If I had taken the Groucho Marx approach when I was offered a job at Gardian I would have made a regrettable decision and missed out on a great opportunity.
For those of you aged under 100, Groucho Marx was part of the famed comedy trio of the Marx brothers.
There is a famous quote from Groucho Marx where he explains why he doesn’t want to be a member of a particular club.
The quote varies depending on the source but it is said to be a letter to the board of the club and it goes something like: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.” Boom boom.
Seven years ago former Gardian director and real estate principal Eric Rickman took me to lunch at a fabulous bistro-style French restaurant in St Kilda and offered me a job at Gardian.
The fun response would have been to say: “I refuse to join a company that would accept someone like me as an employee.” Using our French waiter’s accent would have been even better.
But I didn’t do that. I wanted to join Gardian and after a quick post-lunch chat with CEO Peter Phillips I was on board and started within a couple of weeks.
There are a number of things that determine whether you are going to enjoy working at a particular company: earning capacity, management support, resources to do your job properly and culture being among the key factors.
Culture is a big one and it needs another column on another day to do that topic justice.
One of the other key factors that determine how you feel about a job or company - and culture helps determine this - is the people that are attracted to, and welcomed by, a particular company. The people you work with.
A good way to work out whether you like them is how you feel when you come back from holidays. I came back from holidays a couple of weeks ago and it was a case of re-engaging with good friends and setting forth together on another year of opportunity in a job we all enjoy doing together.
Whether they are in real estate, insurance or the finance areas, it is good to be back with friends and launching into the 2023 adventure.
There are companies, including some real estate agencies, whose staff compete against each other rather than work as a team and group of friends who want the best for each other and their clients.
I know that if I need a hand with a busy open house, another agent to do a private inspection because I have already got another one at the same time, or another Gardian agent to help find an extra buyer for a property I am selling, my friends and colleagues have got my back.
That’s great for me and great for my clients.
