Tips To Getting A Property Manager Job

If you are looking for a property manager position, you are now at the point where your job has turned into a career.  The reason why so many on-site teams suffer from high turnover is that many of them simply don’t know if they want to fully embrace property management as a career.  But at the property manager position is often the turning point, where that person begins to look at their job as something they will grow with for a long time to come.  

So now that you are ready to make that next step, here are some tips to getting a property manager job, as well as excelling in it!

1. The Property Manager job position is a consolidation of all job responsibilities within an apartment community. You will likely still be leasing apartments, you will likely still deal with bookkeeping situations, and believe it or not, you will sometimes even run into maintenance related issues, as well. In addition, you will be expected to understand and help create the yearly budget. Someone who will beat out other applicants fighting for a property manager job will not only accept this as a reality, but truly embrace the multitude of requirements for the position.
2. Although some issues will continue up the chain to a regional manager, most difficult issues are now on your plate. Remember back when you could pass along the difficult resident to your property manager? Well, now that person is you! You must be able to handle difficult, and sometimes irate, residents with a calm demeanor to diffuse any situation. You must learn when to bend to the wants of the resident, and when you must stand firm. And one thing that is key to long-term success: Remember to love your job. Property managers often get burnt out at their job – those that continue to find joy in what they do will always find ways to excel.
3. So what attributes do employers include in their property manager job listings? I’ve created a list of some of the descriptive terms found in some of the recent apartment jobs listings for a property manager:

• happy, eager, qualified
• dynamic, experienced
• solid property management experience including property operations, staff supervision and capital improvements, excellent customer service skills
• minimum of 5 years experience as an apartment community manager
• strong relationship-building skills
• independent judgment, and strong communication skills.
• Must know and follow the Fair Housing laws.
• Knowledge of fiscal management and office management techniques.
• creative, motivated and skilled

Good luck in your job search!

Here is a tip that will be invaluable to you as you progress in your career: Think like an owner. Most people think about themselves in their job. Are they going to have to work late, are they going to have to work on the weekend, are they going to have more responsibilities on their desk, etc, etc. These people never get very far, and yet they never understand why not. The problem is that they need to think like an owner.

What does an owner care about? They want to grow the business and be profitable! So if you go into the job (and job interview) thinking "how can I build value here?" you will do wonderfully. Think about it in this way: If I am the owner of the company, and you are making me a lot of money, what is going to happen? I'm going to give you a promotion! I'm going to want you in charge of more of my business. So you thinking about the business in ways to help it (rather than always thinking about yourself, will have effects on how your superiors see you. And if you take that mindset into your interview, you will definitely get the job!