I am sorry to say so, but to be honest, studying at a university will not be enough to make you a “perfect” and successful professional in the mobility industry. The mobility industry is a very singular job and, in my opinion, requires some unique skills and is not something that you will master in school.

In Brazil, we don’t often look for professionals through an announcement or recruiting websites. Usually, companies search for these professionals personally, looking for someone with personal connections who has special recommendations made for them. 

A good professional must be proactive, have a lot of dedication, be patient, show dedication to clients, understand their customers, and mainly, be highly organized. When I say organized, I mean, from the emails in your computer files to the desk where you work. This distinction seems obvious, but for many people, it’s not. Organization must be a daily exercise if you want to be a sought-after professional. A disorganized person probably will not attain a higher level in this job.

In my experience, the best mobility professionals work in and learn about each department of a moving company and must understand each part of the big gear. They must write down each line of what is being taught. (Somewhere in my home, I have my notes from when I started this job in the year 2004!)  

It is easy to identify a professional in our industry, because usually if a candidate doesn’t complete a full year in the company, probably this person will not return or succeed in the field.  

You can quickly identify when a person is organized in their processes, dedicated, interested in the job, and learns very fast. Usually, this person will ask a lot of questions to those who have the know-how and will seek out information by themselves—they will go a long way and acquire experience in the business. 

A professional in our industry must be willing to review each process day by day and should be able to anticipate problems before they arrive at their doorstep. It is true—when you anticipate problems, you have more time to resolve them, and in several steps of the process, we can expect the kinds of problems which could happen if a procedure isn’t executed correctly. Some things are reversible, but others are not, and the disorganized person will fail because they don’t anticipate a simple step. 

As I always say, there is no person who doesn’t make mistakes, but the margin for mistakes is very small in our job, and I encourage my team to work with this mindset every day.

On the other hand, is very important for your team to have a strong leader who will support them and act like a mentor—a leader who will be available to teach and help workers stay ahead of problems. The leader must be emphatic in their judgements, leading with patience and love, not a “dictator” or a person who knows everything but is not willing to dedicate time to teach others.

To retain your highly professional staff, look beyond monetary benefits and support them with good words, encouragement in the difficult moments, care, and dedication. Showing genuine care for your employees will ensure that your dedicated professionals stay for the long term. Most importantly, as with any profession, you must work with love and purpose, or nothing will make sense.