The Mortgage Industry is a dynamic and exciting sector, which has a positive impact on the end-customer. At the heart of the industry is the Great Australian Dream of owning your own home.

The core service of a mortgage industry professional is to help people fulfil their dreams. On the commercial lending side of the industry, mortgage professionals are often contributing to the achievement of corporate objectives (which is another term for ‘work dreams’) through the provision of funds to either start or expand a business, also a very gratifying activity!

The three main categories of career opportunities within the Mortgage Industry can be explained as follows:

Mortgage Brokers and Lending Officers

These positions may be considered the front-line salespeople of the respective lending institutions. Their typical duties include implementing lead generation strategies, attending to initial customer enquiries, completing loan applications and collecting supporting documents, lodging applications with either credit departments or lending institutions and following the loan through to ensure settlement. While the emphasis may be slightly different from, for example, a bank to a mortgage broking firm, the overall position responsibilities are similar. This has been recently proven within the industry, with key personnel moving from lending institutions to mortgage broking firms and vice versa.

If your strengths lie in marketing and business development, then you may prefer to work as a single-operator mortgage broker. However, if you prefer customers being supplied through ‘the organisation’, then a larger lending institution such as a bank or building society may be better suited to your competencies.

Loan Processors and Credit Managers

These positions are predominately back-office roles, which have limited customer contact and virtually no selling is involved. Many experienced industry figureheads believe that these positions provide ideal grounding for new entrants to the Mortgage Industry before they progress to front-line roles. Learning what goes on ‘behind-the-scenes’ before moving into the customer spotlight can lead to a more successful career.

If you would like to become a mortgage broker or lending officer, but don’t feel you have the lending expertise or confidence, then this type of position may be a sound starting point. Alternatively, if you don’t believe you have the right ‘people skills’, but are very efficient and enjoy working on finer detail, then this could be a rewarding long-term career option for you.

Business Development Managers

This generally ‘hidden career option’ within the Mortgage Industry, has evolved primarily as a result of the rapid growth in mortgage broking. Business Development Managers are employed by lending institutions and aggregators to service the needs of mortgage brokers and to sign-on additional mortgage brokers. The role can be challenging and rewarding as you are working towards making other mortgage professionals succeed.

In addition to these 3 main career options there are numerous other careers in information technology, marketing, human resources and logistics. Like any industry, success lies in the motivation to achieve results on a daily basis. The most powerful weapon on this earth is the human soul on fire, so work out a way to light yours and you will succeed.