Rebecca Chavira knows a thing or two about keeping things organized and offices running smoothly. She’s spent years as an executive assistant, done time keeping grocery shelves stocked every day, and managed the schedule of a young, growing family. All experiences that have helped her in her new role as Office Manager at Latitude Commercial
Chavira moved to the Region from Southern California with her husband and kids about five years ago. He’d gotten a big promotion that required him to live in the area, and Chavira put her career on hold to work as a stay-at-home mom while her family got used to living in Indiana. That lasted about a year before she decided to get back to work, first with Whole Foods where she did overnights as a grocery buyer. She did not dislike the work, but found herself longing to return to the office work she’d started her career with.
“As you start to get older, you kind of question where you’re going, what you’re doing,” Chavira said. “I knew that not only did I want to get back to doing what I did before, as an office manager and assistant, I also wanted something more. My daughter was starting college soon, and it started getting me thinking about my happiness and what I wanted to do.”
With an eye on tackling a new challenge, Chavira refreshed her resume, opened up LinkedIn, and almost immediately found her new home at Latitude at the beginning of May.
“The day I updated my resume, I saw the position at Latitude and applied,” she said. “I told Aaron [McDermott, President] that it was almost like fate, it was meant to be. The day I decide to do something about my career, this awesome position five minutes from home opens up.”
In addition to the return to office management, Chavira was particularly excited to enter an entirely new industry.
“Real estate was one of the things that kept coming up over and over,” she said. “I kept thinking about what else was out there, and that was on the list. Seeing that, coupled with the job description talking about needing to go back to school to earn a real estate license and room for growth – it just jumped out at me.”
Latitude Commercial has had office managers in the past, but they split their duties between that and marketing efforts. Chavira is looking to carve out a role as a dedicated office manager, and to help set the team up for success.
“It’s about getting together with everybody in the office and finding out their individual needs,” she said. “I want to learn what I can take off their plate, how I can organize their schedules, and make sure the entire office is cohesive without anyone really noticing I’m there.”
Chavira, as required, will also soon be in the process of earning her real estate license and mastering the ins and outs of commercial realty.
“In a way, nothing’s really surprised me because it’s all new to me,” she said. “There’s so much to it, so many different sides to commercial real estate that I didn’t even know existed, like property management, investment properties, it’s making for interesting learning.”
She credited the Latitude team with helping her settle-in quickly.
“Everybody has been so nice,” she said. “Everyone’s really low-key, and I’m from Southern California so I appreciate that kind of vibe. They’re all so approachable, and I know that if I have questions I can ask anybody. Their doors are always open.”
As she continues to grow in her role, Chavira is hoping to help elevate the team to new heights.
“I want to be able to anticipate everybody’s needs before they know them,” she said. “That’s the main goal, to help them along without them even needing to ask for anything.”
To learn more about Latitude Commercial, visit latitudeco.com.
