I never had the experience of living in an apartment building until I moved to a big city like Buenos Aires. And for the same reason, I was completely ignorant of the possibility of working as a building concierge. It wasn’t until I randomly encounter the concierge in my own building, that I realised this could be a great job opportunity in a city where everyone is looking for a part time job that allows them to also have a normal balanced life.
So, first of all, what does a building concierge do?
Amongst its responsibilities, and these depend on the building owners of course, you can find cleaning, organising, admin and relational tasks. A building concierge is responsible for taking care of the property including all common areas like hallways, entrance, foyer, and garden. Depending on the building as well, they will be responsible for taking care of areas like the laundry room, the pool and the events room and their respective booking schedule if it applies. It might sound like a lot, but all these tasks are done during the week, so they become a routine that is not hard to follow. Still doesn’t sound appealing to you? Let us tell you some great benefits this job has.
You can rest while you work
Specially for college students, if you could not get a 9 am to 6 pm job because of uni, this might be your chance to work and study. At least in Buenos Aires, most building concierges work from very early in the morning, around 6:30 am until around mid day. This allows to not only to have time to go to college but also to do some extra study hours.
Now, the first benefit about being a building concierge, is that because it mostly implies physical work, it allows your mind to rest while you are working. During my time in College, I had the opportunity to work as a waitress, and I remember seeing my work time as a rest time, because I didn’t have to think about essays, or projects for at least 4 hours a day. Believe it or not, physical work on a routine can serve you as a way of resting your mind amongst all the crazy requirements you experience on your day to day.
Your mental rest will also be possible in this job, because you have a standard to meet and no other expectations will be placed on you. You are required to do your job, and don’t need to come up with new ideas, suggestions, projects or solutions. It is always recomendable that you do more than just enough, but innovation will not be required from you.
Building relationships
Very different from normal hospitality or part time jobs, being a building concierge does not require for you to build relationships with the people you get to work for. It is always recomendable and good for you to always be kind to them, and try to learn their names for the sake of both of you having a good experience during the day. But your day will definitely not depend on what mood the customer decided to have that day.
Also, in such a relaxed work environment, you have the ability to change someone’s day by simply saying hi to them or asking them about their day on a small talk in the elevator. So if building relationships with people is something you enjoy to a certain degree, but don’t like being overwhelmed by customers, you might want to consider this job as a good option.
Wages and accomodation
At least in South America, it could be said that the wages in this kind of job are reasonable. Depending on the type of building and the time and effort it takes to maintain it, you could be earning the minimal wage, or even a bit more which would allow you to pay for your basic needs.
But one of the great options this job gives you, is the possibility of being given accomodation inside the building you work at. Of course this might only be a choice at buildings that require more maintenance, but that also means that while you save up for whatever is important to you, you have a job and the rent covered straight away. So what else would you want in a big city? Although this might not be the best option to live of if you have a family and kids, it might be a considerable option if you are a college student or someone simply looking for a part time job.
What else do you know about being a building concierge? Do you think it has more pros than cons? How does it work in your country or city? Let us know!
