Natl Apt Careers Month

02 / 13 / 13

3 min read

February may be best known for its short duration and lineup of “fun” holidays – the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day always make the second month of the year quite delightful. It’s also a month to celebrate career opportunity in multifamily, with the National Apartment Association’s National Apartment Careers Month.

“We find that many people who would make good candidates for apartment industry jobs simply are not aware of the many career opportunities to be found in our industry,” said Maureen Lambe, CAE, Executive Vice President, National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI).

“College Hospitality, Marketing and Business management majors are especially suited to our industry but have never heard of us. It’s also an opportunity for us to encourage hiring managers to not just look for previous industry experience when evaluating job candidates but also to look for those core competencies that are key to the industry, such as delivering good customer service, solid problem-solving skills and the ability to juggle many different tasks without dropping any of them.”

Post-recession, the multifamily industry has rebounded strongly, creating many opportunities for employment. Apartment careers typically offer work that will be interesting and involve varied tasks, people skills, and excellent chance to advance in the company.

As John Cullens, president and founder of ApartmentCareers.com, told us in 2012: “The job growth we’re going to see because of new development that has to happen is going to have our industry grow somewhere in the 20 to 25 percent range in the next 8 years. We had a lot of units that needed to be added to the mix.”

Some apartment industry vocations are already seeing shortages of qualified candidates. That’s why the NAAEI has created professional development programs that aim to get workers ready for skilled positions, such as maintenance technicians. Last year, NAAEI established a pilot program to train maintenance technicians and English language learners.

And in addition to on-site property jobs and upper-level management positions, there is also opportunity in the supporting industries that help property managers do their work efficiently and well. Technology companies like Yardi offer a diverse variety of employment options, and you can learn what it’s like to work for Yardi in this recently released video.

The NAA urges multifamily firms to promote National Apartment Careers Month and aid the development of new qualified apartment professionals. You can find more information about how to best support the effort on their website. Help publicize apartment careers, host an intern or job shadow participant, and work to develop the skills of your existing team.

How are you celebrating National Apartment Careers month?

AUTHOR

Leah Etling is the founding editor of the Balance Sheet and a 12-year Yardi employee who also oversees press releases and social media. An award winning journalist, she holds a master's degree from UC Berkeley and is a native of Santa Barbara County, Yardi's home.