What’s the next step for your career?

1 PLAN – MAP YOUR VISION
Having a future vision is essential if you want to take your property management career to the next level. Take the time to map out what your ideal career looks like. This plan should include your desired career milestones, timelines for achieving them, professional development budget, industry awards you want to work towards, and any events you want to attend or perhaps even present at. Look within and write a career plan that takes you from where you are today, to where you want to be tomorrow, and where you ultimately want to end up 20 years from now.

2 RISK – LEVERAGE NEW TECHNOLOGY
If you want to take your property management career to the next level, you must become an early adopter of new technology. Over the course of my career, I have seen many new technologies enter the industry and have eagerly adopted each one to see if they can improve my services, results, career and industry. You too must take a risk and leverage new technology, such as virtual and augmented reality property tours,

3 INVEST – ONGOING DEVELOPMENT
Successful property management professionals never stop learning. Every year, I invest 10 per cent of my annual earnings into my ongoing personal and professional development. To take your career to the next level, you too should invest in your personal and professional development, which includes having a mentor or coach to hold you accountable. Other avenues for ongoing development are leading-edge industry conferences. Stop thinking you can’t afford it, and start thinking you can’t afford not to! The more you invest in your personal and professional development, the further you can take your career.

4 DISCOVER – FIND YOUR SPECIALITY
If you want to succeed in property management, you must discover your speciality. Your speciality could be a niche service you love offering, or an industry area you have become extremely knowledgeable and passionate about. By continually learning and experiencing, your speciality will naturally be revealed. For example, over the course of my career I discovered a great interest and passion for business systems. I have since started a business where I consult to property management principals about this area of their company. Discovering your speciality helps raise your industry profile, which ultimately fast-tracks your career success.

5 BELIEVE – NEVER STOP
The most important step is to always believe in yourself, and never stop. When you achieve a career milestone, make sure you don’t stop there. There will always be something bigger and better you can aim for. This is when you start the steps again. Map out the next stage of your career to build on your knowledge and skills. Find new technology to improve your results. Continue to invest in your ongoing development, and discover new ways to refine your speciality.