If you’ve always wondered what it would be like to work at a hotel, convention center or even a resort but you weren’t sure of what exactly you’d like to do there, have you ever thought about starting a career in facilities management? Basically, what a facilities manager does is plan, order and supervise all of the things that are required to keep a facility running smoothly. This would include ordering the right equipment, monitoring the cleaning staff and reaching out to vendors too.
Typically, a facility manager can start out making around $40,000 annually but based on their level of experience and where they are working, some can make as much as six-figures.
If this sounds like something that you would like to learn more about.
We have enclosed five tips on what you can do to successfully pursue a career in facilities management below:
Get a degree. Although there are a lot of facility managers who only have an associate’s degree in business or management and do quite well, being that it’s such a competitive market, we recommend that you get a bachelor’s or even a master’s in a similar major.
Have some experience. Whether it’s while you’re in school or shortly thereafter, something else that you should have is experience. It can be in the field of management or even construction, real estate or hospitality. The main thing to focus on is looking for a job that is closely connected to the type of facility management work that you want to pursue.
Become certified. Something else that you will be required to have before becoming a facilities manager is a certification from the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). This will show employers that you have some of the specialized skills that you will need in order to be a good facilities manager. Another benefit of having this certification is that their website has a lot of information about the facilities management industry as well as ways that you can network with others within the industry.
Attend seminars and other trainings. Since facilities management is somewhat of a competitive field, we also recommend that you attend seminars and other forms of training that specifically relate to your field. Many of them will teach you things like how to be a more effective supervisor, how to get the best costs from vendors and even how to control energy costs at your facility. The more proactive you are about getting additional information, the more attractive you will be to prospective employers.
Apply for jobs. Once you have accomplished all of these steps, it’s now time to look for a position in facilities management. If you’re already working at a company that has a facilities management division, you may want to speak to management or human resources about getting into their training program. Or, you can go to major search engines like Indeed or Career Builder or even a website like Craigslist in and put “facility manager” in the search field in order to apply for jobs. For more information on facility management, visit IFMA.org.
