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RAM Designation Helps Apartment Managers Advance in Their Career

“Anyone just beginning a career still has a lot to learn,” says Trenda Robertson, director for Drucker & Falk’s Mid-Atlantic Multifamily division. In many professions, the only way to learn is by experience, and by making mistakes. And while “people in the property management arena also learn from experience and mistakes,” Robertson says, “we are fortunate to have another way for people to continue to learn how to do the best possible job — professional designation programs such as the Registered in Apartment Management (RAM) program.”

That’s one reason Robertson is serving this year as the chair of the RAM Board of Governors.

NAHB’s 40-hour RAM program teaches everything from marketing and maintenance systems to legal and regulatory issues. When property management professionals take the RAM course, it tells their employers and co-workers that they have a long-term goal — that they want to become experts in the issues that are vital to their career.

“It gives people a sense of pride and accomplishment, and tells the world that you’re committed to continuing to learn and to advance in your career,” says Robertson.

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And it doesn’t hurt when it comes time to apply for a more responsible job. “All employers ask applicants, ‘Have you continued your education? Have you invested time to master the tools of your career?’” Seeing the Certified Leasing Professional (CLP), RAM or Advanced RAM designations on a job application makes a positive impression.

“If someone has worked in a job for more than five years without having made an effort to learn something new,” says Robertson, “it’s clear that they aren’t taking their career seriously.”

As a RAM Dean, Robertson makes arrangements for offering the RAM courses, teaches some of the courses and teaches some of the teachers.

It’s satisfying, she says, to hear back from the people who’ve completed the courses. “I got a call from one student who just received her RAM certificate this week,” she said. “She was so excited. She said, ‘I can’t tell you how proud I feel. I’m at a different level now.’”

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2004 NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference & Awards Gala

Don’t miss the Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Conference and Awards Gala, the premier educational and networking event of the year for the multifamily industry, in Palm Springs, CA, March 28-30. Explore both the current and future state of the multifamily industry. Click here for more information.

'Residential Property Management' Available from BuilderBooks.com

"Residential Property Management" is the savvy property management professional's guide to success. This comprehensive reference tool, available through BuilderBooks.com, is the core text of the Registered Apartment Manager (RAM) program, the longest-running, most respected residential property management education and designation program in the industry. To view or order this publication online, click here, or call 800-223-2665 to order.

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