Do You Have a Job or a Career?

To elevate our industry, we must think long term, seek out opportunities, continue learning and mentor others.

By Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR

Association management is probably the best unheard-of career out there. There are many good reasons for becoming an association manager, and as an industry, we are at a tipping point. We saw our industry elevated during the pandemic to an essential status. And now CACM is working with Cal State Fullerton not just to recruit recent graduates but to offer industry-specific classes at the college level.

Our industry and the public’s perception of community management is evolving. But in order for the industry to fully evolve, we must evolve with it. The industry will only be elevated if we as industry professionals elevate it from a run-of-the-mill job to a fulfilling career.

It’s important for you to assess whether you view your current employment as a job or as a career. The difference is not as subtle as it might seem. The difference comes down to three things: Mindset, opportunities and training.

First of all, your mindset. When you think about your current employment, do you think about long-term goals? If so, then you have a career. If you don’t have long-term goals within your current employment, then you simply have a job. Please note that there’s nothing necessarily wrong with ‘simply’ having a job. For some of us, the job is just a means to an end – taking a dream vacation, eating a delicious meal, or simply paying the bills. But it is only as we fill the office hallways and onsite properties with individuals who see this as a career that our industry will be elevated to its proper place alongside other professions such as law, medicine and civil government.

Secondly, opportunities. According to the dictionary, a Career is “an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.” At your current employment, are there opportunities for growth? If you are a front desk associate, are there open positions for being a Manager Assistant? If you are an Assistant, are you taking on increasing levels of responsibility? More importantly, at your current employment, are you seeking out those opportunities? If those opportunities are there and you are seeking them out, then you see your current employment as a career. If you don’t seek out those opportunities and you are content simply doing what you are doing now, then what you have is probably just a job.

Now, obviously, this does not mean that you need to be constantly looking for employment elsewhere or to transfer departments within your current employer, but it does mean that you are open to the opportunities as they present themselves. That’s what it means to view this as a career. You look for those opportunities to develop and grow within the industry. Now, it could be that you’ve reached a certain position and/or salary level where there’s really nowhere else position-wise to ‘progress’ to. If that is the case, then it’s time for you to ‘progress’ by helping others to ‘progress.’ If you are at this stage of your career, you almost certainly have others that report to you. What would it look like for you to help them to grow and develop in this industry? As they progress in their careers, and reflect on the years, will they refer to you as one of their mentors? Every industry needs mentors and ours is certainly not the exception. Help elevate the industry by mentoring others within the industry.

Thirdly, training. At your current employment, even if the opportunities are limited right now, are you being trained and are you seeking more training? If you do, then you are looking at your current employment as a training ground, which means you see this as a career. Or, you see the potential for overlap between this career and another career. For example, if at your current employment you are being trained on conflict resolution, that is a knowledge base and skillset that you can take with you anywhere, even in your personal life. If your current employer does not provide ongoing training, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere? If you oversee or have input into the training at your company, is the training helping your team members to grow their careers? Individuals need to have ongoing training otherwise it will be easy for them to just view what they do as a job vs. as a career.

As you continue with our industry, the goal is for you to think long-term and look for opportunities to grow and learn and develop your skillset so that over the years as you succeed in your career, the industry is better for it as well. If you are already a successful Association Manager or Executive with years in the industry, then look to mentor your fellow teammates and even those outside your company. It is only as we do so that our industry will be elevated and known for what it already is for many of us, a fulfilling career.

Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR, is General Manager with Action Property Management, Inc., ACMC in Long Beach.