by Ben Hess, Managing Director, ThirdPool Recruiting
It could be argued that real estate agents were the first “gig economy” workers.
Decades before Uber employed independent contractors, real estate agents owned their own businesses and worked for themselves.
As the “gig economy” has grown, is it fair to equate real estate agents with other independent contractors?
According to Caroline Pegden’s recent article in ERE, a quick look at some basic employment metrics will shed some light on the realities of gig economy work.
Pegden studied gig workers in England and discovered that 87% of them earn less than $13,000 per year, and the median annual income is just $485.
Only 8% of these workers are able to turn their efforts into a primary source of income.
Gig working is not bread winning….Gigs are in fact a top-up, a complement to workers’ income, and…[not] a primary source of income.
Because independent contractors are so prevalent in today’s workforce, it’s important to help your recruiting prospects make a distinction between working as a real estate agent and doing gig work.
During a screening call or interview, start inserting a question such as:
Do you view working as a real estate agent as your primary source of income?
If a recruiting prospect gives anything less than a believable “yes,” you may want to think twice about moving them forward in the hiring process.
