How to Become a Consumer Loan Collection Manager
Career News January 17, 2014Are you good with people? Do you follow through with objectives even when challenged? Do you motivate others to take action? If so, you have the makings of a manager. A consumer loan collection manager presides over the entire loan collection department and will lead others in the process of collecting money owed to the lender. The starting salary for this position is $75,000 per year according to the Certified Compensation Professionals’ analysis survey. The job is a weighty one, since the company expects you to recover the money, or the assets, and not make excuses, as some borrowers tend to do.
Organizing the Department and Learning
If you progress to the point of the manager, this means you have proven yourself capable of leadership. You will manage collection supervisors and develop team strategies to minimize losses. You will also have to train personnel in how the department works. The objective is to reduce debt and to take responsibility for the losses that cannot be prevented.
The procedures are very important, and you maintain control of the system, which you can also alter. “Evaluating” the existing system means you make decisions and teach others how to execute an assignment perfectly. You, as a leader, exhibit superior creativity and are a strategist. You rely on precedent, what has worked in the past, as well as creative outside-the-box thinking.
Schooling, Experience and Training is Required
Schooling is important for a managerial position, and you might not be taken seriously if you don’t have a college degree. While there are entry-level positions for high school graduates, managers usually come from a college background, with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Ten years of experience is preferred for managerial work and specifically in consumer loan collection. Naturally, ten years is a lot of work, so most employees grow with the company and progress to management level after they have time to learn the standards and practices of the bank. Since you will be assuming more responsibility and supervising the work of others, ten years is not asking too much. You report to top management and communicate the goals of the company to your employees, while also communicating the results to your superiors.
You are in consumer loans, not commercial, and that indicates personal loans for lifestyle buys like automobiles, homes, mortgages, and so on. This is going to be an emotional job at times, since no one particularly likes the idea of collecting debt, making threats, or following through on threats to repossess or foreclose on a house. Nevertheless, these practices keep the lender in the business. There should be a balance between showing understanding and keeping the company profitable. You have to set an example for other workers in this regard, and not appear weak or inexperienced.
If you are looking forward to a secure and high-paying career, make it a goal to pursue management. Today’s companies are looking for tough, knowledgeable, and sharp leaders that can make money even in tumultuous times.
