Ace Your Next Interview

Knowing how to handle yourself during an interview won't get you your next job on its own, but it can definitely help.  What you say and how you present yourself are vital during the process... Here are some things to keep in mind as you interview to give yourself the best chance at landing the job.

Use The Company’s Own Words

You always need to research the company you're interviewing with, and before your interview, become familiar with the company’s website and literature. As you're researching, pay attention to words that keep popping up.  Those are the key words to hit upon during your interview - they're what are important to the organization.

Using the company's key words, like collaboration, teamwork, leadership, or growth, can send the message that you have what the company is looking for.

Instead of "I don't know," say “That’s a Good Question.”

If the interviewer asks a question that surprises you, saying, "That's a good question," can give you a few moments to come up with an answer.  In the meantime, it compliments the interviewer in a subtle way.

Avoid saying, “I don't know,” whenever possible (but of course, don't lie about your experience or training!).

Share why you want the job

Of course, interviewers want to know what you will bring to their company in the way of skills and experience, but they also want to know a job prospect’s motivations for applying for their open position.

Share your career goals and how you see this position fits into your future plans, how it fits with your values, and what you would like to learn from it. Talk about what you believe you can bring to the position, and how you see yourself in relation to the company.  This helps show who you are as a person, and gives the hiring manager an idea about how you might fit in the company.

Be flexible

While you certainly don't want to be a pushover (especially when it comes to your salary negotiation), being flexible allows the interviewer to avoid complications in coordinating a second interview or even your start date.  It signals that you are willing to work with others and are ready to step into possibly changing job duties.  

Bottom line: being flexible makes you easy to get along with. 

Ask Thoughtful Questions

When you ask good questions, it shows you are interested in understanding the company. There is typically a time to ask questions near the end of an interview, so be ready with thoughtful questions that show you're engaged in the process and interested in the job.

Some good questions to ask:

• What are the biggest short- and long-term issues I would need to focus on in this position?
• What would I need to focus on differently than the previous person in this position?
• What organizational issues should I be aware of?

What Type of Person Are You?

I recently had a chance to sit down with CORT to share in their Sofa Secrets series, a video-based educational program for apartment industry professionals. CORT asked industry leaders share inside tips to help you grow revenue... check out my first Sofa Secret on "Success."

Getting to know you...

Seen at the Hotel Derek in Houston… a creative (and easy!) way to connect and spark conversations with guests! Each member of the front desk staff at the hotel has their own card in a frame that they place on the counter in front of them when they begin their shift.  As guests approach the front desk, they are able to read the fun (location specific) “questionnaire” that the staff member filled out, personalizing the hotel experience for the guests who now know a bit more about the staff at the hotel that are there to take care of them.

Consider doing the same type of thing at your property  - either having leasing consultants display these on their desks, including this in newsletters to your residents (especially for non-leasing agent employees), or, even easier, placing this on the apartment community website to introduce the staff who will be caring for new residents' apartment homes.  You may also be able to use this idea as a resident spotlight/getting to know your neighbor feature (being sure that you keep residents’ privacy in mind).

Home. It's our business.

Getting Instagram photos off your phone and into your office!

With the rise in popularity of Instagram, some innovative companies have developed very creative ways to get pictures off of Instagram and into your (and your potential residents’) hands…  From photo books (great to highlight community activities, showing off the fun environment you create) to individual prints and posters (to help show off local sights and what’s happening in the neighborhood) – plus some other creative formats – there are plenty of ways to display your community’s Instagram photos. 

  

Photobook from Keepsy

Printstagr.am appears to be the most comprehensive website as far as the products they offer.  Photo books and prints are their mainstay, but they also offer a 365-day tear-away calendar (each day is one of your photos!), greeting card sets, stickers, buttons, and t-shirts. 

PostalPix  is an app-based way to print four-inch squares from your Instagram library for only 30 cents each. Other sizes are also available, including two-, five-, and eight-inch-square prints. Available for both iPhone and Android, this app is a great place to start for basic Instagram prints.

Print your own at home or at your local print shop with Prinkl, which allows you to create a .pdf collage of your photos that is printable from anywhere.

Keepsy and Blurb both also offer photo books, while Keepsy also will print a traditional 12- or 18-month calendar with your photos.

