OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II

Unit 3 Assignment:
Networking Plan Template
Section 1: The Career Decision Matrix
As you move through the data-gathering phase and begin to generate options for potential jobs
and potential employers, this is when you can build and use a Career Decision Matrix. Following
the information from Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration,
Chapter 4, pages 92-94, you will research, gather, and analyze information from your self-
assessments (i.e. the Kuder assessments in Unit 1, in particular), thematic analysis (themes),
career resources and more to create your Career Decision Matrix.

Career options are broader than jobs. They are paths you can take to get to where you want to be.
Here is a resource that can assist you in determing:
https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

Answer the following:

1) As you have gathered your data take the time to share and fully describe your top
four (4) possible career options. You want to be specific, as this creates a more
meaningful matrix. Describe each career with as much detail as possible. Consider
the following to be used in your 2-3 paragraph response per career option: career
field / organization / job-related responsibilities / opportunities for advancement /
future outlook of the career field. These responses need to demonstrate that you
have gathered your research and analyzed it, so there should be citations referencing
where you got your information, using APA standards. Remember to include why you
are choosing each career option.

a. Administrative Support

There tends to be a spot for administrative support in many career paths and fields.

However, my specific preference is the pathway into business operations. The position of

educational pathways was suggested to me in the results process of my Kudar assessments which

was surprising and inaccurate. I can agree however, the idea of my passion to help others was

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recognized from the assessment results and the similarities were strong enough for confusion.

Real estate is the business occupation I am in and also most interested in. Working for a large

and successful organization offers several opportunities to learn from established successes.

The responsibilities of this career path and position align with my skillset and is chalked

full of the need for organization, communication with clients, and upholding the code of ethics

promise and fiduciary duties with our client’s best interest in mind (National, 2022).

Additionally, data collecting for properties, title, escrow, project tracking, and clerical duties are

necessary to help keep an agent’s busy schedule running smoothly. I must point out the

difference I see between project tracking and project management. My duties to project track

would include overseeing a project timeline, checklists, and contingencies that someone else has

already begun to manage and establish. Therefore, I would be a backup to catch anything missed

in the initial plan.

Furthermore, advancement opportunities are available to me if I choose to break out into

independent contracting furthering my transaction coordinating roles and business. This option

gives me an outlet to utilize my skillsets of time management, integrate myself into the world of

real estate, which I love, and help others succeed at what they enjoy doing while I’m doing the

same.

b. Professional Sales

Staying within the real estate industry, the pathway to professional sales as a real estate

agent is not only an option for me but what I have done for the past 8 years. I enjoy working with

an established agency having access to pieces of training and business-building classes, and

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offering tons of support and encouragement. Problem-solving after a market conditions analysis

(Minnesota, n.d.), is a great responsibility in figuring out values and support information for your

clients. Additionally, I am able to walk clients through a very emotional home selling/buying

process using communication and relational skills.

Real estate agents have immense room for growth within a company based on leads, sales

volume, and administrative opportunities. The more work that is put in, the more reward comes

out of it. Another growth moment can come from referrals based on a great client experience.

Finding this career path and moving through several positions it has offered me, has given me

excitement for the future endeavors it may provide me while utilizing and highlighting the

characteristics I find most important in a professional world.

c. Customer Service

Keeping with a similar approach and in line with a helpful service, the career option is

customer service. It appears to me, that most suggested customer service occupations require a

trade skill and are labor-based. Favoring this career option would fall under the bachelor’s

degree career options as a CEO’s personal assistant, office manager, or any other

office/managerial position. Ideally, I like to know and master whichever position I am in,

demonstrating a strong work ethic. I feel that to accomplish this, my goal would be to still seek

out a real estate industry-related position. Additionally, to keep things on a more personal level, I

would look to work for an individual contractor or a small team to keep compliance, systems,

and the working environment as consistent as possible to most accurately perform my clerical

tasks.

