Real Estate Agent Resume [Examples & Tips for 2024]

27 June
10 min read
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As a real estate agent, you are a part of over 3 million people in the US who are licensed to help customers buy, sell, and rent homes and other properties.

And that’s a wise career choice, considering the real estate market is huge, with 5.64 million homes being sold in 2020 alone.

Before you can practice all the skills that make you a great real estate agent, however, you first have to “sell them” to recruiters.

And the best way to do that? Through an attention-grabbing real estate agent resume.

Now, if your strong point isn’t writing resumes or you just haven’t updated yours in ages, don’t fret—we’re here to guide you on how to write a job-winning real estate agent resume like no other.

Here’s what this article is going to cover:

  • Real Estate Agent Resume Example (to Inspire You)
  • Step-By-Step Guide to Create Your Real Estate Agent Resume
  • 17 Real Estate Agent Soft and Hard Skills to Put on Your Resume

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Real Estate Agent Resume Example

Here are all the elements that make this real estate agent resume an example to follow:

  • Chronological format.This real estate agent resume example uses the chronological format, the most popularresume formatin the world.
  • Relevant contact information.This example includes the essential contact info, as well as a LinkedIn profile URL. The latter is always a good addition to a resume if you regularly keep it updated.
  • Impactful resume summary.The real estate agent resume example above can grab recruiters’ attention through an impactful resume summary.
  • Achievements over responsibilities.The above candidate knows that when it comes to making an impression, achievements speak more than responsibilities.
  • Bullet points and one-page length.The optimal resume length is one page. Listing your work experience in bullet points helps you stay within the limit.
  • Short and to-the-point education section.This real estate agent resume example keeps the education section short and to the point, focusing instead on skills, experience, and other industry-relevant certifications.
  • Relevant real estate agent skills.Instead of listing every skill under the sun, the real estate agent resume example above only lists industry-related skills.
  • Additional sections.This real estate agent candidate lists one foreign language, which means they can (potentially) communicate with non-English-speaking clients.

Step-By-Step Guide to Create Your Real Estate Agent Resume

Inspired by the real estate agent resume example?

Well, now it’s time to start writing yours!

Below, we’ll walk you through the exact steps you need to take in order to create a compelling real estate agent resume.

Format Your Real Estate Agent Resume

First things first: choose thechronological resumeformat for your real estate agent resume.

It’s the most popular among recruiters worldwide and while other resume formats exist, they’re not nearly as well-known as this one.

Once you’ve picked the format, start working on theresume layout, which includes:

  • Resume length.The industry standard forresume length is one page. Make sure that yours stays within that limit. Only if you’re a seasoned professional with 20+ years of experience under your belt, then, in some cases, youcan opt for 2+ pages.
  • Section headers.Identify your resume’s sections by using headers to separate them.
  • Font size and style.It’s best to use 11-12 point size when it comes to standard text and 13-14 points for section headers. It’s also important to go for a professional-looking font style, such as Times New Roman, and not something TOO casual, like Papyrus.
  • Resume margins.You should set margins to your resume so that it’s easier to follow.

The best option is to save your resume as aPDF file, as it keeps the formatting intact no matter what OS or device opens the document.Only use Wordif the company you’re applying for explicitly asks for it.

Or Use Our Tried & Tested Templates

If you think tinkering with the formatting is the worst part of writing a resume, then welcome to the club.

You set the margins too wide, your resume looks empty…you set them too narrow, it looks cramped with information...

You choose the wrong font and your resume ends up looking unprofessional…experiment a bit with the section headings, and your text jumps on page 2.

Before you know it, an hour has passed and you still haven’t filled in your contact details.

Want to bypass all that hassle and still come out with a well-designed, job-winning resume?

Try one of our tried-and-testedfree resume templates! All the layout and formatting is done for you, all you have to do is fill in your contents.

Don’t believe us? See how good it looks compared to a traditional, black-and-white resume:

#2. Add the Right Contact Information

Now that formatting is out of the way, let’s talk about your real estate agent resume contents!

First things first - listing yourcontact information.

This section consists of:

  • Your name and surname
  • Your professional title (preceded by license or certification)
  • Your phone number
  • Your email
  • Your location (city and state/country)

If you have a LinkedIn profile or a real estate agent portfolio somewhere on a website, make sure to include them in this section.

