Are you thinking of becoming a House Manager? Maybe you have seen one of our great House Manager vacancies advertised and would like to know what is required in order to successfully become a House Manager.
In this article we discuss the skills, qualifications, experience, and characteristics required to become a successful House Manager.
Qualifications
There are no particular qualifications that are required to be a House Manager. Usually a principal is looking for experience within a private household rather than qualifications. However having a certificate certainly will help and look super on your CV!
For example, if your background is in Housekeeping and you have successfully completed a certified Housekeeping course. Or if you are a Butler and have a certificate from a training course you have completed. Then these will definitely look great on your CV. To really make your CV stand out you could take a House Management course. This, along with your experience, is a great way to show potential employers that you know what you are doing. And also, why you would be a great candidate for the job!
At Polo & Tweed we run various certified training courses, from House Management to Housekeeping and Silver Service. For more information on our training courses, please do give us a call on 0203 858 0233!
Experience
Often clients with large households and lots of members of staff are looking for someone who already has great House Management experience. However, if you have worked in a private household you may find that you still have lots of House Management experience. Without ‘House Manager’ necessarily being your job title!
As a Housekeeper or Butler in a private household, you may have experience of many relevant things. This can include managing budgets and inventories. Also working as part of a team, and liaising with external contractors. These are all great things to mention on your CV. Because it can show that you have some of the experience needed to be a House Manager.
A lot of the skills and characteristics listed below are also transferable skills which will be required in most private household positions – so have a think whether these apply to you and your current role and add them to your CV to show potential employers that you have the skills needed to become a top House Manager!
Skills and Characteristics:
- Organisation
- Great attention to detail
- Communication
- Leadership
- Managing others
- Managing Budgets
- Teamwork
- Knowledge of etiquette
- Adaptable
- Ability to be discreet and confidential
Being a House Manager means essentially you are in charge of managing the household, this often includes managing other staff too. Therefore, communication is key! You will also need to be a natural leader, be very organised, and have great attention to detail.
The ability to be discreet and confidential comes with any position in a private household, even more so for the House Manager as they will often be the person organising private events and having the most contact with the principal. It is also important to be adaptable and flexible to your principals needs.
If you think you have the skills and characteristics required to become a great House Manager, and you have experience in a private household (even if its not specifically House Management) then you may be a great candidate for your dream House Manager role! To really make your CV stand out why not consider taking a training course in House Management – find out how we can help here or give us a call today and we will be happy to discuss the options with you!