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 I am a firm believer in advancement/job security opportunities once there is an

established value system. My attention to detail, ability to talk someone through a problem or

concern, communication, and organization are skills I can bring to the table and can help me

further my hierarchy on the professional ladder. Furthermore, having the opportunity to apply the

leadership knowledge I’ve gained would be incredibly fulfilling for me to be able to share.

d. Human Resources Management

When I first began my degree process I was heavily geared towards the human resources

career path. Having definitely not ruled it out, it is still a strong contender and a position in

human resources comes with more stability within an organization than real estate can offer. I

enjoy the benefits and incentives an HR department can offer an organization and being able to

effectively manage and oversee the everyday details and tasks that require, excites me.

Problem-solving would be a main task of the position, missed with handling several

different personality types and filing components. Date tracking, policy upholding, and updating

have the position falling into an average hourly wage of just under $34/hour (Minnesota, n.d.).

The need for the job knowledge and leadership the career path requires, there will be a

future need for strong skilled individuals to fulfill this fast-paced, demanding position. Although

human resources aren’t my first career choice at this point of my journey, its opportunity and

requirements, are helping me keep the door open to the possibility.

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 Now that you have determined these four options, take a step back and share a fifth
UNTHINKABLE (UT) career option, that you would never do, but are trained for
by what you have learned by earning your degree. Think about skills you have
acquired while earning your degree, which would be transferable to something
completely different.

e. Project Management

Without a doubt, the one career option I have a lot of respect for and after this degree and

have been quite trained for is project management. Hands down, not a career path I would ever

entertain. The OGL process has taught me so many valuable leadership skills to be able to do the

job but the highly structured and rigorous planning and sterile statistics involved are enough to

keep me uninterested. I enjoy the management and structure, just not on such a high technical

level. I would feel most taken out of my element working in project management and away from

a more socialized structure. The strict requirements of times, dates, and contingencies that a PM

sets, establishes, and implements, in my opinion, limits them from other aspects of team building

and relational opportunities.

2) Using the information you have gathered and shared above it is time to fill in your
Career Decision Matrix. You can find an example in Table 4.2 on page 93 of our
text. When you complete the matrix below, be sure to remove any unnecessary
labels.

a. Down the left hand side of the matrix, you will list your ten (10) life themes
from your thematic analysis. You can also add more that were not part of your
presentation as Theme 11 and so on.

b. Across the top of the page, you will list the five (5) career options you are
considering.

c. Next, fill in each cell with a high (h), medium (m), or low indication of the
match between that theme and the alternative under consideration.

d. Calculate your Career to Theme Consistency Points (CTCP) aka Summary, by

assigning high = 5, medium = 3, and low = 1, and then adding them up to

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 determine the ranking of your career choices to your themes. Not all themes
can have high designation (if everything is important, nothing is important).
The goal is to identify how your career options align with your life themes, so
you have better information to determine which aspects are most important
to you in your next career step.

Administrative Professional Customer Human Unthinkable-

Support/Transact Sales/Real Service/CEO Resource Project
ion Coordinating Estate Agent personal Managemen Management
assistant/Tea t
m Leader

Family H H M L L
Values

Balance H M M L L

Competencie H H M L M
s through
Skillsets

Growth H H L M L

Leadership M M L H M
Developmen
t

Implementin H M H M H
g Leadership
through a
Strategic
Approach

Personal H H M M L
and
Professional
Goals

Certification H H L L L
s and
Achievement
s

Self- M H L M L

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 Reflection
and
Awareness

Connecting H H M M L
with Others

CTCP 46 44 24 24 18
(Summary)

3) Now that you have determined these career options in relation to your life themes:
a. Reflect to what extent your Career Decision Matrix development process has
helped your career development decisions.

The Career Decision Matrix reflection helped me realize that skill set isn’t necessarily

the only onnsideraatiion when choosing a career path, especially when these ten themes

are concerned. Ensuring that wants, needs, skills, and goals are met and align with one

another, are going to make me the most efficient at what I do and how I do it.

Furthermore, the Matrix does a great job of breaking down each category to see where

matches fall and where they don’t, keeping a good balance in the results of technical and

emotional factors and decisions. For example, I know that I have a very low desire to

partake in project management for a career path but I do possess a moderate amount of

training and strategic planning experience to keep project management a contending

possibility.

b. Share which career option(s) you feel would be worth researching more and
pursuing as you begin to think about your networking plan.

