I’ve gotten some questions about my day job so I decided to do a post on my education as well as my career!
I’ve always been astonished at the number of possibilities that are out there for a career. I went to highschool at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and was surrounded by peers who were interested in pursuing careers that included the regularly prestigious positions of doctor, dentist, engineer, financial analyst, lawyer, consultant of some sort, etc. Being influenced by my peers and their aspirations, I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and started my freshman year with the intention of going to Pharmacy school and started pursuing a Biology degree. I’d always been surrounded by people who loved science and had big dreams and aspirations and to this day I am so grateful for that!
I’ve done it all, took the Organic Chemistry class and worked in a lab replicating DNA and separating enzymes, conducting experiments on mice, etc. I never truly loved it but I did it because it was all I knew! I had sworn to myself when I was younger that I would never pursue a career in business or in a corporate setting but fast-forward into my Junior year and I decided to take an economics class sheerly for the fact that it would be useful for me to know this information.
This was the catalyst to a life-changing year where I took many personality tests to try to figure out what I wanted to do with my life! I was regularly at the UNC Career Center asking questions to the career counselor and trying to figure out what my passions were as well as what kind of career would suit me. This was the year that I decided to pursue a degree in Management (Yes, that’s right my Junior year in college!) and it was the craziest thing I’ve ever done but to this day I believe I have made the best decision!
If you know me, you know that I am completely extroverted, thrive in social settings, love teamwork and get passionate about the things I believe in and try to get others to jump on board with me. In addition to all of this, I have a passion for creativity and working with my hands (I play the cello, love to cook, and jump at the chance to do anything crafty). All of these things pointed to a career in marketing where I could take advantage of both my social and creative skills as well as my love for creating a story for a product that I truly believed in.
The last two years of college were amazing because I was in classes learning the things that I really connected with. Turned out a career in Marketing/Business actually did suit me! My first job out of college was as a Marketing Coordinator for an Insurance company where I had a lot of freedom to build the marketing department from the ground up and helped the company build a brand. Then, Joe and I moved to Greenville so that he could pursue his medical degree and by the grace of God I landed a job as a Leasing Manager!
My Day as a Leasing Manager
Well now that you’ve basically read my whole life story of how I came to this point.. I’m going to tell you what my job as a Leasing Manager entails!
Day to day, I work in our apartment complex with two other ladies (Whom I adore with all of my heart!) and then three of our part-time girls. It’s a different setting from what I’m used to where I worked in an office with more than 60 people! As Leasing Manager, I am also responsible for three Leasing Consultants that work under me part-time! I work closely with and mainly with the people who come to our apartment complex interested in finding a new home. The behind-the-scenes of this job involve inspecting the apartments, working with vendors, working with representatives from different companies, etc. As the Leasing Manager, my job is to SELL the apartments! Everything from the initial interaction I have with our prospects, the condition of our clubhouse, apartments, and models, to the smooth coordination of their move-in is my responsibility. I really love this job because I get to know my “clients” on a personal level and it’s fun to be a big part of the important decision of finding the place they will get to call home!
Teamwork and communication skills have been so important for surviving and doing this job well. This is only the second full-time job I’ve had but I can tell you from experience (haha) that the people you work with will make your job. The girls I work with are hard-working, humble, fun, and ready to hunker down and take on any challenges we face on a daily basis. And trust me, the challenges we deal with are always changing, unpredictable, and require quick thinking and smart solutions.
I also love this job because with the essence of “selling” the apartments, you are required to market in a sense. And so, I take on that responsibility by promoting our complex on social media, interacting and networking with local businesses, as well as continuing to make our residents feel special while living here by throwing events for them. All of us take our jobs very seriously and are committed to providing the best apartment complex there is to live in.
If you live in an apartment complex, stop by and say hi to the people who ensure that your living conditions are great. We love when our residents come by, I have loved getting to know all the people who live here and making sure that they are happy! So there you have it, my first introduction of my day job on the blog! What industry do you work in? If you are in college, what is your major and what career do you want to pursue?
