Life at Lendi profile: Sarah Moore, the journey from hairdressing to Onboarding & Training Manager

Before Lendi...

I was living and working in Canberra, where I’d spent most of my life. I was a hairdresser for over 10 years and really had my sights set on Sydney. I had wanted to move here for years, to get out of hairdressing and start something new.

I have 2 properties in Canberra and the fear of the unknown and having responsibilities had always held me back. But one day, I quit my job, put my house up for rent and took the plunge.

I moved to Coogee without a job (I had racked up some long service leave.. so not too irresponsible). I was introduced to Justin Kinsey (Lendi’s National Sales Manager) and next thing I knew I was joining Lendi’s Associate Team, with the goal to move into a Home Loan Specialist role as soon as possible.

My big leap into lending

I had wanted a career change and I definitely got one! I had been interested in this industry since owning my own properties from a young age and having hair clients in Canberra own their own Mortgage Broking businesses. They had encouraged me to join their industry as they thought I might have the skillset for it.

Entering the business as an associate was tough. I had never worked with customers over the phone or experienced anything quite like this before. My first phone call terrified me but I quickly learned that although there is a process you need to follow, really, it’s just having a chat with people and I am very good at that.

Within a few weeks, I was put into a trial called ‘’The Pod’’. I believe something similar still exists today. Instead of qualifying appointments, I worked closely with three experienced Home Loan Specialists. This allowed me to get a better understanding of lending policies and within 3 months I worked my way up to Home Loan Specialist.

Within a week of becoming a Home Loan Specialist, I had submitted my very first loan. I’m not sure if it was because this was my first EVER loan or because I helped a single mum get a better product and consolidate a few debts, but I will always remember her and how grateful she was for my phone call that day.

Jumping into training

From this day onward there were going to be many firsts for me and Lendi. I helped introduce our online platform, I jumped over to help Click Loans when they first launched. I made our first call as Lendi and submitted the first Lendi home loan.

The business was growing at such a large pace, my role naturally took a turn towards support. There were new recruits who needed help, and like me at one point had no idea what they were doing.

I advocated starting a training program, since I was already offering support and mentoring many of my colleagues who are still in our business today, all while still hitting my targets.

This is when the Grad Program was born. From here we brought on two more managers Sarah and Maz, I went off and had a baby, little Audrey, and came back to head up the grad teams, currently managed by Sarah and Camille, along with taking over Learning & Development - Sales and Support.

How my life has changed

I think it is safe to say that my life has changed significantly since I made the move to Sydney and joining Lendi almost 4 years ago. Writing this has given me the chance to stop and reflect on what I have actually achieved.

I have met the most incredible people here at Lendi and consider them my extended family. I met my husband to be here, had a little girl and have been given the most amazing gift from Lendi - a TOTALLY new challenge and skillset.

We're hiring!

Here at Lendi, we're always looking for smart, driven individuals who share our passion for innovation and continuous learning. If you'd like to join one of Australia's fastest growing companies, check out our job openings.