Cecilia Sillanpää, Alumna of the Real Estate Management programme

What do you do today?
“I manage transactions and the land profile at HSB ProjektPartner. This means that I am responsible for the entire transaction process for the real estate business our company conducts when we buy land on which we later build housing. After graduating, my first job was at SBAB as a mortgage consultant. I have also worked as a real estate agent, an administrative coordinator and as a financial and business controller, all in the real estate sector.”

Why did you choose the Real Estate Management programme?
“I actually looked through all the catalogues in Sweden and marked all the universities and study programmes that interested me. In the end, I had to choose between Tourism and Real Estate Management at Karlstad Business School. The salaries in the real estate sector and the great need for new staff eventually led me to choose Real Estate Management.”

Have you benefitted from your studies?
“Absolutely. The most important thing was that I had been exposed to everything we do in some way. At the bank I had good knowledge of real estate law and mortgage bonds, in administration I knew a lot from courses in business administration, investment calculations and rental legislation. So the fact that I had studied most of these things was very important to me and my employers, even though I could not do everything in practice yet.”

Do you have any tips for current students?
“Read the course literature so that you understand the content, instead of just focusing on old exam papers. Participate in activities such as hazing, because you have a few years of studying ahead of you and you could make friends for life! Our group of friends from Karlstad see each other at least once every six months, despite the fact that we have jobs and families and now live all over the country. Enjoy Karlstad as a city – there are fantastic places to visit!”

What does the future hold?
“At the moment I am on parental leave with our daughter and plan on returning to the office and my position in the autumn. I want to specialise further in real estate transactions, and I can imagine working as a transaction consultant or transaction broker in the future. I would also like to have a management role so that I can develop a team and provide coaching. There are many exciting jobs in the real estate sector, so however it turns out, it will be fun and interesting!”