The transformation story of real estate professionals made me feel passionate.
In the four years from the peak of the real estate industry to the present, 900,000 people have left the real estate sector. What have the transformed real estate professionals gone to do?
Recently, Mingyuan Jun contacted many real estate professionals to understand the directions of their transformations. The following are several representative cases selected for sharing, hoping to provide some inspiration.
01
Real Estate Customer Relationship Officer Turns to Selling Insurance
"Choosing a Sunrise Industry Can't Be Wrong"
If we talk about the popular tracks for real estate professionals to transform, insurance should be considered one. In Mingyuan Jun's circle of friends, there are several real estate professionals who have transformed into the insurance industry.
Tong Xiao is one of them.
Before this, she was a customer relationship officer of a regional company of a certain trillion-yuan real estate enterprise.
When she entered the industry, the real estate industry was still a high-paying industry that people flocked to. The resume acceptance ratio of the real estate enterprise she joined was 500:1, and she went through seven rounds of interviews before finally getting the offer.
The work of a customer relationship officer is not easy, but she is proficient in it. Whether it is organizing delivery activities, managing customer satisfaction, or handling customer complaints, she can handle them with ease. Because of her excellent work, she also received a considerable year-end bonus and was promoted.
However, even an outstanding individual is powerless in the face of the general trend.
With the decline of the industry, the company inevitably fell into rounds of salary cuts and layoffs. In July this year, her project ended, and her real estate career also came to an end.
She said that at the moment of leaving, there was reluctance, but more of a relief. Entering the insurance industry was a matter of chance.
In the second month after leaving the real estate enterprise, when she was learning about financial products, she accidentally came into contact with an insurance broker. To her surprise, this broker did not immediately promote products, but helped her sort out the family structure and needs, and analyze the required protection. This broke her existing perception of insurance. After in-depth understanding, she felt that this profession was very suitable for her.
Last year, she just became a novice mother. The job in insurance allows her to better balance family and work.
Some people may think that it is a waste of talent for a 985 master's student to sell insurance. Tong Xiao, however, frankly stated that there is no psychological gap. "I used to think it was a bit low-level. After knowing that this industry also acquires customers through professionalism, I don't think so anymore."
She also mentioned that in the real estate enterprise, many things require team run in and collaboration, and things must be done strictly in an orderly manner; now the work is very free, and she can do things according to her own ideas and methods.
After several months of transformation, some friends and colleagues have referred friends to come for insurance consultation, and her personal performance has continuously ranked on the company's monthly performance list for three months. She expressed that she is optimistic about the development prospects of insurance. From a sunset industry to a sunrise industry, she believes that her choice will not be wrong.
02
Real Estate Brand Head Quits Job to Start a Business
"Don't Be Hasty in Transformation, Aim for a Graceful Transition"
Unlike many people who were passively laid off, in recent years, a few real estate professionals have actively chosen to leave.
For example, Vikki. In January this year, she left the real estate enterprise where she had worked for ten years and transformed into an entrepreneur. Before this, she was already the regional brand head of this real estate enterprise.
Many people around her were puzzled by her choice, thinking that although the real estate industry is not good, the salary is still passable, and the risk of Vikki being laid off is not high. Starting a business in the current economic environment is instead a high-risk behavior.
Vikki firmly believes that salary is not the first priority in work; growth space and team atmosphere are.
On the one hand, after the company's organizational structure adjustment, the team has "changed its flavor", no longer being practical in doing things, but being addicted to internal struggles. On the other hand, the era of real estate dividends has passed, and her personal expertise cannot be exerted, and she cannot gain a sense of achievement from her career. Both of these are unacceptable to her.
When she began to have the idea of leaving, a friend reminded her not to be hasty in the transformation, "Aim for a graceful transition." This sentence gave her a great shock.
In the following two years, she has been consciously preparing for the transformation. On the one hand, she runs a side business, investing in fast food stores; on the other hand, she sorts out her past experience, learns business and management knowledge, and makes reserves for starting a business. In one year, she wrote 810,000 words of study notes, quickly filling in the missing knowledge.
