business plan.
Create your own portfolio by working on internships and projects.
Build your network on top professional platforms like LinkedIn.
Basically, you must understand that most employers look for experienced managers when they want virtual assistants. Hence, it is better for a beginner (with no experience) to start as an intern.
Getting Your Virtual Assistant Job
If you are looking for a virtual assistant job, you do not need previous experience. However, it always helps if someone knows how to work remotely. Moreover, you can take courses to learn communication and administrative software to enhance your virtual assistance skills.
Do you have more suggestions on how to get a virtual assistant job? Please share your ideas and opinions in the comments section below.
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