Hi everyone, would you hire someone with no leasing experience?

Hi everyone, would you hire someone with no leasing experience? If not, why not? If so, what skills do you look for that would be transferable to our industry?

Of course! As long as they have strong sales/customer service skills. I’ve hired great leasing staff with restaurant, retail, and sales backgrounds. Sometimes it’s better to hire folks with no leasing/apartment experience because they don’t already have bad habits from other companies!

Absolutely! Give them a chance and work with them in their strengths and how they can be applied to the industry.

Yes, it's smart to hire based on values over experience or training. Teachable, flexible and driven are not things that can trained.

I was hired 5 years ago with no experience and advanced quickly. I feel that people with no experience you can shape better. I would say they need customer service and sales experience.

Yes I would. No bad habits to break. Attitude and personality would be the two things I look for in hiring outside the industry.

My current assistant manager started with no experience 2 years ago, she is transitioning into the property mgr while I move to a different property. She has been amazing and climbed from leasing consultant to property manager in about 2 years! She came with strong sales and customer service experience along with some management!

I was hired because of my customer service skills with no experience. Their thought was that they could teach me what I needed to know, but you can't really teach someone to be nice to others and remain calm under pressure. I was working a a customer service desk at a local retailer. I was juggling 3 (or more ????) things at once and maintained a calm demeanor. Good times right Donna Hickey ???? I was at that property for 10 years, working up from marketing/leasing to Property Manager. I also began training others in the company. I only left because the management changed. I always felt grateful for the opportunity they gave me and the faith they had in me.

Absolutely. We all started in this industry with no experience!

Without a doubt. I look for strong sales and customer service. Maybe work experience at a hotel etc.

I transitioned easily from the bar and restaurant field to property management. And then I loved to hire leasing agents from the same.

Yes my last two leasing agents had no experience, you can train them how you want it done, I had no leasing skills when I started 15 years ago.

We prefer no leasing experience. We like when someone has been a server or a bartender. They multitask well and can talk to people. ✌????

Absolutely. Blank slate makes it easy to train them the way you do your leasing and you won’t have to correct bad habits they might have picked up earlier in their leasing career. Plus, you can’t teach personality traits so that’s always the biggest thing to look for

Yes! Much easier to train with your company policies and the way you want things done. You never hear “well I was told or my old property management company did it this way” I have found that they are more loyal and tend to learn and grow with you as they grow in the industry. Bartenders and servers make great choices!

I was offered my first leasing position from a strong hotel background in 2009. I had soooo much extra time on my hands to work on meaningful projects for the community and delighted to work 40 hours vs 80+! fb industry is very applicable but i will say my biggest challenge first 3 years or so were those dang phones! I only understood face to face communication. Well, that plus I couldn't just send champagne or comp breakfast to every resident who had a crummy day. ????

Always!!! Hiring your own and training them is the best and more long term approach.

They are better because they don't bring bad habits with them or try to do things the way they did at another company. Plus, they bring a fresh perspective which can lead to sales improvement. Also, I look for a personality that balances my sales team. So if I have someone bubbly and assertive, I may look for a more reserved personality to appeal to a wider customer base.

Seems like they like newbies way more than seasoned. Pay is way less therefore that is the reason why many will hire with no experience.....

I would absolutely hire someone with no experience, it is true, they don’t bring bad habits and you can train them. I love people with that background in hospitality. Servers are great with people but believe it or not my best experience has been with 2 people I brought on from T Mobil. The cell phone industry is so saturated that those representatives are highly trained in customer service! It really shows.

Looking for people skills. I can train paperwork

Absolutely. Some of my best hires were from hotel, retail and restaurants. They bring great service experience and leasing is a teachable trade. Delivering service, taking care of the prospect and the resident is something that is transferable from other major trades.

I was hired with travel and hospitality experience but no leasing experience (minor sales experience). and they hired me for a lease up, proved myself and still here 3 years later

Absolutely! So many people receive poor training in this industry. Each person you can help in the beginning of their career makes the industry as a whole stronger. With more units going on line every day, we, the professionals, should have every opportunity to prove why we are worth every penny we ask for. It begins with training.

Absolutely! I look for teachability and a positive attitude! Those who have been in customer service are great! I can teach the job- I can’t teach personality!

I was hired with no leasing experience. I was an office manager with some marketing experience and excellent customer service skills working at a senior living complex..I started this job just helping and learning accounting when my now boss was traveling for a month, then I did part time leasing..then I saved the day shortly before they were all leaving to go out of the country and when they returned they hired me full time and I run the ship alone many, many times. And I LOVE IT. Even when it's CRAZY. This is my calling. Everyone deserves a chance.

Training for your company is easier than trying to train over what another company has already trained someone in.. my opinion

I did for stable properties but not for lease ups. I just loved training and seeing the excitement when they made new accomplishments learning.They usually have the best attitudes and were not privy to the high turn over rate. They were loyal and not always looking for the next bbd. jmho

Absolutely I would hire someone with no experience. If they had great character. You can train people but you can’t make them nicer people if they’re not. I have trained so many that were not even in our business and they are now managers presidents of companies regionals etc.

Yes! Personable, outgoing, professional, any previous high end service experience, computer skills (we are paperless) phone/communication skills and I ask them to sell me the model.
They often get silly on the model tour because that’s awkward but I’ve done this long enough I can see potential through their nerves! I’m confident in my training skills that I can teach the technical/fair housing details.

Absolutely! Bad habits are hard to break. Hiring from the service industry for leasing is a great place to find talented leasing agents. Restaurants are great places to find talented leading agents. Observe how they interact with all people not just your table. Their interactions with customers, co-workers and managers indicate people skills, teamwork and ability to take instruction.

As long as they have customer service skills, computer skills and office skills. I was hired as a leasing agent with no knowledge of the industry in 1998 and was promoted in 2001 to Community Manager. I am still here. I recently hired a leasing specialist with all the skills i mentioned and she is fantastic. Sometimes iit's better to get them that way so you can train them better...no bad habits etc.

Yes. That's how I started. Basically people dont rent apartments, but rent because of the person. If you train well, they should do well! Out-going people skills, customer service, computer knowledge, phone skills. It's all part of the success formula.

I was hired with no experience, and here I am 18 years later. Ya'll can't rid of me now! My current leasing agent had no experience, but is amazing. She just has all the right stuff- personable, polite, helpful. She's just an awesome person. Plus, if we don't start hiring with no experience, eventually we will all die, and what will happen to the property? ????

98% of the job is showing up on time and with a strong work ethic and good attitude. 2% of the job is dealing customers and collecting rent. I can easily teach the 2%, the other 98% is impossible to teach - you either have it or you don’t.

Y.E.S.! You can train the skills so if they are a core values fit and they want it, get it and have the capacity to do it, Y.E.S.! There is a certain set of core behavioral traits that I believe are more suited to this position - where a person can truly excel because they are not trying to adapt or morph into something they are not but I firmly believe that our industry is a perfect place to bring on the newbies to multifamily!

I would hire someone with no leasing expierence. Someone hired me when I did not have expierence. I am still learning every day. I also understand that when you receive a person fresh into the Apartment industry you can train them to your specifics. Sometimes when you have been in the business a long time it is hard for a manager to break certian bad habits. Either way I would try learning the person and helping them to enjoy the job we do.