It comes as no surprise to me that administrative support, specifically transaction

coordinating and office managing ranked as the highest career option in my Matrix.

As I have been in my career for quite some now, my role has very recently changed

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 and I have discovered and feel my new career path helps me better implement a

work-life balance and lifestyle integration in all things that I do. I enjoy the tasks,

time management, and relational aspect of the position so much so that I want to

network into the admin side of real estate now more than the independent contracting

side that I set out to do originally.

The administrative position keeps me deeply engrained in the world of real estate

but also opens up those opportunities my personality needs to be able to help others in

growing a successful real estate business for themselves while utilizing the skills I

love most. Room for growth as an independent TC or even an option within the

organization as an operational manager, this leadership role screams opportunity.

The other option that I would consider and that takes me most out of my comfort

zone is human resources management. While I feel that after going through the OGL

educational degree process I have obtained the knowledge and competencies

necessary to learn the role and improve accordingly, the option would be a last resort

for me at this point in my occupation.

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Section 2: Networking Plan
Now that you have completed your Career Decision Matrix we now need to move forward and
develop a networking plan that you can use to help you reach your career goals. Review
Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration, Chapter 4, pages 77-83.
Developing and managing your network of people who can help you is an important ongoing
process whether or not you are currently happy in your career.

The purpose of this activity is to:

• Help you assess and enhance (extend or strengthen) your developmental network relative
to major challenges you will face in the next 1-3 years
• Help you develop a networking strategy that will work for you
• Help you develop a specific plan to pursue over the next 6 months to 1 year
• Create an accountability mechanism

Research on leadership development has demonstrated that people benefit from a variety of
developmental relationships, including short-term and long-term alliances with bosses, peers,
senior executives, coaches, subordinates, and family members, the more diversity and depth
there is in your developmental network, the better. Depending on our dominant learning tactics,
we are more or less likely to pay attention to the quality of our developmental network.
This assignment was adapted by Professor Kathy E. Kram from a worksheet developed by
Professor Deborah Kolb, Simmons Graduate School of Management. Adapted by permission.

Answer the following:

1) As you think about the major changes that are likely to take place at your place of
work in the next few years, what major challenges and opportunities do you foresee
that you will need to deal with in the next 1-3 years?

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) Challenges here:
a. Challenge: The real estate market fluctuations due to rising interest rates and the

influx of market inventory.

Being in the real estate market is full of risks, big and small. The market

and how outside threats affect it, can be one of them and could equally affect

agents financially, positively or negatively. With the recent interest rates rising

and the inventory hike, the lucrative market the team I transaction coordinate for,

and what we are geographically accustomed to, has taken a major shift according

to statistical reports. Sellers are being faced with having to reduce their list prices

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 and buyers are fearful of rates and immediate equity loss at the time of purchase.

For me, if my team and agents aren’t producing, my job could be in jeopardy

leaving files slim and help not necessary.

b. Challenge: A personal challenge of changing teams but staying within the same

company. Working through the adjustment process and new learning curves that I

am about to embark upon are challenges that could last a while until systems are

integrated, implemented, and running smoothly for me and my team as we

prepare and learn to work together.

For a healthier work environment, I have chosen to keep my current role

and job description but seek a team whose professional outlook is more positive

and aligns with mine for a more cohesive connection. While I believe the overall

goal is the best decision, the path to get there won’t come without its integration

challenges. The team I am headed to doesn’t support the business strategy from

the previous so my job will be to implement, train, and run. Working out the kinks

while turning the systems into a smooth operation will be the biggest challenge of

all.

c. Challenge: Incorporating marketing and social media strategies into my clerical

and technical world of coordinating.

My new CEO has told me that he recognizes and welcomes the asset my

skillset and business background will bring to his company. However, he does

need to place a higher focus on his social media and marketing aspects as he has

added these items to my job description. With full transparency through initial

conversations, I expressed my concerns about lacking confidence in these

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 industry areas. Therefore, with full recognition, a learning curve, collaboration,

and plenty of patience, this challenge doesn’t seem as daunting.

