RPM Ambassadors: Get Hungry and Find Your Seat at the Table
RPM Ambassadors: Get Hungry and Find Your Seat at the Table
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RPM Careers ambassadors Jeremy Lawson, Kim O’Keefe and Stephanie Anderson shared their remarkable stories at the 2017 NAA Education Conference in Atlanta in June designed to help guide future leaders in the industry to their best path upward.

At the panel session “Get Hungry and Find Your Seat at the Table,” moderated by Debbie Phillips of the Georgia Apartment Industry Education Foundation (GAIEF), these RPM pioneers offered professional branding strategies for emerging managers. They discussed how to put your company, local apartment association, NAA and your RPM career on the map.

Taking Separate Paths

Each panelist took a unique path to emerge as a leader in the apartment industry.

Stephanie Anderson, CAM, CAPS, now a regional property manager at Drucker & Falk, did not intend to join the RPM industry. It all began when she wasn’t happy with her first apartment and found a new one.

“When I toured my new apartment, the leasing consultant asked if RPM was something I might be interested in,” says Anderson, who at the time was a senior in college. “I said no.”

When Anderson was ready to move in, the leasing consultant again mentioned the job opportunities and benefits RPM offers. Anderson accepted a part-time job as a leasing consultant, which soon became a full-time job. “It was in RPM that I found a passion for people,” Anderson says. And she has never looked back. In 2015, Anderson was named NAAEI’s Professional Designate of the Year.

Jeremy Lawson, NALP, is the reputation manager at Fogelman Management Group and a member of the NAAEI Board of Directors. Unlike many RPM professionals, Lawson always knew he wanted to work in the industry, but just didn’t know exactly in what way.

“Even as a child, I would drive by apartment communities and think of them as big houses where a bunch of people lived,” Lawson says, adding that he wanted to help make those big houses into homes. It also helped that Lawson’s grandparents worked in real estate. He applied to be a leasing consultant and soon after earned his NALP credentials. “That really kick-started my career,” Lawson recalled. 

Kim O’Keefe, CAM, NALP, now an operations manager for The Dolben Company, was teaching students in musical theater before starting her RPM career. She was hoping for a job that was more stable and still people-oriented. Her brother, an assistant property manager at the time, encouraged her to consider an RPM career, knowing she enjoyed human interaction. O’Keefe applied for a leasing job and “from the beginning, fell in love with it,” she says. From there, O’Keefe went through an in-house training program, which helped lead her to where she is today.

Building a Network

Anderson, Lawson and O’Keefe offered a variety of tips, strategies, and personal stories about becoming an emerging leader in the RPM industry. They suggested ways to become involved with your local housing authorities, chamber of commerce or NAA; innovative ideas that can separate you from the competition; tips to stay hungry for career goals and work your way up; and the importance of networking and being a mentor in the workplace. 

Lawson says make yourself noticeable. “Stand out. It is a big part of being a future leader” he says. “You can’t be a wallflower and expect to go anywhere. You’re probably an industry expert, whether you know it or not. Find out what you’re really good at and work on that.”

O’Keefe adds that being a mentor and involvement in your local or national association can help you become noticeable and find your seat at the table.

“It is what you make of it and what you put into it,” she says. “There are a lot of mentors, resources, committees, and opportunities that can support you in finding the perfect place for you in this industry. Once you’re in and you make those impressions and relationships, it’s a tight family that supports you and cares about your growth.”

Anderson emboldened listeners to go outside of their comfort zones and build a meaningful network in the RPM industry. She became very involved in her local association, making friends and building her professional network.

“These relationships come full circle — they lead to recruitment opportunities,” Anderson says. “NAA has done tremendous things for my career. When my current employer was in the process of hiring me, one of the first things they did was ask around in the industry, in NAA, and the local associations about me.”

Want to Be an RPM Rock Star?

All RPM Careers ambassadors are emerging leaders in their companies and NAA, and are available to speak with your recruits and job-seekers. Direct interested candidates or rising stars to RPMcareers.org/explore-careers/connect to meet an ambassador and discover your RPM success story.