Description

Lots of us are in toxic relationships with the mortgage industry. We’re loyal beyond reason to our jobs, yet we can be laid off without notice. At the same time, they’re laying people off; companies are making 7 and 8-figure acquisitions and onboarding 100s of new people. This episode is about breaking your pact of unreciprocated loyalty with your company and finding ways to use your skills to transfer out of the mortgage industry.

We explore how to downsize ethically and what to do after being downsized through the real layoff stories of 3 professionals in the mortgage industry: Dani Hernandez, Brandi Floyd, and Leora Ruzin.

Dani Hernandez is a mortgage underwriting expert.

Brandi Floyd had multiple positions, primarily focused on growth by recruitment.

Leora Ruzin has been in the lending industry for 15 years and is now shifting her career to writing.

What we discussed

(00:24) Layoffs in the mortgage industry

(03:31) The dreaded conversation (getting fired): Is there a right way to let someone go?

(10:39) Would you take a pay cut to save your job?

(14:09) The right way to lay people off

(18:55) How to shift your career away from the mortgage industry.

(29:20) Would you go back to the mortgage industry after a layoff?

(30:51) Vetting the company before accepting the offer

(34:04) Company brand vs. employee reality

(36:32) Lower CPI and jobs

(38:13) Layoffs aren’t the problem

Three tips for shifting your career out of the mortgage industry:

1. Use your resume to get recruiters curious: Resumes don’t get you the job; they get you the interview. You have to give people enough for them to want to know the rest. 
2. Please don’t hold your personality back; use it to help you stand out in a sea of bland applications.
3. List out your transferable skills: as a mortgage professional, you’re a jack of all trades. Being a mortgage professional is not one rote skill; if you examine what you can do, you’ll be thinking of the range of alternative careers you can take up.

Questions to ask before accepting your next job:

1. What is your employee turnover?
2. How do you take care of your employees?
3. What is the average length of tenure at your organization?
4. How were your last employee engagement surveys?

Three tips for mortgage companies laying off employees:

1. Layoff decisions shouldn’t happen in a secluded room full of executives; companies should include team members who should engage in decisions that dramatically affect their livelihood.
2. When downsizing, companies must provide a dignified transition plan for their team members.
3. Offer your team members first dibs for alternative positions in your company instead of immediately laying them off. There may be a role they can fill.

Links

Connect with Dani Hernandez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asktheunderwriter

Connect with Brandi Floyd: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandi-floyd-cpc-sprw-937b835a/

Connect with Leora Ruzin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leoraruzin/

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