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) Opportunities here:
d. Opportunity: To branch out into new marketing skills in helping generate

clientele during the slowing market and need for real estate services.

This opportunity is a great one to direct my attention towards as a slower market

allows this new learning opportunity to have my full attention providing a

solution to gaining clientele and learning new marketing skills, which I find

daunting and outside of my wheelhouse. Additionally, I can apply this newly

obtained opportunity to many different industries and highlight the addition to my

growing resume.

e. Opportunity: A chance to create my own personalized process and strategic

coordinating system by taking experience from my past role and fine-tuning it to

work in my new role and with other independent agents who will have the option

to hire me on a per transaction basis. My goal is to find a system unique to me and

highly desirable as a competitive advantage in this ever-changing market to create

stability and job security.

f. Opportunity: Taking my networking goals and actions to a much higher level.

In my new position, I will be working in our main brokerage office surrounded by

hundreds of agents and administrators. The training, seminars, wealth-building

classes, administrative huddles, Q&As, and water cooler conversations will be

readily available for me to take advantage of and incorporate into an enhanced

and reformed network. This opportunity will also be a new environment opposite

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 to my current and limited networking environment. Everyone around me will

have extensive real estate, experiences, knowledge, and learning opportunities to

share, opening up new possibilities, directions, and goal paths for me.

2) Given these challenges and opportunities, what type of help are you most likely to
need? Check one and explain why.
a. Help in getting the job done ______
b. Help in advancing my career ___X___
c. Emotional support ___X___
d. All of the above ______

It’s difficult to choose just one area of help as there are many different aspects that go

into and come out of these challenges and opportunities. In my opinion, we all need

emotional support at any stage of life. The support can offer to share the wins with others or

have those to lean on or to go for advice when additional support is needed throughout a

challenge. Furthermore, getting through the previously mentioned challenges and tackling

those opportunities will require help along the way that will naturally help me in advancing

my career or at least setting up those future opportunities and possibilities. Administrative

roles I have found to be something I am quite passionate about and anyway I can advance my

production through the help of my network, I am open to.

3) If your major challenge or opportunity is related to your work, how well positioned
are you to get information, advice, and resources about new opportunities and
possibilities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Very Well __X____ Okay ______ Need to Expand My Network ______

Over the last 8 months, I have built an administrative foundation for myself by learning

our brokerage’s compliance standards and contractual details within our team’s unit. When I

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 came to the realization that I needed to look further for another opportunity within the same

company, I asked and my network delivered. The brokerage family is very tight-knit and for

the most part, wants to see people happy in what they are doing and succeed. I feel the work I

put in and the experience I gained, coupled with a loving and supportive network

relationship, I was in a great position to find that outlet for change.

4) If your major challenge or opportunity means making a move into a leadership

position, do you have relationships with people who can give you advice and
effectively advocate or champion you for important assignments or other
developmental activities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Yes ___X___ No ______

I believe that if our real estate market took a turn and there was no longer the need for

transaction coordinators, I would be in a position to know which in-house leadership roles

were open and needed to be filled. In the industry, it is difficult to find licensed agents who

want to be in the administrative role rather than sell real estate. In my case, I have made it

known to our administrative staff that I want to utilize my license for training purposes and to

hopefully keep that door open for me if necessary.

5) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need emotional support, to
what extent do you have people who can give you support? Check one and explain
who can help you and why.

a. I have a strong support network to help me. __X___

b. I don’t have people to help me through changes I will have to make. ____

I have been blessed with an amazing family and the wonderful support system they

provide me with. From the moment I decided to take the real estate career path, they have

been behind me every step of the way. From the ups and downs of resale to the long hours

and involvement of transaction coordinating. Furthermore, they have been my cheerleaders

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 as I have been seeking new employment and they have offered emotional support during the

process. As I approach new professional challenges and opportunities in the months to come,

I can be sure of the support my family and friends will be ready to provide when needed.

6) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need help getting the job done,
advancing your career, or getting emotional support, do you have people in your
network who can fulfill these functions? Check one and explain who can help you
and why.
Yes __X____ No ______

Heading into my new position, I feel that my new CEO and I have a pretty good

understanding and set expectation that there will be about a 3-month window for integrating,

collaborating, and settling in while we make significant changes to the systems already in

place. I feel that with the changes we will both be facing during the process, we will be able

to rely on each other and the team for the support and extra assistance to hop in and get the

job done until everyone knows their roles and systems up and running.

7) What is your approach to building relationships? How are you at initiating

relationships? In what settings are you most comfortable meeting people?

a. Joint or shared work, projects, and committees ______

b. One-on-one appointments, with specific agendas ______
c. Informal “no agenda” social settings ___X___
d. Going for coffee, lunch, or drinks ___X___
e. Leisure activities such as golf, tennis, or theater ______
f. Other ______

I like meeting people as informal and raw as possible. When schedules are set and

agendas are drawn, I believe it places too much of a filter on someone’s personality

and/or comfortability. Having a more open timeline and unspecified topic pool to choose

from when getting to know someone, can take unexpected paths to a deeper connection

and understanding of one another.

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 8) What is your preferred style?

a. Occasional phone calls or e-mails just to ask “how are you?” __X____
b. Phone calls, e-mails, or visits with specific requests or questions ______
c. Holiday cards and letters ______
d. Dropping in or calling when you’re in the neighborhood ___X___
e. Arranging in advance to get together at professional meetings ______
f. Relying on the chance that your paths will cross ______
g. Inviting people to join you for lunch, coffee, golf, and so on ___X___
h. Contacting people when you find some information, an article, or an opportunity that
might interest them ______
i. Other ______

Over the course of the past two years, I am a firm believer that meeting in person or

having a verbal, non-texting phone conversation is the most genuine approach to building

relationships. While Zoom and text messaging are convenient and meetings are necessary with

specific agenda points, elements such as body language, environment, and casual conversation,

invite others to gain a true perspective of the character and network potential.

Last year I was invited to a six-series job interview which unfortunately was scheduled in

person the day after we had a Covid positive in our household. Shifting gears in today’s

technology the interviews were conducted through Zoom and while I got the job, it confirmed

my dislike for online communication. Until I met the team in person, there was a gap in the

relationship-building bridge that couldn’t be filled through a computer screen.

9) Now turn your attention to the “Action Planning” part of the exercise (top of page 82).
Respond to the following questions:

a. What are your goals in developing a professional network? Be specific.

My current team’s office is an offsite building which was given to the team for being a

“mega producing agent team” and not having the main office restrictions to adhere to. The short

commute from there to the main office is enough separation to miss out on the camaraderie and

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administrative relationships the office has to offer. My brand new professional network goal is to

turn my association with the administrators from a known face on an email signature banner to a

genuine network between me and the specialized team of experts that have used their real estate

backgrounds and administrative leadership skills to run a huge and successful company. I feel I

have only scratched the surface of the foundation I am building in the administrative world and

I’m excited to see what other avenues the brokerage may have to offer as possible endeavors.

b. How will a well-developed network of contacts help you achieve your career goals?

My hope is that the experience of my network is something I will be able to learn from

and implement into my own business. Taking pieces of their successes, listening to their advice,

and being able to offer them and also go for support in this crazy industry, are a few ways I plan

on utilizing my growing network. Recently I had a sneak peek into the new growth stages of my

network when I had to call upon our administrative huddle leader. She has been kind enough to

head monthly huddles as an outlet for an unscripted admin “safe place” with an incredible

business approach and balanced demeanor. When I began to experience certain struggles within

my team, she offered sound suggestions, nonbiased advice, and potential new employment

opportunities, encouraging whichever route I decided to take. Her willingness to put in the time

towards my success is so appreciated and a great example for me to model as I become a part of

others’ networks as well.

c. What are some of the characteristics of the people you are looking to include in your
network?

This is an important standard and criteria to set as I build my network. Also, it’s an

opportunity to eliminate people from my current network who don’t uphold the same

standards or demonstrate the characteristics in their leadership that I am looking for.

