Giving young talent a real start in real estate
Taking on a work placement student can feel like a risk, particularly in a busy agency. REIWA Councillor and Inhabit Property Selling Principal Brendon Habak shares his experience of doing just that, after welcoming 16-year-old Asha from a local high school into his business.
What began as a short work placement quickly evolved into a valuable role for both Asha and the agency. Through REIWA’s connections with local schools, members can access students seeking genuine workplace experience and provide them with a practical introduction to the real estate industry.
We spoke with Brendon about how the placement worked in practice, the support involved, and why it’s something he would do again.
Why take on a work placement student?
I’ve always supported young people looking to enter the industry, predominantly through sales-focused work experience. This was an opportunity to provide that support in an admin role, which can be a valuable starting point for someone entering real estate.
REIWA helped facilitate the connection with the school, and it made sense to get involved. It’s a practical entry path into sales or property management, and the outcome has been really positive.
What sort of tasks did Asha help with during the placement?
She helped with general office duties to begin with, assisting with converting old paper files into digital archives.
Asha also helped with outbound prospecting for sales reps, including updates to letters and online marketing material. She worked on electronic marketing to our database for new listings and helped prepare presentation files for clients.
She also handled the basics you’d expect: Opening and closing the office, preparing coffee and water for clients, and generally keeping things organised. Because Asha was enthusiastic and took initiative, we gave her more responsibility over time.
The placement has since led to a part-time role. How has that role evolved?
She now works Monday to Wednesday, from 9am-4pm. The tasks are similar but at a much higher volume.
Sales reps regularly ask her to prepare listing presentation files. She prints them, has everything ready, and they can simply pick them up and go. She prepares keys for settlements and handovers and looks after buyers when they come in to collect keys and gifts.
She also handles large print runs for letters and brochures, creates and organises marketing material, and opens and closes the office. Now that she’s paid, there are clear expectations and the workload is roughly triple what it was during the placement.
What support has she received from you and the team?
Our operations manager Rosie has been a great mentor for Asha. The salespeople around her help as well. We have an open plan office, so if she needs help with Canva, PDF editing or finding files, someone is always nearby.
We spoke about her career and the direction she might want to go in. She’s only 16, so there’s plenty of time, but she’ll likely move into a client-facing role. I might be biased, but I think she’d do really well in real estate.
What changes have you noticed in her confidence and skills?
She’s always been bubbly and switched on, but she’s become much more confident and vocal. She now posts updates in our business WhatsApp group about letters being ready, keys prepared, or marketing completed.
During the work placement she was much quieter. Now she communicates confidently and genuinely feels part of the team. That’s come with time and familiarity with the business.
What advice would you give to other agency owners considering a work placement student?
Give them real challenges. Don’t just give them basic tasks like cleaning or making coffee. Include them in meetings and training sessions – it's how they really learn.
Asha joined our senior sales reps in outbound calling training. She didn’t make calls, but she listened, took notes and you could see things clicking. Today’s students are far more capable than people expect, not just with technology but with problem solving.
Pictured above: Rosie Barnett (Inhabit Property Operations Manager), Asha Filmer and Brendon Habak (Inhabit Property Selling Principal).
Article Credit: Reiwa