Boo Boxes by Hatchcraft

For a high-end, custom look in displaying your photos, try a gallery-style canvas or a handcrafted bamboo frame. CanvasPop creates a high-resolution 12- or 20-inch-square stretched canvas print for $40 and $114, respectively. Multiple canvases would make an impressive art vignette. Boo Box byHatchcraft places four-inch Instagram photos in bamboo shadowbox frames beginning at $20, making a gorgeous option to display in your leasing office.

Tile from ImageSnap

Other fun options to print Instagram photos include:

•  Instagoodies prints favorite Instagram photos into books of one-inch stickers.

• Sticky9  (formerly Stickygram) offers magnets, phone cases, and iPad covers.

• ImageSnap crafts ceramic tiles ranging from two-inch ($4) to 12-inch ($35) squares. Tiles can be installed with mortar and grout just like normal tiles, though the tiny sizes make for perfect refrigerator magnets.

•  Artflakes takes your Instagram pics and whips them into vinyl four-inch stickers in packs of 10 or more.

• Casetagram creates a custom case for your device - iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5/5s/5c, iPod touch 4, iPod touch 5, iPad, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note I, Note II and more.

•  Instalab offers many of the same options as other companies with prints, booklets, magnets, stickers, and calendars, but also offers an inexpensive wood panel print that we haven’t seen elsewhere.

Please remember that at any resident event, you should always have a sign that tells people photographs and videos may be taken which can be used in the public domain.

Flat Rate Pricing Contributes to LOST Leases

Many communities tried "one price fits all" pricing methods during the recession in an effort to fill up fast.  While this may have resulted in a nice bump in occupancy, the leasing team was left with all the “less desirable” apartments to lease making their challenges even tougher. The long term problem is that now they have a community where people think that most pay the same amount in rent. The price was typically based on the lowest rent we could offer even though more than half the apartments had higher value. Price the apartment based on the attributes which make the apartment unique.

Why should a person rent the subject apartment over another? The answer to that question will help you see the individual opportunity for this apartment price. Once you move to this type of price structure it is easier to sell a new price on an apartment.  The reason is pretty simple, it limits that number of apartments that will meet the customer’s needs.  If you have 10 one bedrooms available and they are all $899 then the customer has 10 to choose from making the decision harder not to mention you will lose your sense of urgency. 

It makes more sense to qualify the customer based on price they can afford and them limit their choice based on this need.  Ideally, you want the customer to consider 2 apartments vs 10 apartments.

The Unexpected Email I Received From A Panhanlder Today

When I lived in Chicago I was never comfortable with people on the street asking me for money. I was worried that I was contributing to a bad habit that may have put them on the street or that their story was a fraud.  When I was walking the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, I was told that a certain panhandler sitting near The Cheesecake Factory made over $70,000.  While I tried not to pass judgment, I never understood why someone who was that good at asking a stranger for money did not get up and get a job.  After all, successful sales people have to ask people they do not know for money all the time! There were times when I thought the "loose change seekers" were better at it than I was. 

 

I have also seen many panhandlers to demonstrate marketing savvy.  They know people will read their sign so they put something worth reading.  Personally, I respect the signs that make me laugh.  Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 


Today, my view of a panhandler changed when one of them emailed me.  For the first time in many years I have a morning routine that includes driving the same route each morning.  At one high profile corner there have been two panhandlers who are friendly and creative with their signs.  One morning I whipped through the light and saw the sign out of the corner of my eye.  The gentleman was asking for money for his BMW fund.  I found this to be an example of the strength of the Houston economy and if I were not late for a meeting I would have made a u-turn and snapped a picture for my Facebook status update. 

Each day I drove this route I looked for him again.  Finally today, the stars aligned and I caught the light while he was standing there with the sign.  I figured it would not be nice to take a picture from the inside of my car and not give him money.  So, I broke a personal rule and quickly pulled out some dollar bills.  I handed them over and asked for a picture. 

For the next 30 or so seconds we had a conversation that started with "you get it don't you". In an instant my view of this man changed.  He explained that he is a writer and is trying to get noticed.  He asked me for a card because he carries on the panhandler tradition of asking strangers for something, in other words, he is a salesperson. At this point my Mother, Linda, is probably thinking she should have told me 1000 more times not to talk to strangers!  Well Mom, talking to strangers has pulled me along in life and I felt an instant connection with this one.  His name is Tom and he is looking for a job.

 

I am impressed with the email he sent me.  Well written, complementary, researched (made two references to blogs I have written) and effective. His talent is obvious. I hope he finds what he is looking for but I will miss him on the corner.

If you would like to read Tom's blogs, please visit: http://homelesspatriot.blogspot.com/ and http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/