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  Encouraging/Supportive

 Experienced

 Open-minded

 Positive

 Successful

Surrounding myself professionally with these characteristics will continue to propel my

career in a fulfilling direction, helping me reach goals by giving me the tools necessary for

accomplishing success.

d. Where might you come in contact with these people? How will you grow your
network/initiate contact with new potential networking contacts?

As mentioned previously, I will find the network within the brokerage office I am

preparing to join. The inhouse community will put this new network at my fingertips and it will

be up to me to seek out those I would love to join my network. The process will take time and

energy but most importantly, if I stick with it, I will get out what I put in and have a wonderfully

diverse network to engage with and pull from. The opportunities for contact are offered daily in

the office’s training rooms and in their online forums. A daily calendar is sent out that I will use

as a reminder to take at least one opportunity per day to enhance my network, making it

personalized for my success and an option to further help others when necessary.

e. Who in your network are you looking to enhance your relationship with? How will
you go about enhancing these relationships?

I have already begun to connect with and grow relationships with other transaction

coordinators in the business as I have been attending the admin huddles as an outlet for support

in my position and role. I am looking to continue to grow and strengthen those relationships and

also begin new ones in the office with other transaction coordinators that I have had the pleasure

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of working with but haven’t met yet in person. I am always looking for new ways to run my

business and fascinated with the way others run theirs in which they find success. Additionally,

my new CEO and team members will be those I spend the most time with. As we meet and begin

to collaborate, I will practice relational techniques such as active listening, communicating, and

open-mindedness to gain as much knowledge as possible and continuous education in real estate.

f. How can you leverage your existing network? Might some of your existing
networking contacts know others who you should be in contact with?

Real estate is an industry with a very extensive network of intertwined businesses, agents,

clients, and administrators. Loyalty comes once a solid network is created and helps to solidify

the priorities others parties place on your business once those bonds are made. For example,

consistency in using vendors such as escrow, photographers, home inspectors, and administrative

staff eventually pays off when immediate requests or tight deadlines are needing to be met and

vendors are able to prioritize them. Those companies are the contacts within contacts that I plan

to stay in communication with, brand, and partner with in order to show my appreciation and

keep them apart of my foundation for success.

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Section 3: SMART Career and Networkings
Using a SMART goals-based approach, as well as project planning and management skill best
practices, create a detailed project plan for at least two specific goals. At least one must be
related to your Career Plan, and the other related to your Networking Plan. Both of these goals
need to be things that you are passionate about accomplishing.
Your selected goals and SMART plan (see SMART goal information provided in the Unit)
should be structured based on a one to two-year timeline. It should include specific milestones,
action items, sub-tasks as well as task-related interdependencies as applicable. With respect to
each goal, critically think about what specifically are the things you will do in the next one to
two years to achieve these goals.

Develop a clear and detailed SMART plan, with facilitating goals and steps/actions required
to accomplish your selected goals. It should be evident, by looking at the format and structure
of your plan, that you have developed some significant skills with respect to project
management. Include Gantt charts or other visual project representations as you see fit, and be
sure to address your approach to tracking/measuring your progress.

1) What is your Career Goal?

To become a self-employed business owner as a highly desired independent real estate

transaction coordinator.

a. Specific

My goal is going to be built from pure experience which will align well with a two-year

timeline and full confidence once it’s reached.

I have almost a year of experience under my belt as of now within my geographic

location, brokerage, and market. At least one more year with the company to learn further

team systems, and compliance, and define specific areas of improvement for my

processes will solidify my foundation as I begin to promote my real estate services.

An entirely new challenge I will face as this goal is underway will be to learn company

specifics from our neighboring and local brokerages. I have decided that I don’t want to

limit my business to just the company I am with now but to confidently offer my skillset

to all agents, already having trained myself to their brokerage’s specific standards. This

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 will project my business and eliminate the time agents will have to set aside to train me,

decreasing their hesitance to hire.

Becoming an independent contractor will require a savvy business background with

knowledge of accounting, payroll, taxes, and a positively flowing structure. Knowing

these areas aren’t the strongest in my portfolio, I will need to research and employ those

services to match the financial success I intend to have.

b. Measurable

Giving myself the timeline is the first step in staying on track and measuring completed

steps along the way. Within that larger two-year timeframe, there will be a set day of the

week that begins with a checklist measuring my weekly training attendance to keep me

accountable and making sure that the base of my skillset is advancing towards the general

market and not the limited single brokerage.

