Tag Archives: news

Are you working in the Austin Apartment Industry yet?

Posted on April 22, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

Austin is a proverbial boom town with a great night life, relaxed lifestyle, and the beauty of the University of Texas overlooking the city. The population of Austin is growing fast as professionals relocate to Texas. In 2012 the population of Austin was growing at a rate of 151 new residents per day in the metropolitan area fueling tremendous grown in the Austin real estate and apartment industry. That growth doesn’t show any signs of slowing down and some speculate that Austin’s population with double or triple in the next 10 years.

So where do all of those new migrants live? Apartments. The industry is growing with new developments being added every year. Not only are those developments needing new residents, they are also feeding the job market with open positions for leasing consultants and property managers on the rise.

If you are not considering a position in the Austin apartment leasing industry, maybe it is time that you take a look at the possibilities that are upcoming. Everywhere, the apartment industry is booming, rents are increasing and new developments are popping up all over the place. In Austin alone, the wave of new apartments being developed is exceptional. In 2011, more than 14 new apartment communities were planned and construction began. Now, the hiring boom is on. With all of those new communities servicing Austin, there is a tremendous demand for motivated leasing professionals.

And the potential does not stop there. The apartment industry may be one of the few industries left where there is a clear path laid out for advancement. Many leasing professionals who have the talent are promoted up within the company and can easily move up into management positions. With that experience, the opportunities for advancement continue into regional management, senior management, training professionals, marketing specialist, and on and on. So if there is an area that you are passionate about, you can absolutely find your path in the apartment industry and the doors are often wide open. This growth is projected to continue through the next several years with more new hires which make getting in now much more valuable.

Rents are at an all-time high and demand for rental property is not showing any signs of slowing down. That means that commission potentials are high, job opportunities will continue to open up and anyone getting a start in the apartment industry in Austin is poised for success.

Posted in Career Advice, Career Blog Categories, Hiring Tips | Tagged , , , , |

MY STORY: Rayven Romero

Posted on April 8, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

Rayven is a bright and friendly ray of sunshine who was trying to find her way into the apartment industry. She started out by shadowing a leasing consultant but was not able to stay where she was because her husband was given military orders to relocate. Rayven soon found herself in Austin and heard about Hire Priority through a friend.

Rayven started out as a temp and went through Hire Priority’s training program. She knew very little about the apartment industry and worked in the Hire Priority Austin office for a couple of weeks. Loa and the staff there trained her in how to be a leasing consultant and provided her with all of the information that she would need to be successful. They answered all of her questions and helped her become completely prepared for the interview and future job as a leasing consultant.

She received real hands on experience dealing with fair housing, objections to the sale, and helping prospects. Rayven says Loa and Natalie from Hire Priority gave her the confidence she needed. They believed in her and were so encouraging that she left there feeling completely prepared to take on her new position with Riverstone.

Rayven says she loves being able to be personable with people and meeting new people by building relationships to help them find the apartment home they are looking for. She loves her new job and that there is something new every day.

Rayven is just one of the many examples of success stories from people who have used Hire Priority to help in their job search!

Posted in Career Advice, Career Blog Categories, News | Tagged , , , , |

Why a Career Appropriate Email Address is Important

Posted on March 12, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

These days in the business world, you are competing against people who have the similar degrees, experiences, and often similar résumés. So one important way to stand out from the rest is to be able to create a professional email address for yourself. Consider an apartment community who is interviewing three people for an entry level leasing consultant position. Everyone has the same qualifications and seemingly nothing different from the rest besides personality and attitude. A property manager looks over the resumes one last time and notices all three email addresses, two of the potential hires have not updated their email since high school and have names such as ballin247@name.com or SexyBeast69@name.com. The final candidate has RebeccaSmiles@name.com. Based on these names alone the employer would have to assume that the third person is taking her job search seriously and professionally. Would you hire the other two if that was the only difference between three potential new hires?

When employers are left with going through hundreds of applicants, your email address can get you thrown in the shredder even before the interview. While you may think your email address is cute and shows your personality, it may be simply sending the wrong message. In many circumstances, it may be impossible to interview all qualified applicants. A person who wants to sell themselves should always put their best foot forward. An employer does not want to email a potential new hire with a crazy email address that would appear to be a person who has yet to grow up. If you want to be taken as a professional in your field you need to present yourself as that. A name such as meetmexxx@name.com does not scream professional neither does iloveunicorns@name.com!

Besides presenting yourself as a professional and one who takes their career seriously, you want to make sure that employers can find your email easily in the event they wish to contact you that way. It is easier to locate your contact information if it is yourname@email.com . The employer will have no problems being sure they are contacting the right person. When trying to sell yourself to an employer over paper or the internet every small detail matters. Do not overlook the little things. They can be a difference in a call back for an interview for that leasing position and no call.

The importance in an appropriate email cannot be overstated. If you are embarrassed to tell a potential employer over the phone your email address, then chances are it is not one you should be using. Often you will have to spell or say your email over the phone. The best and easiest way to create an appropriate email would simply be to include your firstnamelastname@email.com. It will be easy to tell over the phone, no embarrassment when spelling it out, and it allows the employer to easily match your email with your application. An appropriate email as described above is straightforward and does not allow one to question your sincerity, professionalism, and maturity level.

