What top talent looks for when job hunting

Education is top-of-mind for those looking for jobs in the mortgage industry – placing learning and personal growth above the lure of the almighty dollar.

“It was time to reinvigorate,” says Audrey Wamboldt, the new residential mortgage specialist for Invis operating out of Dartmouth, N.S., “and having a larger team around me with a local presence was important to me. Having the opportunity to access educational opportunities right here in Nova Scotia was another draw for me; I believe you need to learn something every day.”

For Wamboldt, who is now operating out of Darmouth, NS, her new position was the opportunity to upgrade her skillset through the company and to work with other professionals who shared her goals.

“Being able to bring back qualified people can be a true game-changer for those looking to compete in the mortgage space,” says Trevor Gordon, regional manager for Ottawa and Atlantic Canada, Invis, “and talent the likes of an Audrey Wamboldt is difficult to come by.”

Keeping connected with staff is crucial to retaining top talent, and for Wamboldt.

“The team that I had truly enjoyed working with at Invis many years ago were still here,” she told MBN, “and so it was very familiar, and it feels like a very comfortable place to land.”

The value of hiring expertise was underlined when the Bank of Montreal cut 1,000 jobs in the personal and commercial banking sectors, including mortgage specialists, back in 2013. It spurred a debate in the broker channel as to whether those specialists would be welcomed among their ranks.

For Gordon, the value of knowledge and expertise was ingrained into him when he first started working at Wells Fargo almost a decade ago.

“I only knew a small handful of brokers at the time, and it was Tony Roberts – who was the National Sales Manager at the time – who advised me that the first person I should call upon was a lady named Audrey Wamboldt,” he says. “I took his advice and here we are, eight years later.”

MBN