Property Manager - Dennis

Experiences:

I have always been interested in profit & loss & investment. It's easier to be objective. I was not so interested in social sciences.

There was no particular childhood activity or moment of truth when my career path became obvious but there was a progression of different jobs. Firstly I was a Land Valuator for the government to advising the government about which properties they should invest in for the public service superannuation fund. Then I worked out which properties should be brought either shopping malls, building office towers or doing up hotels. Now I look after the up-keep of government buildings, open spaces and even car parks!

Opportunities:

2 Years in National Service when I was 20 gave me a sense of achievement & purpose. I was able to re-train at the end of this time and get a traineeship in Land Valuations.

These were lucky breaks although I never sought to change employer, only to grow in knowledge, authority & renumeration (more money!).

I waited for opportunities to arise while making the most (in terms of my ability) of the present situation.

Education:

I'm proud of the school I attended & I believe this gives one confidence in later life. Past teachers would be surprised at what I have achieved in employment.

It's too long ago to remember whether school work is still helpful.

Training:

I undertook both tertiary & "on the job" training, mostly on the job beyond the initial TAFE Certificate.

Training is a journey of discovery. I felt as though I was actually using my education when on the job. Training taught me that you never stop learning and the trick was to avoid as many mistakes as possible while you trained.

The educational side of development is generally more prominent today than in my case. I am not a very good student. My training has been going on for 30 years as I moved through various phases as a technician, then through various phases as a manager.

Employment:

My career path lead to a source of income because it is committed to returning a profit which pays my wages.

I found a job, the boss came with it. I'm preparing for retirement & think about it regularly.

My typical career day is one of not knowing what will come out of the woodwork. My work activity involves others. The outcome of my work is obvious to others as I buy and sell properties.

Development:

Regular supervision, meetings, planning of workload, seminars, further tertiary training, short courses. Many staff make some use of professional development when time permits.

I'm not interesed in further study with my existing responsibilities, Productivity is partially linked to professional development especially when "finessing" a task.

I think that you are successful by working hard and having the drive to work hard.