Here’s a concrete example of what a real estate agent’s contact information section should look like:

Contact Information Example

Todd Chavez

Licensed Real Estate Agent

123-456-7788

todd.chavez@gmail.com

Chicago, Illinois

linkedin.com/in/toddchavez

#3. Write a Powerful Real Estate Agent Resume Summary or Objective

Aresume summaryis a 2-3 sentence paragraph that comes right after your contact information section and sums up the highlights of your career - preferably, in a way that will leave recruiters wanting to read more.

The best way to do that is by including:

  • Your role and years of experience
  • 1-2 of your key achievements in the field
  • Your most relevant real estate agent skills

Here’s what an example of what an attention-grabbing real estate agent resume summary looks like:

Real Estate Agent Resume Summary
  • Communicative realtor with 5+ years of experience in property management. Recently became an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, with a record of 10 closed transactions where I was the client's sole representative. An active member of the National Association of Realtors and the Estate Buyer’s Agent Council.

Now, in case you took your licensing exam only recently and your real estate agent license is still fresh in your wallet, or if you’re jumping from another field to real estate, then aresume objectiveis more suitable for you.

Instead of describing your professional achievements, a resume objective is a 2-3 sentence paragraph that explains how you intend to use your skills and strengths to meet your career goals.

Here’s an example of a resume objective straight out of the resume of a salesman who’s making a career change:

Real Estate Agent Resume Objective
  • Passionate salesman with 3+ years of experience in an office supplies company. Maintained a high client satisfaction rating during my work there and exceeded the company’s KPI-s during my first year. Looking forward to gaining hands-on knowledge as a real estate junior in your company and eventually putting my knack for sales to good use as a real estate agent.

Learn all the essentials of writing a powerfulresume profileand win hiring managers’ attention right from the start with our guide.

#4. Prioritize Achievements on Your Work Experience Section

If you’re a seasoned professional with plenty of work experience under your belt, then thework experience sectionis definitely the most important part of your resume.

It serves to prove the achievements and skills in your resume summary are not just what recruiters want to read, but the result of your actual experience.

First, it’s important to get the formatting right. Here’s how to do that:

  • Begin with your current/most recent position and go backward in time from there.
  • For each entry, list yourprofessional titlefirst, followed by thecompany’s name, thedates you workedthere, and3-5 of your accomplishments and responsibilitiesin bullet points.
  • List fewer accomplishments and responsibilities the further back you go in time and keep your work entries relevant (e.g. your experience as a waiter 10 years back won’t land you a job as a real estate agent).

To really convince recruiters you’ve got what it takes to land the job, though, you need more than just a well-formatted section.

Specifically, you need to present your professional experience in such a way that highlights your skills and capabilities. The best way to do this is to prioritize achievements over responsibilities under each work entry - if you’ve got them, that is.

Here’s how to make your achievements really stand out:

  • Quantify your achievements whenever it’s possible. Help yourself out by using the formula “accomplished X as measured by Y, by doing Z” or, put differently, start with a verb, numerically measure what you accomplished, provide a baseline for comparison, and detail what you did to achieve your goal.
  • Useaction words. Especially action verbs such as “achieved,” “led,” “managed” can make even the most minuscule achievements look great on a resume. If you can’t think of many achievements, you can even use action words to describe your work responsibilities and they’ll look just as great.

Here’s a concrete example of a job entry in a real estate agent’s work experience section:

Example:

Residential Real Estate Agent

Freedom Properties, LLC

12/2017 - 12/2021

  • Increased company referral rates by 13% during the first year of working there.
  • Completed 14 transactions of 20 million in volume over the course of 3 years.
  • Prepared and handled all our clients’ legal documents, including deeds and leases.

#5. List Relevant Skills

While each skills section looks different depending on the industry you’re in, a skills section is an inseparable part of a resume nonetheless.

Specifically, this section should provide recruiters a clear picture of your professional abilities, which are usually divided intosoft skillsand hard skills.

The trick with this section is to keep it as relevant as possible.

So, don’t include every skill you ever acquired, or even those related to another field, on your resume. You probably can imagine that your chess or graphic design skills won’t help you land a real estate agent job.

Instead, you want to list skills related to the real estate industry—and, preferably, to tailor them to the job you’re applying for.

Here’s how you can do that:

  • Identify the required skills from the job description
  • Think of all the industry-related hard and soft skills you possess
  • Make sure to include any of your skills that match the required skills.

