Need Advise - Looking For A Career Change Into Apartment Industry!!

Hello everyone!!

I am new to this board and I have been searching for a board like this for a long time I'm so glad I stumbled upon it.

I have a question for all of the seasoned apartment industry individuals. How does one get their foot in the door in the apartment industry? Seems like it's a secret society and no one wants to let a newbie in lol.

Just a little background on myself. I live in the Houston, TX area and have a bachelor degree in General Business with double minors in Management and Marketing. I have customers service experience and have held mostly Accounting and Administrative positions.

I have been wanting a career change into the apartment industry, but every job posting states you need six months to a year of experience. I looked into getting a NALP certification, but it also says you need six months experience in the industry. I also thought about enrolling in the Residential Property Management certification program at a local community college for $1,200. Also I read a craigslist posting that someone is offering Leasing Consultant certification for $100 for a six hour course, but I'm scared that it is a scam.

What would be the best option to take to get my foot in the door to even get the 6 months of experience? Should I call a apartment community and volunteer for six months to get the experience? I don't want to waste money on the certification program if it still won't help me find employment in the industry.

Thank you for your suggestions in advance...I'm open to all suggestions.

You have stumbled into one of the big challenges of getting into the industry! Tons of companies want previous experience, thus shutting out people like you who don't know how to begin.

I would first recommend you create a job alert on our job board so you will get updates on new positions that pop up in your area.

Also, MFI is actually based in Houston and we have a huge community here! So let me share it around and see if we can get any leads for you!

Hello!

The Houston Apartment Association offers a scholarship for the Residential Property Management program at HCC that pays 100% of the course fee -- you'd be a terrific candidate. Their program contains an internship component that will get you some of that "hands on" experience you need -- many even get hired directly by the sponsoring company after the internship. Check out our website here for more information:
www.haaonline.org/Display.aspx?id=207

Thank you both so much for replying to my posting. I didn't know about the scholarship, but HCC is where I was going to do the Residential Property Management certification so I will definitely look into the scholarship.

Thank you Brent and Emily. So glad I found this board.

Kendra,

Since a huge number of people I know had zero, zip, nada, NO EXPERIENCE, before getting his first job in property management, I'd say you are in good company. How did they do that? Cold calling on apartment communities was one way; talking to the Manager where they reside was another, and networking was the other way. I hire often, people with little to no experience, because it works in the student housing market. Don't give up! You might also apply for a business position instead of leasing and work into that kind of position later. Why did I hire someone who cold called at the property? Their professionalism (Dressed well, spoke well, had knowledge of the market) and their attitude. Great, can-do, open-minded attitude, wanting to learn, speaks volumes as to being an entusiastic learner.

BH Management is hiring part time leasing asap! Good luck

Hi Kendra,

While all of those classes and certifications are great to have, they are certainly not necessary to have to get into the industry. I am in Victoria, TX where there is a lot of opportunity available. I'm not sure if relocation is an option.
I do also have friends in Houston and Sugarland area. If you'd like to email your resume to me, I'll be happy to help however I can. Also, if you email me, I'd be happy to also share my phone number and we can speak directly.

I have been in this industry for 18 years. I started out leasing after helping my aunt look for an apartment. Stumbled into this with no idea of it's opportunities and have grown and LOVE what I do. It's a wonderful industry for anyone who values helping and serving others with a true passion for exceeding our customer and residents satisfaction. Being that you've done so much research and have reached out in this forum, I believe that passion is in you. I'd be happy to help you jumpstart your career in any way I can.

I wish you all the best in this journey and look forward to hearing from you and hopefully helping get you settled in a fabulous career!

Best wishes,
Kristen

Cold calling is a great idea...I thought of that before, but didn't know if that would be appropriate. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much...everyone on this board is so helpful. That's why I wanted to ask before I spent thousands on a certification...wanted to know if it was really necessary to get my foot in the door. I would appreciate any help. I can send you my resume and would love to speak to you and learn more. What is your email address I can not click on your profile?

On the cold calling idea, I think that is wonderful. Ultimately, people want to see enthusiasm, passion, and an ability to handle objections from their leasing consultants. So by cold calling, which is essentially outreach marketing, you can showcase all of those traits.

One suggestion I would make is to make sure to get information about the property management company before you go this route. Simply saying you want a leasing job may come across wrong, as if you don't really want to join their team, but just any leasing team. But if you were able to show some knowledge about their company and that you specifically wanted to be a part of that company, you will have a much better shot.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm ecstatic to report I attended a property management career fair today and was offered a job on the spot. I'm super excited!!

Blessings to you all!!

That's AWESOME! Congrats!

Hi Kendra,

I had a hard time getting in to the industry too! I spent six months submitting resumes to over 200 local property management companies before one finally gave me a chance. I started at the bottom of the bottom. No pay, just comp rent in a tiny complex in a terrible neighborhood. So I worked my way up in the company by volunteering for special projects and committees, covering other personnel at other properties for their vacation time, and really getting to know all the ins and outs.

If you haven't already done this, try revising your resume so it sounds like all the work experience you already have is directly transferable to the position you want. Need customer service experience? A part time job at Starbucks will give you that. Filing experience? Volunteer at the library. Policy and procedure? Become a notary. Landlord tenant law? Volunteer for your local renters rights organization. Tech savvyness? Get your ham radio license. (I actually did ALL of these things, so I can attest that this works!)

Another thing you can do is be in the industry even if you aren't currently working in it. Go to the trade shows, job fairs, landlord forums, etc. Be outgoing and friendly there, network and make connections.

I hope you will love a long, successful career in property management!

Hi Kendra,

Congratulations on your appointment. If I can add something here, if you could show your company a increase in NOI by showing them a new system that helps get more timely rent, or makes it easier for the owner to increase rents when they renew or something along those lines would put you on the faster track to senior management. Do some homework, show your value to bring in new ideas.

Good Job!
John Arting