Remember, especially in the apartment industry, YOU are the face of the company. And although your date may like to think of you as sexybeast@name.com, your future property manager does not.

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Five Ways to Motivate your Maintenance Supervisor

Posted on January 23, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

If your maintenance supervisor doesn’t seem as motivated as they used to be, then there may be several underlying factors that contribute to their lack of motivation. Understanding how to motivate your maintenance supervisor also requires that you understand why they may be demotivated.

There are many reasons why employees become disheartened or unmotivated in their jobs but for maintenance, we can pinpoint some specifics that are often the cause. Take a look at your work environment, your supplies, and whether or not your residents and staff show proper appreciation, the answer to why a maintenance supervisor is not motivated often lies within one of those categories. So what are some things that a property manager can do in order to help re-motivate their maintenance supervisors? Here are a few examples:

  1. Sometimes the smallest things mean the most. When was the last time you stopped your Maintenance Supervisor to say “Thank you”? Do they know that you appreciate all that they do for you and your residents? Make sure you acknowledge their hard work. Your Maintenance supervisor and technicians are what keeps your apartment community running smoothly and what keeps your residents happy. Don’t forget to tell them how important they are and how much their work is valued.
  2. One of the most frustrating things in any job is to not have all of the necessary tools to complete the task. Imagine trying to keep up with emails from prospects, residents, and vendors without reliable internet service. That is how frustrating it can be for a maintenance professional who is tasked to do a job without the proper equipment. Talk to you maintenance supervisor about what tools, parts, and equipment they need to get the job done. Try to help make sure you have all of those things available and if they are not, then make sure to talk to your maintenance supervisor about when they will be available.
  3. Are you understaffed? Does your maintenance supervisor feel overwhelmed with requests and not enough staff to properly take care of customers? Make sure to keep communication open about labor needs. Sometimes, it will help re-motivate your maintenance supervisor if they know that you understand their frustrations and are working toward a solution together.
  4. Is there a work place issue that is bothering your maintenance supervisor? Talk to them to find out if there are safety concerns you need to address together and reassure them that they are an important part of your apartment community and you will address any safety concerns with them.
  5. Try to help reduce the stress associated with their position. Do they get bored taking care of the same types of maintenance requests just because that is what they specialize in? Allow some flexibility and new challenges for your maintenance supervisor so that they get to expand their knowledge and have some variety in their position.

Most of these motivational factors can be helped with solid communication between the property manager and the maintenance supervisor. If it is simply not in the budget to fix the staffing or equipment problems, then make sure they know that you empathize and are not simply ignoring their needs. Bring in breakfast or lunch once in a while just to let them know you appreciate their work. And as always, keep the lines of communication open and professional.

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How Aggressive is Too Aggressive in your Job Search?

Posted on January 9, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

In today’s job market, everyone’s advice seems to be the same: Be aggressive. Most companies want to hire employees who want to work for them but who also do not come across as desperate. There are several steps involved in the hiring process and we will examine each one in order to understand where that line lies between aggressive and too aggressive.

Let’s begin with your cover letter. This is pretty standard for most positions and helps to demonstrate that you took the time to make this application personal to the apartment community where you are applying.

Do write a cover letter, it is important. It gives your prospective future employer an opportunity to see your writing style, your personality, and your desire to get the job. A good cover letter explains why you are interested in working for the apartment community and how your previous experiences make you a good fit for the job. If you are applying to become an assistant property manager as a move up from a leasing consultant position, talk about your experiences, how you learned from other assistant managers, what you will bring to the position, and why all of those things are good for the apartment community.

Don’t try to sound preachy in your cover letter. While explaining how you can improve the company or what value your experiences may bring, avoid sounding as if there is something wrong with the apartment community. Make sure you sell your talents without sounding as if you know it all!

During the interview, be proactive, interested, and attentive.

Do research the property and the neighborhood so that you are comfortable with the area and possibly the culture of the apartment community. Make sure you have questions in mind that will help you show that you have done your research and that you know the business. For example, if you are applying for a job in Houston or Austin for an apartment groundskeeper position then know the plants that do best in those regions and how to best accent your property.

Don’t criticize. A great example of this would be a person applying for an apartment porter position who says negative things about the landscaping. Even if you think those plants do not work in that area, you may be expressing that opinion to the manager who picked them out. Instead, practice wording suggestions as compliments, “Hibiscus really are beautiful plants for this area, I like to have a few accent ground covers around mine, maybe some trailing purple lantana would really bring out the colors of the flowers.”

Now that the interview is over, it’s time to follow up.

Do follow up! Thank you notes are not completely out of fashion, especially not in the apartment job market. Follow-up calls are also ok. This is a way of letting your prospective employer know that you are still available for work, that you value the time they took to speak with you, and it shows that you are dedicated to getting the position.

Don’t harass. One follow up call is plenty, unless you were asked to call back. You will really come across as desperate and too aggressive if you are calling the property manager’s office every day to see if they have filled the position yet.

You should always be aggressive in your job search, even though it does take a little more time to research, write, and follow-up, it is always well worth it. Just be careful not to cross into an area where you come across as desperate, too aggressive, pushy, or harassing.

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