17 Real Estate Agent Skills to Put On Your Resume

Soft Skills
  1. Active listening
  2. Communication
  3. Negotiation
  4. Patience
  5. Interpersonal skills
  6. Sales skills
  7. Property management
  8. Networking skills
  9. Organization
Hard Skills
  1. Market analysis
  2. Cash flow
  3. Systems development
  4. Digital technology
  5. Property Manager 5000 software
  6. Risk analysis
  7. MLS database
  8. Title, Escrow and Deed searches

#6. Mention Your Education

You should include an education section to your resume whether you’re a professional with years of experience under your belt or you’re just getting started on your career.

For starters, here’s how to format this important section:

  • Add your highest degree first and then list the university’s name, location, and years attended, in this specific order.
  • If you have a second advanced degree, include it in your resume as well.
  • Only include your high school education in your real estate agent resume if you don’t have higher degrees.

Here’s an example:

Example:

BA in Business Administration

Boston College, Massachusetts

08/2014 - 05/2018

Now, if you don’t have much experience to show because you’re just starting out your career, you can list anynoteworthy academic achievementsthat may be relevant to the job, or that highlight skills such as dedication, hard work, etc.

Here’s what it’d look like in practice:

Example:

Master’s Degree in Real Estate

Online Program, Georgetown University

01/2018 - 05/2020

  • Graduated Summa Cum Laude
  • Was selected to intern at the Real Estate Business Institute during the first year of my Master’s studies

#7. Include Your License and Certifications

As you may well know, you need a license to become a real estate agent. The requirements are state-specific, but the document itself is more important to start a real estate career than a degree no matter where you live.

So, before including any other sections, make sure to list your license and any other certifications you’ve acquired during your career.

Here’s how to list this information the right way:

Example:

Licenses and Certifications

  • Licensed real estate agent, Chicago
    • Exp. 6/2020
  • Certified Commercial Investment Member

#8. Make Use of These Additional Sections

Now that you’re all set and done with the basics, take advantage of some of the following extra sections to set yourself apart from other applicants with similar skills and work experience, as well as add some spice to your resume:

  • Memberships.Whether you’re a member of an industry-related institution (e.g. the National Association of Realtors), or of another renowned organization, including it in your resume will prove you’re a dedicated professional and diverse individual.
  • Volunteer work.According to 92% of employers, volunteer experience shows valuable personality traitsand, when it’s relevant to the field, it can even be advantageous in a job interview. So, make sure to include yourvolunteer experience on your resume.
  • Internships.If you’ve completed an internship where you gained practical experience or skills related to the real estate field, such as negotiation orcommunication skills, add it to your resume for bonus points.
  • Languages.If you’re proficient in a foreign language, you can communicate with a bigger number of clients and get hired internationally, both of which raise your chances to get employed.
  • Hobbies and Interests.You can use your hobbies and interests to show you are passionate about your real estate career (organizing fundraisers, for example, can show you’re interested in helping people buy and sell outside of work, too).

#9. Attach a Cover Letter to Your Resume

Just like with any profession, you should include a cover letter to your real estate agent application.

The cover letter allows you to elaborate on your experience and skills, as well as mention anything you didn’t have space to in your real estate agent resume.

Here are 6 tips on how to ace yourcover letter:

  1. Address your cover letterusing the recruiter’s full name, last name, or professional title. You can even address the team of the specific department you’re applying to - just don’t use the old-fashioned and overly popular “Dear Sir/Madam” and “To Whom It May Concern.”
  2. Write an attention-grabbing introduction tostart your cover letterand you can be sure recruiters will eat up the rest of the letter.
  3. Describe your experience as a real estate agent and skills in detail throughout your cover letter body.
  4. End your cover letterwith a memorable closing statement and call to action towards recruiters.
  5. Use a template to make your letter’s layout as attractive as your resume. By choosing among Novoresume’scover letter templatesyou can even match your letter to your resume to promote yourpersonal brand.
  6. Read these guides oncover letter tipsandcover letter mistakesto make sure your cover letter is nothing short of perfect.

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap!

We hope that by now you’re more than ready to put all your experience - or passion and intent - on paper and start sending out your resume to land the job of your dreams.

Before doing so, though, let’s go over this article’s main points one last time:

  • Choose the chronological resume format for your real estate agent resume, as it’s the most popular among recruiters and it highlights your professional experience.
  • Use a resume summary to give recruiters an overview of your career and a resume objective to lay out your skills and career goals if you’re an entry-level professional.
  • Prioritize your work achievements over responsibilities, and make them as quantifiable as possible.
  • Fill in your skills section with skills that are relevant to the real estate industry, such as communication, risk analysis, and negotiation.