Apartment Jobs

Yesterday I was reading an update from a great blog posted on this site.  It was a lively discussion concerning the need for a college degree to advance your career.  The topic really got me thinking about my own journey and how I had achieved my career success without a college degree. 

First let me state; this message is not about skipping a higher education and taking your chances in life.  This is about the emotional side of career success, not the tangible skills you will receive from a formal education.  

(These are excerpts from an NAAEI press release, with the exception of the last line.)

As the nation’s unemployment rates slowly recover, the apartment industry continues to see strong demand for new employees in order to keep up with a growth rate that is expected to increase as people opt to rent apartments.

Approximately 35 percent of U.S. households are renter households, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That number is up 4 percent from 2004. It is likely to climb even higher as the number of renter households increases anywhere from 360,000 to 470,000 annually over the next decade. Ultimately, that increase will translate into the creation of more well-paying jobs in the apartment management industry, which has come through the recent recession relatively unscathed by the layoffs and downsizing that have plagued other businesses.

How would you describe your ideal job?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I wonder if they’ll let me leave early today?
If I stay a little longer for lunch, nobody will notice
If they don’t see my computer screen, they can’t see that I’m really shopping for new shoes

I once worked with a person who was always leaving early, would always slough off her work onto her assistant manager, and really never seemed to care about growing the business unless her boss called.  But when the potential for a promotion came up and she didn’t get it, that’s so not fair!  I have seniority!

I have worked with another person who always did the bare minimum, except for when bonuses were around the corner, where he would suddenly turn into a superstar.  Needless to say, he was always disappointed and felt cheated.

As an approachable leader and champion for both multifamily and my company, I’m asked almost daily how to get to the next level. They’ve taken classes, have a degree, a designation or two and yet their career with their current company is at a standstill. Professionals want to grow, to make more money, to be challenged, to feel like they’re making a contribution, to make their mark… but they’re often unsure about how to find a new position.

You might be thinking this is a no-brainer; you’ll just head to an internet job board, type in the type of position you want, and search through the hundreds or thousands of results. Maybe you’ll apply to all of them, I mean… the more you apply to the better your chances, right?

To quote one of my favorite plays, Death of a Salesman, “It’s who you know, and the smile on your face! It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!”

Looking at returning to property management, I also completed reading the book, "What color is your parachute."  This book talks about expanding your horizons both in a soft job market and to look at alternative positions you could explore and be happy with.  As an example, before apartment management I managed enclosed malls and had my introduction into property management with the office side of the industry.  Today we also have HOA management, condominium management, other facilities and asset management with similar tasks and challenges.  I always knew hospitality or hotel management was similar in many ways, having hired a few great people from this industry.  This has led me to look at similar industries as well as alternative positions.

In todays ever changing business environment, we cannot limit and should not limit ourselves.  Being open also creates new opportunities.  As an example, I have no reluctance in accepting a site position with the right company.  Unfortunately, several interviews I have had all led to the same concern, "You know you are over qualified."  In one interview the person interviewing me made the statement three times, as if expecting a different response each time.  Of course after the second time she made the statement I am thinking the interview is basically over and her mind has already been made up as to further consideration.  My response has been, "it is not about a title, it is about doing what I love and which is property management."  In the past I have hired leasing personnel who were at one time managers, and others who some might look at as over qualified.  I remember a manager as we were reviewing resumes ruling out candidates because of her perception they were "over qualified."  I realize hiring someone with higher level positions can be perceived as intimidating and might to some feel threatening.  I have always had two thoughts on this.

1.  I would rather hire someone that is over qualified than under qualified.
2.  You should only feel threatened in hiring someone with a higher experience level if you are unsure about your ability to lead them.

I also hear candidates being left out of consideration because they are unemployed.  Hey guys, this sure doesn't help unemployment and you might be excluding some really good people out there that don't have a job because of situations outside of their control.  Downsizing, or up-profiting as I call it has happened in our business just as it has in other industries.  Just as I have expanded my horizons and possibilities of positions I am looking at, I encourage those interviewing to expand theirs as well.  Maybe...just maybe they will find someone who can will exceed their expectations and help you become more successful because they took the chance and gave them the opportunity.

Visit my blog at:  www.multifamilysuccess.blogspot.com

In the first installment of Team Building, we discussed the three key predictors of a developer’s success; the Get It Factor, Communication Skills and a History of Success. For those of us who are used to trying to isolate more tangible items in an interview, this concept can seem a bit too touchy-feely.  But truth be told, it is the touchy-feely items that are actually critical for success in a strategic role.

You have to agree that we cannot attribute the success of Donald Trump, Mack Pogue, Trammel Crow, Jorge Perez, Robert Tishman, etc. to their abilities at running excel spreadsheets. Equally clear is the fact that the ability to generate pivot tables has had virtually no effect on your career’s trajectory either. So then why is it that we use this as an entry requirement into our profession?

Sadly, the most obvious answer is also the most truthful- we do it because we are lazy.

I have been having a discussion more and more with employers about how they fill their job openings, and each time, they give me a “wow, I haven’t thought of it like that before” moment!  So here is the revelation on how social media is affecting the recruiting process for apartment jobs.

I was talking with Patrick Morin the other day, and he mentioned that one of his top hiring questions is what self education has the job seeker done over the past year.  In other words, he’s not asking what education the person’s prior company required them to do, but rather what education they went out on their own and completed.  That speaks volumes, right?  If someone is willing to spend their own time, or even their own money on education, what type of employee will that person be?

When you see people interact on Multifamily Insiders blogs or discussions, or on an industry LinkedIn group, for example, you are not seeing a random sampling of the industry.  Instead, you are seeing the most dedicated and career oriented people our industry has to offer.  The Insider community is the most driven and self-motivated group in the multifamily space, and they prove it every day by participating on this site, attending industry webinars, and showing they are more than just the average worker.  On the other hand, do you think someone who sees their job as "just a job" is going to take the time to read a blog post about Fair Housing on their own time?

One of the great challenges in development team building comes down to composition. We ask ourselves; What are my immediate and long-term needs? What skills are important in my new hire? How do I find and choose the best candidate for my organization? The reason that these questions are more daunting in development than other careers is because of the vastly diverse set of skills that must be present in order to create a ‘successful’ developer. It’s not like hiring an accountant.

At first blush, we might say that hiring for a new team is very different than hiring for an existing one. The reason being that with a new team, we know that need a comprehensive skill-set (an A to Z guy), whereas with an already operating team, we might feel that we can simply hire to address our immediate need- what I call a ‘fill the hole’ mentality. For those of you familiar with my blog and the School for Development concept, you already know that this is the exact wrong solution. We cannot continue to make tactical hiring decisions for development roles because a developer is always a strategic position. When we don’t approach our strategic positions strategically, we increase our turn-over and consequently add chaos to our organizations.  So what should we look for when evaluating a candidate?

In my experience, there are three primary qualities that are essential predictors of success for anyone who embarks on the developer’s path. And I choose these three because being a developer means being a salesman, a banker, a visionary leader, a manager and an entrepreneur.

I was listening to The Fray this morning and one of my favorite songs of theirs (though I really do like them all) is You Found Me.

In that song is a verse that really speaks to me and inspired me to write today's blog, it is:

“Who I am, Who I’m Not and Who I Want to Be”