After being well-prepared, she chose a satisfactory day to start this "long-planned" departure and officially became an entrepreneur.
At this time, the fast food store she invested in has achieved an annual revenue of 5 million in the first year. It is reported that the brand has already run through the ultimate single-store model and has been favored by angel investors. Someone came with 3 million to discuss cooperation.
Her personal IP business has also been officially launched. Taking the Video Account and Official Account as the main positions, she provides career consultation and later personal IP training camps to help more people find their own "business model".
Vikki said that starting a business is a more challenging thing than working in the workplace. While there are risks, there are also opportunities. In the future, in addition to the physical business, she will focus more on the personal IP business, "The essence is to use my own transformation experience and business precipitation to help more people find new solutions and make a smooth transition. Let everyone have the courage to take a step forward in the era when the dividends are fading."
03
Real Estate Customer Research Transforms into New Media
"Quantifiable Performance is Very Important for Workers"
In any enterprise, there will be core business positions and some supporting positions. The latter cannot directly generate performance, and their contributions are also difficult to be quantified. Once the real estate enterprise encounters operational difficulties, these positions will be the first to be affected.
H Jun, a customer researcher of a local real estate enterprise in a first-tier city, became a "cannon fodder" of the times due to the adjustment of the company's organizational structure.
After leaving his old employer, H Jun actively submitted resumes to find a job. During the interview with an central enterprise, however, he strengthened his determination to change careers.
He found that the positioning and promotion mechanism of the customer research position in real estate enterprises are not clear. Customer research is generally attached to the marketing system, and in the eyes of the marketing director, customer research is just a "tool person" who collects data and makes PPTs, without realizing the value of customer research. This is the case in his previous company, and the same is true for the central enterprise giant he interviewed.
After careful consideration, he decided to change his career direction and move towards the new media field.
Shortly after that, he successfully joined a certain real estate self-media as the deputy editor-in-chief, embarking on a new starting point of his career path.
In his opinion, this job can not only give full play to his many years of experience in the real estate industry, but also conform to his personal career plan, which is a good choice. When talking about the experience of these few months of career change, he mentioned three points:
- First, the performance is quantifiable. In a real estate enterprise, if a project sells well, it is because the product is well-made and the marketing is well-done. No one will think that the customer research is well-done. However, whether it is writing articles or making videos in the self-media, the works and traffic are quantifiable. In his opinion, this is very important for workers.
- Second, his horizons have been broadened. When doing customer research, the focus is relatively limited, while doing self-media has a wider focus and the information accessed is more diversified, which has well opened up his own vision.
- Third, the interpersonal relationship is simple, and it is relatively less "mentally exhausting". After being immersed in the real estate industry for several years, he has witnessed various "cultures" such as toasting and taking sides in real estate enterprises. In contrast, the simple and free culture of the self-media makes him feel more comfortable.
When talking about the future, he believes that the path of new media is worth continuing.
04
Community Operator Transforms into a Tarot Card Reader
"Having a Skill, You Don't Have to Fear Unemployment"
While most people are still desperately competing in the traditional tracks, some real estate professionals have found their own unique paths and entered some niche tracks.
Anna, a former real estate community operator, is an example. Before last year, Anna was the community operation supervisor of a certain top 100 real estate enterprise; now she is a tarot card reader.
Anna's career experience can be described as full of ups and downs. Since graduation, she has experienced three industries. Each time, either the company disbanded, the department disbanded, or she was laid off.
In her words, she may have no fate with working for others. Every time she enters an industry, the company goes downhill.
Just after graduation, she entered an Internet startup company, but it disbanded after less than three years. Later, she worked as a course salesperson in an education and training institution. Just when she made her performance the first in the team, a sudden policy adjustment paralyzed the entire company. Anna was unemployed again.
