Each month, Leader’s Career Corner features leaders who sit at the front lines of hiring, those making real decisions about who gets into the room and who ultimately gets hired.

In this edition, we hear from Jarrod Bogler, Senior Vice President & Principal at Avison Young, who shares candid, experience-driven insight into what it really takes to stand out in commercial real estate brokerage.

While the conversation is grounded in brokerage, the lessons extend far beyond brokerage. From entering the workforce to transitioning into high-performance, commission-driven environments, these perspectives reveal what truly separates candidates who get noticed from those who get hired, and ultimately succeed.

If you're looking to break into the industry, pivot your career, or accelerate your trajectory, this conversation offers a clear, unfiltered look at what hiring leaders are actually assessing behind the scenes.

A Client-First, People-Driven Approach to Performance in Commercial Real Estate

Jarrod Bogler is a Senior Vice President and Principal at Avison Young, where he advises clients and builds high-performing teams within one of the most competitive segments of commercial real estate.

His career spans over a decade across globally recognized firms, including CBRE, JLL, and Savills North America. Jarrod began at CBRE as a Sales Representative, later advancing to Associate Vice President in Tenant Representation at JLL, and most recently serving as an Occupier Advisor at Savills for over seven years before joining Avison Young.

Across each stage of his career, Jarrod has remained focused on occupier representation, developing a deep understanding of how real estate decisions directly influence business performance.

What distinguishes his approach is a clear, mission-driven philosophy: business success is built by aligning client outcomes, people, and values. He believes brokerage is not simply about executing transactions, but about creating long-term value through trust, accountability, and a genuine understanding of client priorities.

That same philosophy shapes how he hires and develops talent. In a high-pressure, commission-driven environment, Jarrod prioritizes individuals who demonstrate resilience, alignment with core values, and the ability to grow through discomfort—recognizing that strong people drive strong performance, and strong performance drives sustainable business success.

1. What qualities make a candidate stand out at the entry, mid, and senior levels?

Most of the candidates I’ve interviewed are for Associate positions on my team. They’re either fresh out of post-secondary (typically university) or have limited employment experience and are looking to kick off a career in commercial real estate brokerage.

At that stage, three qualities consistently stand out: accountability, critical thinking, and coachability.

During the interview process, I push candidates into embracing the uncomfortable. Frankly speaking, I’m in that position multiple times per day by virtue of my career choice, and so too will they be.

I run them through mock cold-calling sessions, 5-minute presentations with 30 minutes of prep time, and in one case, even a FaceTime conversation with my wife; her opinion matters to me.

Their performance in these exercises is important, but what carries equal, if not greater, weight is how the person reacts to being put on the spot. That initial response tells me everything.

You can run personality tests all you like, but there’s nothing like holding someone’s feet to the fire and gauging how they respond in real time. Some may say this goes outside the norm. I’d argue it’s the most efficient way to ensure neither side wastes time.

2. What signals beyond the résumé tell you someone is ready to grow and take on bigger responsibilities?

Their moral compass. Do their values align with our team philosophy?

For me, this question goes beyond socio-economic status, gender, race, or religion. It has far more to do with how someone was raised, the life experiences they’ve accumulated along the way, and how he or she communicates their experience and knowledge.

Over the past 20 years, arguably even earlier, particularly in the GTA, the playing field has changed. Say what you will about the Federal immigration policy, but the reality is that the workforce, across all levels, from entry roles to senior leadership and principals, is now a mosaic of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. This is great because it opens the possibilities for a greater Canadian economy.

In Toronto, I work with individuals at all organizational levels from every corner of the globe. In that kind of environment, what truly differentiates candidates isn’t where they come from; it’s what they stand for.

The qualities that separate good candidates from great ones ultimately come down to their core values and how closely those values align with our mission and work.

3. What is one mistake you commonly see candidates make during interviews, and how can they avoid it?

It sounds simple, but the biggest mistake I’ve seen is not fully understanding the job description.

Not just the work itself, but how everything that comes with it impacts their day-to-day life—the structure, the expectations, the trade-offs, and the realities of the role.

The job market is organic. You need to understand where an opportunity lies on the spectrum and conduct yourself accordingly.

Every opportunity is, in many ways, a negotiation. And in any negotiation, each party needs to give on certain aspects; otherwise, there is no path to a deal or relationship.

Candidates need to understand:

Without that awareness, it’s difficult to position yourself effectively or make a sustainable decision on why you are the value a team is seeking.

4. What advice would you give professionals looking to break into your field or advance within it?

Planning and patience.

In this accelerated business environment, and in the world more broadly, people are increasingly focused on immediate results. While being results-driven is valuable, we need to get back to the idea of embracing the journey. The learning.

That means:

I work in a 100% commission-based compensation model. We provide Associates with a modest salary in year one to help offset living costs, but after that, they transition fully to commission earnings.

Because of that, I look for candidates who understand the risk, plan for it, and prepare accordingly, whether that’s through savings or having a partner with stable income.

Without that preparation, financial stress can cloud judgment, disrupt productivity, and ultimately limit performance.

The people who succeed aren’t just driven, they’re realistic, prepared, curious to learn and patient enough to stay the course.

What stands out most in Jarrod Bogler’s perspective is that long-term success is less about having the perfect background and more about how you think, how you respond, and what you value.

Early in your career, it shows up in your willingness to be challenged, to stay accountable, and to work through situations that don’t go as planned. As you progress, those same traits evolve into better judgment, stronger decision-making, and the ability to navigate complexity without losing focus.

But beyond capability, there’s a deeper layer that consistently matters: alignment. Over time, industries, teams, and client bases evolve, and as Jarrod points out, the last 20 years have brought meaningful change. Through all of it, the constant has been people who operate with a strong moral compass and a clear sense of how they show up within a team environment.

There’s also an element of realism that underpins everything. Growth takes time. Momentum isn’t immediate. And without financial and mental preparation, it becomes much harder to stay focused when things don’t move as quickly as expected. The individuals who build lasting careers are the ones who understand this early and commit to the process.

For Jarrod, it comes back to knowing yourself, understanding what you’re stepping into, how you operate, and where you bring value. Because ultimately, the difference isn’t made in one moment, it’s built over time through how you show up, how you think, and how intentionally you approach the opportunity in front of you.