Jenna Rush Sr. Project Accountant
How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions? Is there such a thing as balance? There is such thing as balance if you believe in yourself and most importantly take care of yourself.
Where will we find you on a Saturday at 10:00 am? On a Saturday afternoon, you can’t findme! I amanywhere but in the house. My daughter & I are always on themove!
What advice would you give women just starting in their career in property management? For a woman starting out in her career, I would say to be open to doing different tasks. This may take some extra involvement or additional training, but it can help discover where one finds joy and passion, where improvement is needed, or even what one does not want to do in the future. It also shows others what drives you to do well, which can lead to promotions or opportunities in other departments. How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions? Is there such a thing as balance? I once worked in a job for nearly nine years where I worked long hours Monday through Friday and some Saturdays or Sundays. It was all-consuming and taking extended time off was hard. When I decided that was not the kind of life that I wanted, it made such a difference in my happiness and well-being. There is such thing as balance, but you have to be intentional about it. You need to make time to decompress. The balance will look different to everyone, and hopefully, others can respect what balance means for you. This may be turning off the TV and not looking at your phone an hour before bedtime or not jam-packing evenings and weekends with outings. Be honest with yourself and give yourself and others some grace. Take time to find out what brings you joy, and make sure to prioritize that. Where will we find you on a Saturday at 10:00 am? At 10:00 am on a Saturday, I can be found at my local farmers market. I love supporting small businesses and the products and food are always so delicious compared to a lot of items sold in the grocery stores. It is also fun to speak to the vendors about the product. The vendors are always enthusiastic to talk about the merchandise and show so much pride in what is being sold. Sometimes, the vendors have some great recipe ideas on how to use the food being purchased too, so it is always a smart idea to spend that little extra time to chat. What makes you feel the most alive either at work or in your personal life? I feel most alive at work when I can fix a spreadsheet that doesn’t balance. I love being able to review, run reports, and solve a problem, even if it does take some time. I can’t help but find joy when a spreadsheet is balanced. I feel most alive in my personal life after finishing a good Zumba session. I grew up dancing and Zumba gets me motivated to start the day! What is your most meaningful accomplishment during your career? Why does it mean so much to you? In my first job out of school, I was given a raise that I did not feel was adequate. Instead of accepting the increase, I went back to my manager and explained the rate that I felt that I deserved and provided several reasons why I felt that I should be earning that wage. I didn’t get the higher rate that I requested, but there was a discussion and we met somewhere in the middle. It felt good to not only personally know my worth but also to express it. Sometimes managers may not be aware of or remember everything that we do! We may have to speak up and remind them of our value.
What is your most meaningful accomplishment during your career? Why does it mean so much to you? My most meaningful accomplishment is more like an everyday occurrence. I feel accomplished simply by putting a smile on someone’s face or listening to how they spent their weekend. Being able to interact with different people and create relationships daily brings me a sense of fulfillment and that is most important to me. What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women that follow you? I believe the biggest challenge for the next generation of women will be for them to love themselves as they are. I think we all struggle with today’s society of trying to keep up with the latest trends, but it’s all about taking care of yourself internally and having that belief within that you can accomplish anything just the way you are.
Michelle Robinson Regional Manager
What advice would you give women just starting in their career in property management? My advice is to always follow Fair Housing guidelines as these are in place to protect you and your team. Also, get familiar with the lease. This will help you answer questions that residents normally want you to interrupt your manager to answer. No matter what position you are in at your community, you should be able to answer any questions that come your way. How do you balance your career, personal life, and passions? Is there such a thing as balance? I do believe there is such a thing as living a balanced life. You have to set ground rules as far as not allowing work to trickle into your personal time. We all know emergencies cannot be prevented in property management, but you have to walk away from your work area when it is time. If your hours are set, try to follow those. I found myself doing nothing but work at one point in my career, but now I am doing the same amount of work, but in the time I have allotted myself. I feel good when I walk away knowing I can accomplish my day-to-day work and still have family time. It is important to not get burnt out and by setting boundaries, I have grown to love my career evenmore. What is your most meaningful accomplishment during your career? Why does it mean so much to you? Earning my CAM designation has to be one of the most meaningful accomplishments during my career. I went out on a limb and applied for a scholarship. At that time, I had just started a lease-up in Burleson, TX, being the one and only person on the team when I was awarded the scholarship. I am a nervous test taker, so when I passed both parts of CAM, I was in tears. My daughters were so proud of me knowing the amount of time and dedication I put into not only property management but finding time to study for my CAM test. This accomplishment meant so much to me because it was proof to my daughters that you can do anything you put your mind to! I preach to my daughters all the time that they can do anything they want as long as they put the time and effort in!
18
19
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker