She’s a mortgage banking leader with Wachovia. She started with First Union and stayed with the company when Wachovia bought the bank. She has two hats - she’s a producing manager, with five loan officers reporting to her, and she also recruits other loan officers.
How she got her job
She attended a job fair and started out processing loans with First Union. She worked her way up through the company in various positions before jumping to the sales side. “I don’t think I could ever do another 9 to 5 desk job. What I do now is very challenging and you meet a lot of people. It’s rewarding when you get that first time homebuyer in their new home.”
Best advice she’s received
Tyson, who just turned 30, said, “Not to doubt my knowledge and not to let my age make me feel like I am incapable of doing things.”
What she likes about lending
Tyson said knowing the history of lending and knowing that someone who has no established traditional credit, with $500 can get into a home. “We know home ownership strengthens the community. It’s so important to own a home. That is what keeps me interested in lending.”
Advice to customers
“To remember that it is a partnership. The goal is to get the customer in a home. It really is a partnership, not one against the other.”
Pet Peeves
“Because of my background, I tend to do a lot of handholding with my customers. The pet peeve is that they don’t want to deal with anyone else including the processor. I spend a lot of my time doing the little things that the processor should be doing. Another pet peeve is when I am doing a function with another lender for home ownership, it shouldn’t always be about the competition.”
Advice for a new loan officer
“Read as much as you can about business and how to conduct yourself professionally. Become organized because that will come out when you are meeting with people. It’s not always about your knowledge, but more about how you conduct yourself. If you don’t know an answer, you can find it as long as you are organized and know your resources. Start out the gate anxious, but not like the story of the tortoise and the hare where you poop yourself out. Be consistent. Be steady. Start with an action plan, be consistent and work that action plan.”
Personal
She’s from Hartford, Conn. and came south to attend the University of Florida. She now lives in North Jacksonville, but will move to the Westside later this year. She’s married with two children.
-by Michele Newbern Gillis