The leaders of the Texas Apartment Association Education Foundation (TAAEF) know full well why a career in the apartment industry can be fulfilling and exciting. The trouble is, though, that many in the general public don’t.
With that in mind, TAAEF launched an awareness campaign called "Room to Grow," in the hope of attracting people to the field by educating them on the multitude of possible positions and the variety of career paths offered.
“It was all about understanding our industry is growing and thriving here in Texas, and with that come jobs and job opportunities and realizing that we didn’t have enough talent to fill all of these positions,” says TAAEF president Tami Martin.
TAAEF, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about careers and opportunities in the apartment industry that’s associated with the Texas Apartment Association (TAA), officially launched the campaign in March but started working on the idea last year.
Here’s how TAAEF plans on reaching potential employees:
· Employee spotlight videos feature a variety of apartment industry professionals sharing firsthand insight into what it’s like to grow within the industry, whether as a maintenance technician or a leasing agent.
· The interactive career matching tool enables prospective employees to find industry job opportunities that best fit their personality and professional goals. It also serves as a simple, fun first step to exploring industry jobs for those who aren't sure where to start.
· The online hub serves as a home base for industry professionals and prospects to access all “Room to Grow” campaign content, from video testimonials and job profiles to the career matching tool and other educational resources about the industry, at www.roomtogrowtx.org.
· Local “Room to Grow” events, such as community garden planting events, will engage Texans in ways that better the community and enrich their professional lives through networking opportunities.
Martin says the campaign has already made huge strides, garnering roughly 1.6 million online impressions by mid-April, which far exceeded the association’s expectations.
The spotlight videos have been especially popular, Martin adds. “We felt like it was extremely important to have that personal aspect of storytelling, because you get such a connection through that,” she says.
The campaign targets military veterans, as well as recent high school and college graduates. Most of the positions available in the industry, Martin says, are entry level.
“Millennials want to understand that there’s a clear career path, and so some of the things we’re doing through the campaign [entails] helping these companies that are hiring communicate with them, to make sure they’re being clear explaining the career path [and] setting up mentoring programs,” she says.
One of the key points "Room to Grow" makes to potential employees is that the industry, at least on the property management side, is fairly recession proof. As Martin notes, people will always need a place to live, and, these days, apartment living is popular.
“It used to be that apartment living was something you had to do to save enough to buy a house, but now it’s a lifestyle,” she says. “People choose that as a lifestyle to have more flexibility.”
In a release, TAA president-elect Jackie Rhone said, “Through the efforts driven by TAAEF, this campaign will bolster our future by revitalizing our workforce and welcome home new employees and, ultimately, members into this thriving industry.”
For Martin and her TAAEF team, launching "Room to Grow" just made sense. “It was kind of a no-brainer that we needed to get this campaign going to bring in this talent,” she says.