Not long after, she entered a local private real estate enterprise to do community operations. Unfortunately, the company contracted its business in 2022 and intensively adjusted its organizational structure. Like Anna, who had a relatively short working period and was not an essential position, it was naturally "reasonable" to be included in the optimization list.
After three setbacks, Anna felt extremely disappointed with the workplace. After submitting resumes for several months without finding a job, the confused Anna found a tarot card reader on the Internet to see her own fortune. Unexpectedly, this consultation opened up a new world for her.
For the "mystical" tarot card, she developed a great interest.
Having found a new direction, Anna had an unprecedented drive. She bought books to study by herself and paid to learn from a senior tarot card reader. "I'm more diligent than in high school. I'm basically studying except for eating and sleeping every day."
At the same time, she started to operate Bilibili and Xiaohongshu accounts, sharing some of the knowledge she learned online and gradually accumulating fans. While learning, she also took orders. At the beginning, the charging standard was 29 yuan per question, and this year it has increased to 199 yuan per question.
"Now there are many confused people. Many people will choose to consult strangers rather than confide in acquaintances. Even my former leader came to me for consultation."
After many years of ups and downs, Anna feels that she has finally found her own track. She said that she no longer wants to work for an enterprise.
"In recent years, many real estate professionals have been unemployed. Even if the real estate industry is not in decline, many people will face a workplace crisis when they reach the age of 35." She believes that compared with working diligently, having a skill that does not depend on a platform may be more important, "Then you don't have to worry about unemployment."
05
Real Estate Engineering Transforms into a "Half" Marketer
"If There is an Opportunity, I Still Hope to Be a 'Construction Worker' Again"
Wang Ming, who majored in civil engineering, entered a company under China State Construction Engineering Corporation as a construction worker upon graduation.
In the era when the real estate industry was booming, civil engineers all had a belief: It is better to enter a real estate enterprise than a construction enterprise. Wang Ming was also in a construction enterprise but had his heart in a real estate enterprise. After four years of hard work, finally, by a stroke of luck, with the recommendation of a supplier boss, he entered a top 20 real estate company at that time and became a real estate engineering supervisor.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In 2022, the company encountered a liquidity crisis, and projects in various places stopped construction and production one after another. The area where Wang Ming is located is a heavily invested area by the company. Although the project is still advancing, the company has not newly acquired land, and employees can only take one day at a time.
Layoffs finally came. At the end of 2023, the project where Wang Ming is located was delivered. Due to the lack of new projects to do, the entire project department was dissolved on the spot.
After that, Wang Ming tried to find the same position, but he did not succeed. In his third-tier city, only local enterprises have a few sporadic projects under development, and national real estate enterprises have basically withdrawn. Job seekers are in a serious oversupply situation.
When talking about whether to consider returning to the construction unit, Wang Ming said, "I don't consider it for the time being."
Wang Ming said that when he entered this real estate enterprise, it was because it had more local businesses and he did not need to travel around. "Now the construction units also have few projects to do, and more people are leaving than entering. Moreover, after having a family, I don't want to live a life of wandering around anymore."
Saying this, Wang Ming lamented that it is too difficult for engineering professionals to change careers. One of his former colleagues entered a real estate consulting company last year and was recently laid off. "Now it is right that everyone does not choose the civil engineering major. It is really a pit."
The only fortunate thing is that the education and training institution run by his wife is operating well. The idle Wang Ming takes over the daily operation of the institution and also self-learned various publicity and enrollment methods, making posters, shooting videos, editing videos, and operating Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Video Account on a daily basis. He has learned all the skills of self-media, and he jokingly says that he is now a "half" marketer.
Of course, if there is an opportunity, Wang Ming still hopes to return to his old profession and be a "construction worker" again.
06 Conclusion
Whether it is a passive departure or an active exit, every real estate professional is striving to find their own track. Transformation is not easy. We wish every transformed real estate professional can achieve their desires.
Which real estate professionals around you have successfully transformed? Welcome to share and let's discuss and learn together.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Mingyuan Real Estate Research Institute", author: Ruoke, and is published by 36Kr with authorization.