Attracting new talent is essential for growth
Attracting new talent is always on the minds of those looking to the future of an industry.
As Sonya Matharu (pictured), senior mortgage broker at The Mortgage Mum, explained, ‘how did you get into the industry?’ is a question that has regularly cropped up both inside and outside of industry events.
Matharu said she stumbled upon the profession by accident, like many other brokers, which she believed was due to a lack of visibility.
“It is only when industries become more visible, that people realise all of the potential that it has; take real estate for example, after the launch of Netflix’s hit series ‘Selling Sunset’, there was a surge of interest in people becoming estate agents,” Matharu said.
She added that this was because an audience saw a new approach to real estate and how it operated.
“It was young, feminine and glamorous, and these things made it a desirable career choice; it made the industry more visible,” Matharu said.
Attracting new talent
Matharu believed social media could be used to encourage diversity, inclusion, and gives a platform for new opinions.
“Diversity is a huge topic at the moment, as recruiters and organisations look to bring a variety of perspectives and voices into their businesses,” she said.
Yet, Matharu said some people still had the perception of the mortgage industry that it was an older, male-dominated industry.
“The problem with old boys' clubs is that if you are not an old boy, it is not really something you want to be involved in, but times are changing,” Matharu said.
Matharu said there is a multitude of voices within the industry and there were more empowered female voices in the industry than ever before, not just in mortgage brokerages but the financial industry as a whole.
The problem was, if people within the industry did not share it, people outside of the industry would not know it, she reasoned.
No two days are the same
“Finances can often be deemed as boring but it is far from it; as a broker, I love my job because no two days or properties are ever the same,” Matharu said
Each day, as a broker, you got to help people use their finances to work for them and help make a difference in their lives, whether that was with purchasing a new home, selling up or releasing equity to embark on a new adventure, she explained.
“Outside of that, there are the industry events, interviews, podcast episodes and appearances on TV and radio,” she added.
Utilising social media, Matharu believed, helped to showcase this, providing visibility and promoting what would usually go unseen.
Sharing experiences
Sharing experiences and giving a platform to different voices and methods of doing things, Matharu said, enabled you to get personal and discover fresh new talent in the process.
“An example of this in action; before becoming a broker, I failed my CeMAP numerous times, it used to be a huge point of shame for me, until I realised that failing is only one part of the story,” she shared.
Matharu said the flip side to this was persistence, determination and success, but added nobody would have known that she struggled if she had not revealed her personal story.
“I posted it on Instagram and afterwards, I had numerous people reach out to say they too had failed and felt like giving up, or that they are starting their CeMAP, or that they were looking into becoming a broker,” Matharu said.
Social media, Matharu suggested, enabled us to share our stories and build a community fostered by connection.
“This is something which better serves the financial community, as the less shame people feel about their financial circumstances, the more open they are, and the more open they are, the more we can help them,” she said.
Do you believe social media could be an effective tool to encourage the next generation of mortgage brokers? Let us know in the comment section below.
