ACMO Blog


Advancing your Career as a Condominium Property Manager

Advancement in your career is a very common goal.  Whether you are motivated by recognition, financially, or you are naturally drawn to challenges; most individuals will reach a point where they are ready to take a step up.

Career advancement isn’t something that just happens.  Property Managers need to take interest and action to find challenges in their careers which will lead to more opportunity.  Ultimately, you need to put yourself out there and work hard to accomplish your goals.

Know Your Goals

Success means different things to different people.  The first step in moving upward is to understand what success means to you personally.  Is your goal to advance to management of a high-end community?  Do you want to supervise other property managers?  Or open your own management firm?

Goals are very important in that they establish a state of mind that keeps you focused on achieving them.

Once you have established what your goals are, you can better understand the action steps required to meet your targets and establish timelines to meet each step.

Seek out Success

You can’t expect positive changes in your life if you are surrounded by negativity.  Energy is contagious and so you need to develop associations with like-minded individuals that will bring you up instead of hold you back.  Engaging with other professionals in the property management field through industry events is a good way to seek out others sharing a common goal.

Volunteer

Volunteering can give you access to a variety of challenges and relationships.  You can consider taking on volunteer opportunities as part of your action steps in achieving your overall goals.  The key is to determine what your own strengths are and how you can use your skills.  If you have a strong focus on educating others, consider writing or speaking opportunities.  If project management interests you more, seek out opportunities to help effect change and advancement in the industry.

Learn

In understanding your goals, you’ll likely identify some areas where skill development is required.  If you lack a particular skill or information, you will need to find educational opportunities to set yourself up for success.

If you’ve already completed the education requirements for your RCM designation through the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, this is a great start.

A commitment to continuous learning will serve to keep your skills and information current, and will allow you to complete your continuing education requirements to maintain your RCM designation.

Communicate

You’ve set your goals and are taking the steps to achieve them, but are the people in a position to give you opportunities to advance your career aware of them?  If your senior team is not aware of your desire to advance, you could very well be overlooked for promotion or another opportunity in your workplace.

There is an additional thought you should consider about communication.  Property management is a career in which you work in an intensely personal environment.  Working in people’s homes can create many challenges for which you need to be prepared for difficult conversations.  The more you advance, the greater emphasis there will be in resolving conflict through conversation.   This is a key skill for anyone seeking to advance in the property management field.

Push Yourself

This could be the most important point to focus on.  You need to believe that you are capable of achieving the goals you have set out for yourself.  Focus on the power of positive thinking and you will be able to stay motivated for success.

You also need to be willing to put the work in!  Successful people live and breathe their goals, and constantly work to targets.  Going the extra mile can be hard in the property management field.  Our days are long and very busy, and we all have personal lives that need attention.  Take some time to really think about priorities and realistic workload.  You’ll surely find some time-saving opportunities to work on your career development.


Lyndsey McNally, RCM, is a Team Leader at Malvern Condominium Property Management.