Thank you! That has been a question nagging at me for years. You see, my home state has a law which requires third party property managers to have a real estate broker's license. It has the effect of barring anyone or group who might be competent to do the job, from actually doing the job.

It is just such silliness that may be the root of your troubles as well. While marketing and rebranding are important concepts (look what it did for Mallory batteries) it may not seem appealing to management companies. Perhaps you are stressing your ability to change and improve. You're a mover and a shaker in an industry that (in my experience) does not like to be moved or shaken.

Perry,

I appreciate your feedback, but I am definitely not trying to emphasize my sales skills. And I agree that working in the apartment industry and the real estate industry are vastly different. What I did however for each company was not.

As I didn't work in management, I rarely if ever dealt with closing, leasing etc. I handled repositioning, so for instance, TheLexDallas.com was a property called Something landing... it had 60% occupancy and zero amenities besides it's proximity to an elementary school. What I handled was renaming it, building the website, building the brand and then marketing that brand to the prospective residents.

At the RE company I did essentially the same thing but rebranding of agents, getting them a website of their own, making sure they understood what their marketing differentiation was and how to capitalize on that. but by no means do I think the industries are similar.

Brent,

Most people I have interviewed with were concerned about my "team" skills I suppose. I think they found that being a 1 person marketing department, which means I had my hands in everything is not conducive to a team where you are not a party to the machinations of say the website coding.

As for the Resume Parsing, what I don't think a lot of people realize is that if you post to a popular job board, say Indeed or Monster, they are already parsing for you. Also if you choose to host your job on say Taleo (which has by far been the most popular of all that I have seen), the parse is built in to your account, so while a company may not be large enough to be parsing the resume's themselves they are still being parsed.

Kristi,

Thank you for your reply. I am definitely still looking for something in Corporate, while a small company has given me a wide range of talents, I am afraid networking isn't among them. I definitely wish it was, but I have been an introvert my whole life & while I have a few friends in the apartment industry, I am the quiet analytical type & definitely not one who has the outgoing skills to really "market myself" I suppose.

I appreciate the ideas though, I think I will definitely reach out to AAGD and TAA and see if there are any resources they can provide.

It's definitely been interesting to move away from a company I spent so much time with, it becomes a part of who you are, and you find yourself referring to the company in terms of we, even a year after I left, I still feel pride of ownership.

Thank you very much for your reply. I believe my resume is a very good representation of my skills and style, just unfortunately it doesn't parse well.

Page,
Wow, your post is eye opening! I have been with a small company for 8 years in a corporate marketing role; however, my position is anything but traditional. I don't office from the corporate office, I split time between being onsite and a home (as in my house) office. Now, I will say that prior to this position, I do have 10 years experience as a true PM. I have sometimes wondered if my current tenure will hurt my prospects in the future.

Microsoft template for a resume? Resume parser? I am a creative. My resume is done in Illustrator. I have a web portfolio. I also have my BA in Multimedia, Web & Graphic Design and Development.

With that being said - Skip the online application and network. If there is one thing I have learned in close to 20 years, it's this. Property Management is a small industry. Everyone knows everyone. If I recall, the TAA is huge and very active; Do they have any resources you can use? What about your ad reps or other vendors? Are any of them willing to offer a recommendation, contact or direction? Does the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas have any opportunities where you can get involved and meet some appropriate people?

Also, out of curiosity? What type of position are you targeting? Are you looking for a Marketing role or similar or are your trying for more of an onsite position? I can see how your credentials would be a little intimidating for an onsite role, but fail to see any issue with fitting into a marketing role.