How to write a realtor CV that works

Real estate agents need a professional CV showcasing their best skills and experience. Realtors help prospective clients understand the market conditions, how to use competitive market prices to their advantage, the need for appraisals and the general sales process. They’re more than just a salesperson, their negotiation skills and market analysis can make a dream come true for potential buyers.

To stand out in such a competitive field, you need a CV that will show you the same way you show off properties.

To write a CV, take it step by step and remember to always tailor the CV to the position you are applying for. You can look at other CV examples to better understand what goes into creating a CV and what the final product will look like.

Let’s start with the basics: choosing a CV format.

Select a CV format that highlights your strengths

You already know that finding the selling points of your property is more than showing off its best quality, it’s finding the best option for your buyer. The same is true about CV formats. You need a format that works for what you offer.

Three main CV formats will highlight your strongest skills according to your years of experience and the current point of your career.

• Chronological— If you have a decade or more of experience in the same industry, use a chronological CV format. This format will highlight how long you’ve worked in the industry, showcasing expertise only experience can bring.
• Functional— If you’re starting out, new to the field and have unrelated employment experience, a functional CV will showcase what you’ve aquired in other industries.
• Combination— When you have between three to nine years of experience, the combination CV format will highlight the skills and work history. It will balance both sections to assure that everything balances out.

Whichever realtor CV format works for you, keep it concise, truthful and clear.

The content of the real estate agent CV is pretty straightforward and standard. What varies is the placement of the sections and that’s decided by the CV format.

Header with the Realtor Contact Information

Your name, phone number and email address will be at the top of the CV. You can also include your current city and postal code, particularly if you’re applying to a local job. This section will also include any professional social media profile, like LinkedIn, Facebook Business Profile or Twitter. Only include professional profiles, if you have a website or portfolio, remember to link it. Make sure to update those profiles with current and accurate information.

Write a compelling CV objective or summary statement

Think of this section as your introduction. Use between three to five sentences to describe what you do and what you’re interested in doing if you’re new to the industry.
If you’re a newcomer to the industry looking to gain more experience or get your foot in the door, use a CV objective.

Use a professional summary to quickly highlight your years of experience and accomplishments.
Avoid long descriptions by choosing strong adjectives and verbs. Quantify your accomplishments by adding numbers like percentages, sales ratio and years of experience. Looking for inspiration? Don’t miss our CV summary examples page.

Work history

When using a chronological or combination CV, this section will be the highlight of your CV. Start with your most recent position and work backwards. If you have vast experience, keep it to the last 10 years to not overwhelm the CV design. Include the company’s name and position title and use bullet points to add achievements and skills.

When using a functional CV, you will have two lists, an extended skills list, where you can write transferable skills instead of your work experience and a shortened work history section.

A real estate career needs a balance of soft skills and hard skills. Soft skills are those that define how we work and how we work with others. These skills are part of our habits and personality.

• Communication
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management
• Networking
• Negotiation
• Adaptability
• Flexibility
• Negotiation skills

Hard skills are concrete. These skills are aquired through traditional education, courses, certifications or on the job training.

• CRM Software (like Salesforce, Agile, Zoho, etc)
• Zillow Premier Agent
• Marketing knowledge
• Microsoft Excel
• Legal knowledge
• Sales
• Business administration
• Knowledge of market trends
• Project Management
• Microsoft Office

Employers look for a balanced candidate, which means you should include both types of skills on your realtor CV. Include between six to eight skills in the dedicated skills section.

In the education section, include the institution, city and degree. It is not necessary to include the year, unless you are still working toward a degree. In that case, include the expected completion date. For example, Bachelor of Science in Business, Expected May 2024.

To perform as a realtor, real estate broker, leasing consultant, property manager and more, you must have your real estate license, which allows to legally work in the industry. Include this number as a special section called License or add it under your name in the header sector.

In a languages section, add any other language you speak and your level of proficiency, such as Basic French, Conversational Spanish, Native Mandarin Speaker.

If you have a certification that would boost your CV, like interior design, LEED, CBSE, CAD or any other, include it in a certification section.

Use additional sections to your advantage and to stand out from the rest. You can list organisations, memberships and awards. A particular job ad could benefit from knowing about your hobbies and interests, for example in interior design or architecture.

Tips for a great realtor CV

• Tailor your CV to the job description — Use the job posting to add keywords to the CV. The specific skills and qualifications the school is looking for will be on it. Use the same wording to bring attention to your CV.
• Proofread — Use an online spell-checker and another pair of eyes. A grammatical mistake in a CV could be detrimental to your selection process.
• Keep it to one page — Ideally, CVs will be a one-page document. You could stretch it to two pages if you have a long career.
• Quantify your achievements — Include numbers and percentages in your accomplishments, such as amount of property sales, successful marketing strategies, conversion rate and listing success rates.
• Use a CV builder — Applying for a job can be time-consuming. Using our CV builder simplifies the process by selecting a new template and uploading your CV to be reformatted or selecting a template and your information.