Property Management Interviews - Our Not so Secret Secrets

Hiring can be both mentally draining and time-consuming, but when you know where to start, it doesn't have to be. At Propertyse, we've refined our interview process to make it as smooth and efficient as possible. Here’s a peek into how we approach hiring and what we look for in potential team members!

Core Principles Up Front

Every company has its core tenants for its employees. You look for candidates that match your "Why", and not just your "Hows" and "Whats". Every company is different. For us, three things stand out more than anything else. If they are curious, proactive, and creative - they're not just likely to be a better employee - they are one that plans on sticking around.

Rising to the Level of Your Systems

James Clear famously said "You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems" and we believe hiring is no different. Whether you're using HR team, AI Tools to find or screen candidates, or job boards - how we all execute on our hiring plan has a huge impact on our businesses.

1. Crafting the Job Description

The foundation of any successful interview process begins with a clear and concise job description. It’s important to break down the role’s responsibilities without unnecessary fluff. Alongside the bullet points, we also include insights into what a typical day might look like in the role. This gives candidates a fuller understanding of what to expect.

2. Defining Candidate Strengths

Before posting any job listing, we align with our key stakeholders to determine the key characteristics and strengths we’re looking for. By clearly defining these traits, we ensure we’re selecting candidates who are best suited for the role from the very start.

3. Setting the Interview Structure

How many steps should there be in the interview process? Whether it’s one interview or three, having a clear structure keeps the process streamlined and fair. The thing to remember is that if the interview process takes too long, the candidate will move on to another role. This does mean you need to rush your process but those members of your team who will be conducting interviews need to find time to fit interviewing into their week.

4. Consistent Interview Questions

Every role comes with its own unique set of responsibilities, and therefore, each position should have tailored interview questions. To ensure fairness, we ask the same questions to all candidates applying for the same role. This way, we can effectively compare responses and measure competencies. The basics for each role including technology requirements, working hours, pre-approved vacation dates, salary expectations, and start date, to name a few, should always be included in the first interview set of questions.

5. Red Flags to Watch For

Identifying non-negotiable disqualifiers—those "no exception" red flags—helps us make swift decisions. From our experience, if you see a red flag in your interview process, it will most likely show up when the candidate is working with you and sometimes this can be detrimental to your operation. It’s important to be clear on these early in the process.

6. Pre-Interview Email

Before candidates even have a first interview scheduled, we send a pre-interview email outlining key details such as hours, pay, and any must-have qualifications. This ensures there are no surprises at the start of the interview and no one wastes their time. Some hiring boards have an option for candidates to automatically apply to specific roles with titles that meet their criteria. This means, there will be times where candidates have not even looked at your specific job posting!

7. Timely Follow Up and Honesty

We treat everyone the way we would like to be treated and believe the interview process is the start of a successful team member onboarding and a reflection of the company. Make sure you are clear with when the candidate will hear back from you and follow up within that time frame. If you need more time to decide, that is okay but you need to let the candidate know.

At Propertyse, there are a few things that can immediately disqualify a candidate, regardless of how strong their resume might be:

• Showing up late to the interview

• Not researching the company

• Not reading the job description

• Lying about resume experience

Tools We Use for a Consistent Process

We’ve implemented a few tools to streamline our hiring process and ensure consistency. This starts with sourcing, tracking and even after-interview requirements. If candidates are not willing to complete the after interview requirements, they are not the right person for your team.

• English Proficiency Test

• One example ClickUp Hiring Board Template

• Personality Assessment

• Job-Specific Assessment

• AI Sourcing Tools

If you’re curious to learn more about our hiring process or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re always happy to share what we’ve found to be successful.