A Day in the Life of Adill Barba

"There are so many properties in the UK that are available to let and sell, and there are so many people moving into this country every year, that you could say there's a job for us, agents, every day."

What attracted you to this industry in the first instance?

I was working in sales for 5 years, doing car sales for Mercedes. I left that job to go travelling for a year and when I got back a friend of mine told me about this job, so I applied.

I've actually been into properties, my father is a property developer, so it's a line of work I wanted to do for quite a while. I got the opportunity and I took it. 

What is the employment outlook like in your career field? How much demand is there for people in this career?

The demand is really high because there are many properties in London, everyday there are people looking for a new property.

What is the employment outlook in this career? There are so many properties in the UK that are available to let and sell, and there are so many people moving into this country every year, that you could say there's a job for us agents every day.

What skills or personal characteristics do you feel contribute most to success in this industry?

Confidence and being a people's person, being able to speak to people, persuade people.

In the beginning, when I was speaking to landlords I was really nervous and skeptical. But with time I became bolder.

How does a person progress in your field?

Work hard, isn't it? Give it all you've got. I learn more every day, I give it my best. Everything I do, I do my best and I wouldn't do it differently.

What is a typical day like?

Typical day: speaking to landlords and taking people out to see properties, generating leads by putting ads onto our portals, adding applicants into our system, keeping follow-ups. So every day it's a very busy day.

How many hours do you normally work per week?

I work from 9 until 7 every day, 5-6 days a week. Sometimes I work Saturdays, but I don't work from home. Sometimes I stay over hours because some people work and they are only available for a view after a certain time. So it depends. I work late, sometimes I'm around until 9, sometimes even later.

What kinds of problems do you deal with?

Most of the problems we deal with are landlords pulling out offers in the last minute. We have tenants that paid a deposit, and the landlords accept a higher offer. So we have to find them a new property or refund the deposit.

Other kinds of problems we deal with are clients not turning up for viewings. This upsets the landlords most of the times, so we have to be very apologetic and try not to let any viewings get cancelled. They have to be cancelled an hour beforehand.

Basically, we try not to let down our clients.

Would you choose this career if you could make the decision again?

Yes, I would. I'm happy with my job, I'm good at it,  I know what I'm doing now. I can't see myself doing anything else at the moment. I've been in sales all my life, so I wouldn't change anything.

What (if anything) would you do differently?

What else would I do career wise? I used to be into fashion, I like fashion. My brother owns a brand label and I used to do styling, designing.

I was also into music, I was a producing DJ.

But these are totally different careers: property and music. The music industry is a vicious game and the fashion world is not really for me.

What advice would you give to an individual who's starting a career in this industry?

Just be confident, be a people's person. You've got to learn to keep it cool, because landlords speak down to you and they expect a lot from you. So you have to be calm, and also very confident when speaking to people.