Current job title: Administrative
Assistant – Property Management
Industry: Real Estate
Department: Property Management
Years worked in this industry: Less
than 2
Years worked in this department: Less
than 2
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): No
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 3
Typical work hours: 8:00 – 5:00
Weekends or overtime hours: Typically
we are not allowed to work overtime---they do not like to pay for it---but
the workload sometimes requires it. So to get the job done, I tend to take
things home with me to finish them.
General salary range
(Note: This is a general figure or range provided by survey respondent and may
NOT be an exact salary in order to
give survey respondent some privacy. Also you must take into account that
the number of years worked in industry/department may contribute to this
salary as well as criteria such as level of position and person reports
to, required hours and geographical location.): Approx.
$31,000
Benefits (direct or indirect): My
employer pays the full cost of health benefits for me which is good, but
they charge an arm and a leg to add my spouse and my daughter. We have 9
holidays, 2 weeks vacation, 6 sick days and one personal day. They offer
tuition reimbursement and they will match .75 for every 1.00 you put into
your 401K. We also have an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
CO – certificate of occupancy
EMS – energy management system
PM – this can be preventative maintenance or property manager.
A typical day on the job: A typical day
for me---I don’t think that there is such a thing as a typical day. My job
varies by day. While I do have a job description, my job goes above and
beyond that description. When I come in first thing in the morning I have
to pull up the board to make sure that there are no work orders for the
guys. Then when the tenant service coordinator comes in that person takes that
over. The rest of my day is answering the bell when it rings for the front
lobby, making spreadsheets, ordering tenant signage, assigning mailboxes
and then other projects that are thrown at me.
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry:
I get to learn about how things work in the commercial real estate
industry.
I get to work with all different types of people.
I’m always busy
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry:
You cannot plan your day.
There are people who think that they are above you and treat you like you
are beneath them.
It’s a small office so everyone is on top of each other, this is where
there can be some personality conflicts.
Type of workspace/office:
office
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position:
Backup for the tenant service coordinator
Support the property managers as well as the director of property
management.
Order tenant signage
Order maintenance uniforms
Convert utilities into or out of our companies name.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement: The
job applicant would need to have computer skills, people skills and be
able to communicate effectively.
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Scanner, copier, fax machine, computer and telephone.
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
I wouldn’t say that I use hard skills on the job---when you first start any
new job, everything that you do is going to be considered hard. If you
were to ask people in the office they would say that I have very good
skills with he computer that really helps them out.
Critical soft skills: People skills and
good communication skills. You need to have people skills in this job
because you are constantly dealing with tenants and you cannot have a bad
day when dealing with them. No matter what may be going on, the tenant
cannot see that you are in a bad mood; they need to know that they can
depend on you for something and not know the office “gossip/problems”. As
far as communication, communication is key in every job. It is very
important that you can communicate with everyone and let them know what is
going on. Without communication, then your job will suffer. It will look
like you have dropped the ball and will affect you in the long run.
Pace of this position: average to fast
Geographical region: Southeast U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™