Appraisal Matters

Looking at the latest round of resumes, I have to ask how some prospective employees figure their appraisal trainee licensing classes are worth the cost, about a thousand dollars. Remember the book "What Color is Your Parachute"? It should be required reading in the first appraisal trainee class.

What a job search boils down to is just answering four questions. It’s a lot like highest and best use analysis - you start with the entire range of possibilities (kind of like an inverted cone) and then work your way down to a single conclusion.

1) What is it I like to do? If you like to analyze and especially like to write, commercial appraising is a possible career path. If not, move on.

2) What are my strengths and weaknesses? You need to know yourself before you can answer #4 below. In our industry, sales skills help, but demand is always greater than supply, so analytical skills and lots of common sense are paramount.

3) What have I been good at in my life? If you’re the type that likes to write and you got "A"s on papers in school, commercial appraising is still possible.

4) Lastly, what are the key success and key failure traits in an industry? For commercial appraising, again you need analytical skills but you also need a tireless work ethic, the ability to work independently and be creative. These are the key success traits. Failure traits include the opposite of these plus the ability to work effectively in a group environment (at least until you start your own firm).

So let’s say you’re happy with your answers to the four questions above. Time to sign up for the trainee license class? Not so fast, tiger. Relying just on your instincts isn’t enough. When I got started, I answered these four questions and then called other commercial appraisers in the area. I begged them for help and offered to take them to lunch. You guessed it - some people weren’t so kind, but one person was. He gave me 90 minutes of his time and answered every question I could think of, including his answers to the questions above.

If you do this and you’re answers are right on target, stop reading and sign up for the trainee license classes!

John Simpson, MAI