In our official Rookie issue, Chicago Agent is spotlighting industry newcomers. How are they adapting? Has their training been effective in an unprecedented market?

These questions resonate with me on a personal level because I, too, am a rookie: a rookie editor. And it’s been such a pleasure to not only read but learn from this month’s batch of stories. Whether you’re selling houses or writing articles, it helps to stay in conversation with mentors and peers. My own mentor, managing editor Tim Inklebarger, let me take the reins of the magazine this month and it’s been so gratifying. Thanks, Tim!

Also, shout-out to fellow rookie Brianna Seals, our junior graphic designer, who stepped up as art director to get this special issue to press.

In its pages, you’ll find advice specially tailored to those who are just beginning to build a business. Jake Dixon, founder of The Locker Room Real Estate Coaching and Training, is sharing tips for agents new to the game. (He even offers a formula for making six figures a year.) You’ll also hear from Quentin Green, a board member of CAR’s Young Professionals Network, about opportunities to network and further your education.

Refining your education can be especially tough in this business. That’s why our Real Issues feature takes a deeper dive into the type of training that’s currently accessible to agents — not only within a brokerage, but also at the local and national association levels.

Featuring three successful Chicagoland rookies, our cover story highlights similar topics. But it also explores each subject’s own life and what led them, specifically, to shift careers. To most of our readers, those stories are probably relatable. And I hope they’re also inspiring. After all, for rookies, the story has only just begun.