Monthly I am setting a goal for myself to have a one-on-one with at least one

administrator within or outside of the company to discuss any state or local contractual

changes that may be taking place. I plan to educate myself about those changes and learn

how brokerages plan to accommodate compliance and the pieces of training necessary to

make sure agents are aware on board. This will help my business by setting me apart as I

will have made myself aware of the new standard and have a plan ready to address those

needs.

c. Attainable

The resources are out there and real estate is an industry that will always be needed and

relevant. I will be 100% responsible to open myself up to meeting new people, asking

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 hard questions, working through trial and error, and finding ways to set myself up for

success. My weekly and monthly goals will make this attainable because of the rapid rate

of change in real estate finds itself in. If I am seeking the information, there will be

several outlets readily available for me to find answers and educational opportunities.

d. Relevant

After embarking on this course and taking significant time and energy to reflect upon

what matters most to me and what aspects of my life bring me joy, I’ve realized that I

truly enjoy helping others. After my family, my career is quite important to me and I feel

that this specific position I have found myself in, is my passion. It matters to me to build

my passion even further by putting in the work and being as intentional about it as I can

be. I want to face the goal head-on and not leave it to chance whether I get there or not

but rather attain it with hard work, determination, and a solid structure to stand at the top.

I feel very blessed to have found a career path I love so much. Embracing the opportunity

to grow into something bigger and to help be a part of a solution in helping others, makes

this goal relevant and near and dear to my heart.

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 e. Time-Based

f. What is your Networking Goal

My goal is to introduce myself and add more vendors, administrators, and agents to my

current network.

a. S

Being secluded on a team for the past year, I feel that I have missed out on what

our local real estate market truly has to offer. My goal will include using new

home inspectors, and photographers, and connecting with new agents to unlimit

myself from the services they have to offer. This will help me grow my business,

having a wealth of knowledge in my toolbox when an agent or client needs

suggestions on specialty services such as drone photography or mold remediation,

as some examples.

Also, new agents are great to add to a network plan to discuss with them which

areas they feel they need to be most educated in when breaking into the business.

If I find that there is an overwhelming consensus in a certain area, I can plan to

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 implement a solution into my business that could help fix or lessen the problem

these agents are facing.

b. M

This goal will take more time and I feel it won’t be as stringent and easily

measurable as my career plan. Building relationships takes time and trust is built

in a more natural way than setting a date on a calendar. However, I will begin the

process by setting a goal to use 2 new home inspection services for the first 2

escrows and transactions I manage in my new position. Furthermore, I will

compare all aspects of the vendors from customer service, the ease and timeframe

of the scheduling process, the details of the report, areas serviced, and the cost.

This will give me a valid opinion and the confidence in using them again, also

adding experience and a trustworthy component to my business.

From there, I will continue the process with other vendors until I feel I have a

decent grasp on who I suggest most confidently to those in the industry.

c. A

There are always new and established vendors in the industry trying to gain trust,

loyalty, and the long-time business of agents and administrators. This goal will be

attainable as there isn’t a shortage of vendors to choose from or new agents

breaking into the business. Where I will need to be detailed and organized is in

my reviews and determining whose business strategies are most similar to mine in

providing the highest quality service I can be comfortable standing behind.

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 d. R

Building a positive network is important to me in staying relevant within the

industry and always being in touch with new ideas, concepts, and services. As

state regulations change, vendors will be the first to know about them and have

the proper services to comply with appropriately. Having strong lines of

communication into those requirements will keep me, the agents I work for, and

their clients in a position to avoid any hiccups out of a smooth and successful

transaction.

e. T

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 References

Minnesota Stat. (n.d.) Human Resources Management Pathway. Human Resources Management

Pathway | Minnesota State CAREERwise (minnstate.edu)

Minnesota State. (n.d.) Professional Sales Pathway. Professional Sales Pathway | CAREERwise

Education (minnstate.edu)

National Association of Realtors. (2022). Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics (nar.realtor)

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