Tiffany Polito is the sales administrator and closing coordinator for Ryland Homes.
TWO TITLES?
“That is only until we grow large enough to have two people to fill those positions.” Ryland Homes, a national builder, just opened its first office in the Jacksonville market so the staff is still relatively small.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“My primary function is to make sure whatever is on the contract is in the system. I make sure that all of the special options or whatever the buyer wants in the home is entered and ordered immediately. Before permitting and purchasing can do their jobs, I have to get the information in the computer. Whatever we need to do to get the sales process running smoothly, is what I do.” She is also handling marketing and recruiting for the company.
WHY DID RYLAND OPEN IN JACKSONVILLE?
“Ryland felt that this would be a good market to open an office. There is so much land, growth and new developments that this was ideal for Ryland. They thought this would be a good time to move into this market.”
HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN THERE?
She started with the company when it opened its office nine months ago. “We are really excited about the office opening. It is a ground floor opportunity for those of us who joined the staff.”
HOW’S BUSINESS?
“Good. We have a model home completed and 15 houses under contract.”
They are building in OakLeaf Plantation, Bartram Springs and Oak Harbor communities as well as building town homes near Jacksonville International Airport.
WHERE WAS SHE BEFORE RYLAND?
She was in the staffing industry as a recruiter and account manager for the past five years.
WHY DID SHE GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
“The whole building process was interesting to me. My father was a builder. He built restaurants and used to work for Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. I kind of grew up in the industry as a kid swinging on the rafters at construction sites. Construction has always been interesting to me. We also just built our first home in Julington Creek and had a very positive experience. The whole process was wonderful. It made me think about getting in the business.” A friend of her husband’s told them about this opportunity, so she interviewed and got the job.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE HELP?
“It is definitely helping in recruiting for our internal workforce here. When I was in the staffing industry I encountered a lot of different personalities. I think that it fully exposed to me all levels of organizations, whether it’s the labor person they are asking for all the way up to the CEO of the company. There are so many different personalities and needs and I think it fully prepares you for working with large groups of people.”
BIRTHPLACE
Winter Park.
MOVED TO FLORIDA
She was transferred here with her previous company in 1999.
RESIDES
Julington Creek.
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Flagler College and is halfway through her master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.
FAMILY
She has been married to Patrick, a human resource manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, for a little over two years. They have a pug named Pugsley.
CHURCH
St. Joseph’s Catholic.
WHEN SHE’S
NOT WORKING?
She enjoys traveling to visit family and gourmet cooking.
FAVORITES
Her favorite movie is “City of Angels” and she enjoys reading murder mysteries including any Sherlock Holmes novel. Her favorite place to visit is Paris and her favorite restaurant is Enzo’s in Orlando or Magellan’s in Jacksonville Beach. When relaxing at home, she enjoys tuning into “CSI” or “Without a Trace.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis