Sarah Kreager
Irvine Company
Newport Beach, CA USA
"The biggest thing that college does for you is it shows that you have the ability to follow through on something."
Career Roadmap
Sarah's work combines: Business, Numbers, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
San Francisco State University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an Assistant Community Manager:
Bachelor's Degree: Real Estate
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I attended San Francisco State University where I received my bachelor’s degree in English.
2.
At one point in my college career, I held down two jobs while taking 18 units per semester.
3.
Immediately after graduation, I took a paid internship with The Walt Disney Company in their hospitality department.
4.
I became a trainer and operations facilitator for Disney University in Anaheim where I helped guide new cast members through their on-boarding process.
5.
Went to work for the Irvine Company, and after only a year, I was promoted from leasing administrator to leasing consultant.
6.
Won the Irvine Company’s President's Club award three times within a single year.
7.
I decided to take online courses in order to become a real estate agent.
8.
After gaining experience in sales at Zillow Group, I returned to the Irvine Company and became an assistant community manager for 4 properties.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I'm not going to get the President's Club.
How I responded:
When I was a leasing consultant, I worked for a lower-end community and I convinced myself that I wasn't going to get the President's Club benefits no matter how hard I worked because someone from a nicer community was probably renting more apartments than me. It was definitely an achievable goal, but my self-doubt got in the way and sabotage me. I ended up continuing to pursue it and got it the following quarter.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Sexism in the workplace is definitely there. I remember having one conversation with a male coworker about my desire to become a leasing consultant and he basically said that the only reason why I would get customers was because I was pretty.
I tend to work at pretty busy communities that can get very stressful. I can sometimes work long hours and still have things left to do. Things can get overwhelming and that gets taxing on my mental health.
I left Irvine Company as a leasing agent to work in sales for Zillow. There were benefits to the switch, but I eventually realized I was just a number to them and my mental health was suffering. So, I switched back to working for the Irvine Company.