Careers in Housing: Jessica Adams, Grampian Housing Association
Jessica Adams, Neighbourhood Officer at Grampian Housing Association shares her journey into a career in housing.
I never seen myself in a career within housing, I kind of just fell into it. I studied Business and Events management at university, and in 2020 I started looking for part time jobs/ training within in the Events Industry. However, COVID-19 hit, which made this extremely difficult.
On a whim, I decided to apply for a receptionist job, in an estate agents in Edinburgh where I lived. The longer I was there, my job transformed into a lettings assistant. This is where I truly found my passion for; meeting tenants, getting to know tenants, and all that comes with working in the property sector.
After I graduated university in July 2022, myself and my partner moved to Aberdeen, where I started my career in social housing as a Housing Assistant. Although there were some similarities, I was shocked at how different private lettings and social lettings are, but I surprisingly found my feet really quickly.
I now work as a Neighbourhood Officer for Grampian Housing Association, where my role is to be the first point of contact for all tenants within my patch. Trying to describe what my day to day looks like is difficult because every day is so different, this is one of the things I love about my job. One of the most important tasks for me day to day is just showing tenants that I’m there to help, whether that’s to sort a repair issue, or just to sit with them and have a chat about what’s going on in their lives. Other tasks include, dealing with tenancy changes, helping tenants with benefits, dealing with neighbour disputes, Anti-social behaviour and driving, lots and lots of driving! My favourite part of my job is just getting to know tenants, and building a relationship to improve the communities that I work within.
Advice I would give to anyone looking to have a career in housing is, as cliché as it sounds, just be yourself. Being relatable to tenants, I think, is one of the reasons they trust me.
Accepting you’re not always going to get it right is another piece of advice I would give, people’s homes are one of the most important things in their life, and therefore a really difficult thing to manage. Accepting that its not always going to go your way and that you’re not always going to get it right, and being up front about it only makes you learn more.