4 Professional Development Opportunities for Real Estate Agents

You love your job, and you know that one important aspect to staying on top is to keep current with your professional development. But finding time to do it is the first barrier to prioritizing your growth as a real estate professional, and then finding the opportunities to learn is your next struggle.

First, let’s start with prioritizing your time. It may feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to complete even the most important tasks, but sometimes, finding time for professional development is as simple as rearranging your schedule a bit. Can you listen to a real estate podcast while you do more mundane tasks, such as filing? Maybe you read through a trade magazine or screen a webinar as you wait for calls. 

Another option is to set aside time that’s dedicated to professional development activities, like on Friday mornings. Knowing that time is allocated just for learning will encourage you to put in the effort to focus on your professional development.

Which brings us to the next problem. Where do you even find professional development opportunities? Here, we’ve outlined four different ways you can keep up with your learning. Choose what’s best for you. 

1. Attend community events for professional development opportunities.

Going to local events is a great way to both learn and network with people in your community. At these events, you’ll meet like-minded people who can help you professionally, either by educating you, introducing you to people who would be great additions to your professional network, or potentially even being future clients. 

Some of these professional events may be informal, such as a happy hour or a lunch and learn. Others may be niched down to a specific topic and offered by a company or even a local college or university. 

2. Sign up for webinars and classes to learn and grow.

There are so many online opportunities available to help you grow your career. Whether you’re looking for a quick win, like a webinar that you can watch from your desk, or a more long-term professional development opportunity, like a coaching program or an online course, you’ll find it online.

The key is knowing what you’re looking to gain before doing your online search. Are you looking for help with marketing? Great — narrow that down to a particular marketing facet, like social media or email marketing. Now you’re ready to seek out a learning opportunity.

3. Find a mentor for specific professional guidance.

You might not immediately think of a mentor as a professional development “opportunity,” but a mentor may be the golden ticket to helping you be in the right place at the right time, get introduced to the right people, and enrolled in exclusive learning opportunities. 

And besides the way they can help you meet other people and find other opportunities, they can also guide you with whatever you’re struggling with. Bring specific questions or scenarios to them, and allow their years of experience to help you grow.

4. Find professional development opportunities in similar industries.

Struggling to find real-estate specific learning opportunities? Don’t worry. There’s a lot you can learn from similar industries that will help you in your career. Seek out events or trainings from the mortgage, construction, and interior design industries, as examples. What can you learn from home stagers, home photographers, or landscape architects?  When you find an event or course for these industries that interest you, make sure to sign up.

Don’t overcomplicate what it takes to seek out professional development opportunities. Simply sign up for events, conferences, and workshops that will benefit you. And, if you’re still really not sure, make a long list of what you’d like to learn, and ask a colleague to help you find ways to learn about those things.