Guaranteed Rate is stepping up its efforts to find the best sales talent in the Chicago area.
Like, big time.
New office space totaling 15,000 square feet now occupies the mortgage lender’s Cuyler Avenue location, a modern hub of industry knowledge that will host the training of over 280 new loan officers this year. This ambitious flagship initiative, called Liftoff, will feature instructional sales itineraries, industry guest lecturers and exam certification courses.
Liftoff reflects Guaranteed Rate’s vigorous growth since its founding. In the last five years alone, Guaranteed Rate’s workforce has doubled, its revenue rose more than 400 percent, and the dollar amount in loans funded more than tripled. Founder & CEO Victor Ciardelli started the company in 2000 envisioning a home loan process that is easier, faster and more transparent for customers. Seventeen years later the company is the eighth largest retail mortgage lender in the country – and ready for a batch of new mortgage originators.
While Guaranteed Rate often hires established loan originators drawn to the company for its cutting-edge technology and marketing capabilities, Liftoff is primarily geared toward recent college graduates and sales professionals new to home loan origination.
“There are three types of candidates we’re looking to develop,” explains recruiting specialist Julie McDermott. “Passionate people with a desire to dominate in sales; those who have industry knowledge but perhaps are currently operations or support staff; and proven salespeople from other industries who don’t have mortgage backgrounds.”
McDermott and Marc Purvis, director of Liftoff, work to mold raw talent into polished loan officers who inspire and innovate while collaborating seamlessly with colleagues.
“The first and most important message we communicate is discipline,” says Purvis. “That is, don’t expect success to fall into your lap out of space. You really have to work for it. The Guaranteed Rate way of doing things is unique, and it gives you a chance to shape your life and career in unimaginable ways, but you have to earn it—it doesn’t just happen.”
McDermott has a well-refined sense of the characteristics that make for successful future loan officers.
“Whether fresh out of school or changing careers, we look for people who are eager and love to interact,” she explains. “Participation in sports and student government, Greek life and those sorts of things can help. Evidence of leadership is essential. The personality of a loan officer allows him or her to build their own brand and be the CEO of their own business.”
“The program was invaluable to accelerating my career as a loan officer,” says Liftoff graduate and Andrew O’Callaghan, VP of Mortgage Lending. “You receive a thoroughly-planned crash course in the day-to-day responsibilities of the job, all from teachers who are extremely passionate about training the next generation of our industry. From licensing education, technical and guideline training, role-playing scenarios, and sales techniques, there is nothing else like it in the industry that will enable you to hit the ground running in your new career.”
Guaranteed Rate is a company that makes a habit of disrupting the industry, and Liftoff is no exception. It is a bold extension of two core values the company holds sacred: working with the best of the best, and a bias to action.
“We’re selective with who gets into Liftoff because we ask people to invest a lot of themselves,” says Purvis. “Not just their time, but their passion, drive and desire to help others. Those things are critical to individual success, and they’re what drive our growth as a company. If you think you possess those traits, we’d love to talk to you.”
If you’re interested in joining Guaranteed Rate’s Liftoff Program to jumpstart your successful career, go here for Built in Chicago’s job listing, or contact Julie McDermott at (773) 945-6113 or [email protected].
-19.jpg)
