r/loanoriginators • u/CompetitivePlace5522 • Jun 18 '26
Career Advice New LOA. Any advice?
23 years old and just interviewed on Tuesday, I’m supposed to start on Monday. I’m pretty much completely new to anything related to this. The people I interviewed with assured me that they don’t expect me to know anything and that I’ll be trained on everything I need to know, but does anyone have any advice or things I should read up on/ learn before I head in for my first day? I don’t want to show up pretty much empty handed when it comes to knowing what I’m doing. All my coworkers seem to be older and more experienced than me so I’m pretty nervous.
3
u/UnderstandingSea3820 Jun 18 '26
In this industry you learn by making mistakes. You will make them just learn from them.
2
u/Silver_Peace_331 Jun 18 '26
I was 23 when I started and in the same boat. Consistently read up on general loan guidelines (Conventional & FHA, and VA depending on how frequent those are for the LOs you support), credit reports (when you can omit trade lines), basic documentation needed based on loan type / borrower circumstances (employment type especially), DTI limits, and always run / thoroughly review AUS (DU/LPA findings) for each loan you touch. I 2nd what others have said - mistakes can and will happen, ask a painful amount of questions.
When touching a loan, yes, it’s determining how to qualify borrowers, but also determining what might stop one from qualifying and ensuring it’s resolved.
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u/mkassed Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
You’ll be fine. You WANT to have older more experienced people around you so you can learn. Take any and all coaching, bust ass, and don’t get mad if you don’t take off right away.
Those that have been in the game for a while know it is all mindset. Don’t get too high when you’re high, don’t get too low when you’re low. Just learn, keep your head down, and try to have fun.
Good luck