Jacob Long
Leasing Manager
Woodbridge Bloomington

2 Years with Glick

The Gene B. Glick Company is honored to have such hard-working, dedicated employees, and we are proud to recognize these individuals in a monthly employee spotlight!

Q: What is your title at the Gene B. Glick Company?

A: Leasing Manager at Woodbridge Bloomington

Q: What brought you to Glick? Why did you want to work here?
A: A friend of mine held the leasing consultant position I eventually took over when I was hired at Woodbridge Bloomington, so I already had Glick on my radar. I was looking for another job, and the timing just worked out. I had heard nothing but good things about Glick and Woodbridge, so I applied!

Q: What has kept you here?
A: Hands down, the people I work with make coming into work every day worthwhile!

Q: How did you make your way into this industry?
A: I got my real estate license, and my license was held at a brokerage that also dealt in property management. Then, I quit my day job managing a car wash to work in the property management office to make a little bit more money and have a job that was more aligned with real estate sales.

Q: What training/education/background did you bring with you?
A: I have a bachelor’s degree, and I also had one year of property management experience and about a year and a half of real estate experience before coming to work for Glick. I had a manager role at a car wash for three years.

Q: What do you do in your role?
A: The essence of my job is supervising the entire leasing process from initial inquiry to move-in, but it is so much more than that. I answer phones and emails, reply to prospects, screen applications, generate leases, handle resident communications, create content and schedule posts for our social media accounts, create and follow up with work orders, handle resident renewals and process payments. We like to run our office in a way where everyone can do everything. There are a few duties reserved for the property manager or assistant property manager, but anyone in our office should be able to do almost every task that a leasing office would be expected to do.

Q: How do you describe your role to friends and family?
A: I lease apartments and handle resident communications. Any more detail than that isn’t interesting to my friends and family, but it is to me!

Q: What is a typical workday like?
A: Broadly, we handle all inquiries from prospects from the night before and respond to any emails or voicemails from residents before moving on to the day’s tasks. What varies are the day’s tasks. Is it renewal season? Leasing season? Moving season? Because each of those make the day ahead unique. Plus, this year we are undergoing a renovation, so it’s a brave new world every day!

Q: Why is your role/the work you do at Glick important?
A: I help people find a place to live that they can call home. If I ever forget that that is my purpose, I should look for another job.

Q: What would surprise people about your role/the work you do?
A: Probably how all-encompassing it is as it relates to the prospect or resident experience. I might talk to a mom for a half hour who’s looking for a place for her son and doesn’t know anything about Bloomington and has all these questions, or I might be in an apartment working on bathtub plumbing to get the place rent ready. I don’t just do one thing and that’s it. Every day can look different from the last.

Q: What makes Glick unique compared to previous companies where you have worked?
A: The bosses at my previous jobs didn’t care about the quality of service they offered. That’s the difference. At Glick, I’m empowered every day to do everything I can to create a positive outcome for a customer because service always matters.

Q: What part(s) of your job do you like the most?
A: When I connect with a prospect or resident on a personal level, that’s the best. I also thoroughly enjoy the people I work with. These things make what I do more than just a paycheck.

Q: What has surprised you the most about working at Glick?
A: My boss. I’ve never had a boss or supervisor who is so compassionate and caring for others, knows her stuff and helps me and my coworkers grow in our responsibilities and our individual agency every day. She’s also incredibly funny and brings out the humor at every possible opportunity. I have never laughed so hard I cried at work until working here.

Q: Where are you from originally?
A: Bloomington, Indiana

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I like to write, read, travel and create video projects. I’ve also been getting into video gaming over the past couple of years.

Q: If you won the lottery and didn’t have to worry about money, how would you fill your time (e.g., dream job, hobbies, causes)?
A: I would try to get a job working in television, preferably on a scripted drama.

Q: If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
A: There are way too many places in the world to just pick one! Until the pandemic is over, I won’t be traveling outside the U.S. But that’s OK because there’s so much in this country I haven’t seen yet! The next place I’ll be visiting is Denver, Colorado.

Q: Do you have a bucket list, and if so, what is on it?
A: I would like to write a book, direct a movie, go skydiving, and see the world!

Q: Do you live life by any certain motto or philosophy?
A: Two come to mind: “Take care of yourself, and everything else will fall into place,” and “The most important thing you own is your reputation.” The latter is the first life lesson I remember my dad giving me. The former I think I picked up from a TV show, but it’s proven to be true for me ever since, both in work and in life.

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you would like to add?
A: Captain America is the best thing in life.