Words of Wisdom – with Recruit RE and Virginia Brookes

“I wouldn't change anything. I think everything has got me to where I need to be today.”

An astute leader in the real estate industry, Virginia Brookes is the Founder and Director of Resolver Recruitment and Temp Talent, sought after for her advice and counsel in real estate recruitment.

Over sixteen years, she has forged a stellar career in the property industry and has helped curate the Property Girls networking groups, contributing to industry publications, and building her businesses.

Her most recent challenge has been her fight with breast cancer, and as she focuses on her family and health, she has also seen incredible success in her business after years of dedication, passion, and hard work.  

Tell us about your career and how you started in the real estate and recruitment industry.

I started as a Legal Registration Clerk, where I worked for around six to twelve months, and I met a couple of real estate agents and liked what they did, so got a job on the reception desk at the age of seventeen, and my career evolved from there.

Can you believe back then we used to take the cash into the bank that we received from deposits, rents, and bonds. As a 17-year-old I was often walking around with $5000 in my bag. That wouldn’t happen these days!

Is real estate the only industry you've ever worked in?

I did a very short stint in the middle for a phone company, “Let's Talk Communications” and did well, but I went back to Real Estate. I've only had six months out of the industry, and real estate and recruitment has spanned the course of my career.

I started Resolver Recruitment around sixteen years ago and have had Temp Talent for around eleven years.

What qualifications did you complete to get into the industry?

I completed my Certificate of Registration and over the years, have completed additional study with Australian Institute of Management. I attend a lot of conferences to keep learning from AREC to WIRE, am a huge Gary Vee and Tom Panos listener, and I am involved with the REI of NSW and RCSA which is the Recruitment Association of Australia.

I dedicate significant time to research what is changing and happening across Real Estate and Recruitment so that I can stay up to date with the industry across every aspect.

You must upskill and work on yourself as everything changes quickly. It’s super important to keep your finger on the pulse.

How would you say that your friends and colleagues would describe you?

They would describe me as positive, upbeat, resourceful, intuitive, ethical & loyal, and always there to celebrate the wins and to work through the losses.

What is the proudest moment of your career?

I think my proudest career moment would have to be setting up my own business and opening it on my own from my dining room table, creating something that's been sustained for 16 years.

Running and building my business over the years while raising my babies has given me a great source of satisfaction. I think still the best is yet to come because I've got time.

What has been the most rewarding part of your career?

The most rewarding part of my career is seeing people's careers flourish and businesses build because of the work I've put into them. A lot of my past candidates are now clients who worked with me to grow their careers and they continue to work with me to develop their own businesses now.

It is satisfying to watch someone's career grow and know that you were so instrumental in helping them get to where they are.

How have different companies helped you reach your career goals?

Giving me trust to guide their career or help them guide the right people into their business.

It’s rewarding that someone trusts you to help them achieve their goals. So many companies have put their trust in me to grow their businesses, and to sit back and see them flourishing now gives me tremendous satisfaction.

What advice would you have forearly career professionals?

Continuity is important. Changing jobs every six months or so can make you unemployable and you need to get in somewhere and learn from the people around you and build trust within your personal brand. Stop chasing money and chase opportunity, training & growth will get you to your long-term goal.

Put your hand up for work that’s not in your job description, don’t be a clock watcher and ask loads of questions. Listen to the answers and put the advice into practice. This will get you noticed and have you stand out amongst your peers.

What advice do you have for maintaining good mental health?

Take time out. I am an avid walker, and I've always walked because personally, it’s what clears my head. I do this without listening to anything, I walk with my own thoughts.

Well-being is important. I have been devoted to yoga & Pilates for years, HIIT classes via YouTube and I ensure I have time in nature which is crucial for my personal well-being.

So many people are constantly attached to devices, and you need to step away even if it's for a few hours or a weekend.

Would you do anything differently if you were given the chance?

I'm a big believer in things panning out how they should and quite often I throw it out to the universe. Everybody has a path, and while there are some people that I wouldn't have worked for over the years, it makes you grow and learn what's right or wrong or how you want to behave or how you want to put yourself out there to the world.

I wouldn't change anything. Ithink everything has got me to where I need to be today.

Have you had any unexpectedopportunities come out of your career?

I think some of the friendships that I've made have been huge with like-minded people. My career has given me freedom through hard work, and now having gone through this stage of my life, going through breast cancer, I have been able to step out of business on a day-to-day basis to focus on what I needed to.

The hard work I put in my 20sand 30s has allowed me to know that I've got the right systems and people around me to make the best decisions when I am not contactable. I also had a massive industry support network to get me through my cancer shock diagnosis and treatment and for those people, I will be forever grateful.

The biggest opportunity is it has given me freedom, but the freedom has come from hard work.

My biggest month personally that I've written in my business was when my work allowed me to put my focus somewhere else while I went through the motions of what I had to do while I was dealing with cancer and escapism to focus on what I love doing.

What do you think the biggest recruitment challenges are in the industry?

Finding people and retention. It's no secret that the baby boomers are retiring and we're in a position that we've not seen before because there are fewer people for the work needed.

It's finding the right person and learning to hire based on the skills and the personality of the person you're looking at rather than their work experience. Just because someone doesn't have ten years of property management experience doesn't mean they won't make a great property manager.

They might have bought and sold houses or rented over the years, but they've got life and customer service skills, and empathy, all that makes a good property manager. You need to look at the individual and the transferable skills they have to fit a role.

Don’t just look to put a bum on a seat and when recruiting make sure you've got the correct training, whether that's internal or external set up so you can bring people into your business and onboard them quickly with great systems.

How do you find the best talent to join your team?

I hire on fit for the team and the ability to talk to people. I like to hire from a property background as it's hard to recruit for an industry that you have never worked in but having said that, I have had some that have worked out great. I always look within our sector for people who want a change but are still passionate about it.

It's good for me to bring them in and give them another set of skills while utilising the skills they've learned in real estate over the years. I’m fortunate and have people approach me asking if I'm hiring for my team. You've always got to be recruiting and open to having conversations with people even if you're not looking right now.

What is your opinion of the current real estate market?

We’re in for a bit of a rough ride, but this will sort out the great from the average. We've had it good for a long time and now is the time to look at the people you've got in your team and make sure that you've got the best people possible to get you through this tough time.

I've been through the GFC, and my business grew during that time as did a lot of real estate businesses. We all hit the panic button when covid hit, and look what happened there. While it is going to be a little bit tougher, there’s plenty of work out there, and it’s an excellent time to continue building a great team in your business.

A top tip for anyone to flourish in the real estate industry.

Be true to yourself, work hard, do the right thing, make great connections, have great mentors, spend money on upskilling yourself and be patient, the rewards will come.

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