#OPENTO WORK

I’ve known 18 members of the [TransUnion] team for years upon years,” she said. “The industry is like a merry-go-round. You’re going to bump into the same people again at some point. The quality of your relationships is so important, and often people hunt for those passive candidates for work.”

Mattiello says her new position — which entails support for TransUnion’s customer base — opened her eyes to the network that allowed her to be accessible.

“I’ve seen a lot of conversations about whether to use the open-towork button because a lot of people feel ashamed or there’s some level of fear about saying, ‘Hey, I’m looking for a job’ or ‘I got laid off,’” she said. “With the support of your network, thankfully there are opportunities out there, especially if you’ve cultivated a network where you have friendships and personal relationships.

“People are welcoming [in this industry],” Mattiello said. “Nobody really goes to college for mortgage lending, so we all in some respect landed here by accident, and I think that makes us willing to kind of take the next group of people under our wing. I was able to land another job because of the people who took me under their wing.”

Steve Frankiewicz

Steve company to company. After working together at Simple Mortgage for seven years, Frankiewicz decided to take the plunge and start his own path in 2019. Today, he operates Frankiewicz Home Mortgage, a division of Kaye Financial Corporation based in Farmington Hills, Mich. His father— who still originates at 80 — is on the staff roster.

Frankiewicz learned the mortgage business from his father who took him to sales calls and client meetings back in the 1980s. However, his father deterred him from following in his footsteps.

As the president of a mortgage division, Frankiewicz has a different perspective about support in the industry since he only had his father take him under his wing. However, as a boss, Frankiewicz said that he tries to give back by considering his network in times of need.