Many times community management professionals are so busy managing their communities they don’t have time to even think about managing their career. That’s why we’re here. For the community management professional, Adamen Inc. provides numerous services designed to help the busy professional evaluate his or her current position and prepare that professional for the next step in a confidential and professional environment. This process begins with always having a current resume. But when it comes to writing resumes, many of us sell ourselves short. Here’s are some tips:

Tips on Resume Writing

Cover letter? Yes and no. If you are applying for a position yourself, a short cover letter is often appropriate. If you are going through an employment service, like ours, it usually isn’t necessary.

No more than two pages that go back only 10-12 years. No one cares that you worked at Burger King while you were in high school.

Clean, easy to read fonts, nothing fancy (stay away from script fonts) in large-enough-for-over-40 eyes to read, i.e., at least 10 pt.  

Simple formats without numerous  tabs, indents, font sizes, bolds or italics. Use these tools sparingly where they will have the most impact. Using a bullet-pointed resume can be ok, but most of the ones we have seen sell  the candidate short.

Resist using the “Resume Wizard” on your computer. They have a tendency to make the applicant look like s/he couldn’t figure out how to write a resume, let alone manage millions of dollars worth of real estate.

Start your resume from the present backwards, with your employer’s name, geographical location and dates of employment. If you were there less than two years, it’s often good to put the months as well as they year(s) of employment, for example: “5/98 – 10/99: ABC Management firm.” If you were there several years, it’s usually ok to just put the years: “1992 – 1998, General Manager, Belly Acres HOA.”

DO NOT PUT YOUR SALARY ON THE RESUME ITSELF. You can ace yourself out of an interview by either making yourself appear “overqualified” or end up with less salary than you should for the position you fill.

Computer Skills: Make sure to put your computer skills on your resume, for example: “Word, Excel, MS Outlook, FrontPage.”

Paper Selection: If you are dealing in hard copy resume, use normal paper. Nice stock, but normal paper. Paper that can be scanned or copied and doesn’t get stuck in the machine, or is too dark to copy. Don’t give anyone a reason to place your resume in the round file.

Electronic. Make sure you can email your resume either as an attachment or in the body of the email. When people tell me they can’t email a resume because < uh, it’s on my home computer > or < uh, I have it on a disc but can’t access it… > … well they may as well say the dog ate it. What comes across: You don’t know how to email something, attach a document to email, or can’t figure out how to go to Kinko’s and have them scan it…  Not good when you want to be considered for a job.

Proofread, not just spell check. Please, please, proofread, or have someone else proofread your resume. This is the document that can get you in the door or get that door closed on your nose.

References. If you put references on your resume, or attach a reference list, make sure of the following: 1) The reference consents to being on your reference list 2) The reference agrees to return phone calls of those doing the reference checking, 3) Their contact information is current, and, most importantly, 4) The reference is going to be GOOD.

More on references. Who should be a reference? If you can use your previous or current employer, do so. If not, current/past board members are good, as are well-known and well-respected vendors and affiliates. Do not use personal friends as references.

Content

We know we do a lot as managers, but how to explain it on paper? Here are some ways to quantify the job by standard responsibilities, be you a site manager or a portfolio manager:

Account(s) managed. How many accounts do you manage? How many doors? Are they condos, PUDs, conversions, apartments, timeshares?

Budget responsibilities. What is the total amount of the budget(s) you manage?

Employees. If you are a site manager or work in a supervisory capacity, employee management is a crucial part of your job. How many employees are you responsible for, and what are your duties in relation to those employees? Do you train? Hire? Terminate? Compose and present performance evaluations? Work with compensation issues?

Contractors. Site managers and especially portfolio managers usually supervise contractors. How many? Which ones? Totaling… 10? 15?

Contracts. Do you… prepare contacts? Negotiate contracts? Implement contracts? Ensure smooth transition between contracts? Of course you do. Put it on your resume.

Organizational issues. Site managers and executives usually provide overall direction, leadership and supervision of and to the corporation (firm or association). Portfolio managers do, too.

Functional duties. Especially for portfolio managers, you may want a sentence on your functional duties, i.e., Prepare meeting agendas and Board packets, perform walk-throughs, prepare and execute violation letters and follow up hearings, etc.

CAREER MANAGEMENT: GETTING THERE FROM HERE

What exactly is it that sets the “High Achievers” apart from the herd? The Achievers are able to recognize and act upon opportunity as it presents itself.

There are many reasons why some people are unable to see and understand opportunity. Often times these people are “overwhelmed by the now,” i.e., so caught up in the day-to-day emergencies that rule their lives they are unable to see beyond them. These are the people who look wistfully at others saying, “Gee, I wish I could have done that! What a lucky break they must have received!” In reality, luck has very, very little to do with professional success. Professional success is predicated upon a person being able to recognize and act upon opportunity when it presents itself.  This crucial ability does not come from out of the blue, but requires that a person be professionally and personally prepared to recognize a given set of circumstances, evaluate them fairly quickly and comprehensively, and, if the opportunity is positive, make a move towards that opportunity.

From my experience I have learned that the tools for recognizing opportunity and making that opportunity reality are comprised of certain elements, these are:

• Professional Development: Education, Experience, Contacts
• Professional Fortitude: The strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage.
• Personal Fortitude: Forged through personal peace of mind, by putting your personal life in order.
• Flexibility: The quality of being adaptable; i.e., nothing is written in stone.
• Attitude: A state of mind or a feeling; a “positive attitude."
• Family Support

Procuring and maintaining these five crucial elements are not some stroke of timing and luck that are bestowed upon a fortunate few. They are achieved, many times over years, through a lot of hard work and determination. You may ask yourself, is it worth it? Is it worth it to spend so much thought and energy to achieve success in an industry which for the most part seems to turn a blind eye to the hard work and sacrifice of it’s professional administrators?  My answer to that is a resounding YES, because this industry abounds with opportunity. Our industry is one of the few that is not ageist, racist or sexist. You can have street smarts or an MBA and do just as well as long as you have the basic skill set required (people skills being the top priority). You can stay in management, or you can work for one of our diverse cache of service providers. You can develop your entrepreneurial streak and start your own business.  You can make $30,000 per year – or $130,000 per year – your choice. But only if you are able to recognize and act upon opportunity as it presents itself.  Click here to see complete information on this subject.