Maintenance Technician, Replay
This is a warm referral into Percy's deepest account, caught mid-stride — Kim Sloan handed Cameron's name straight to RVP Jennifer Conley, and Asset just accepted MT offers this month at Corinth Place and The Strand at Lenox. Walk in as the incumbent vendor, not a cold pitch. But two facts make this more than a routine maintenance intake: Jennifer is a brand-new contact who has never worked with Percy, and Replay is a brand-new property with no history to lean on. The real job of this call is to lock a clean, fast external search before Asset's self-fill pattern can harden — while establishing the working relationship with a new decision-maker.
The decisive variable is the internal-candidate answer. Replay is still staffing up, which is exactly the condition under which Asset quietly fills from within — listen hard, and don't accept a soft "no internal" on the first ask. The second leverage moment is comp: the posted band is $20–$26/hr, but a Class A new-build competing with downtown Iowa City operators may need the top of the band or above, so get Jennifer to name the number she'll actually pay. Third, EPA level and whether this hire has to be productive before the August Turn. And because Jennifer asked "what's needed on our end to get set up," the owner/vendor thumbs-up is live — we want explicit confirmation the search is cleared to go live on a fresh owner entity.
Mike runs the call as lead recruiter — Position and Profile are his. Cameron, who owns the Asset relationship and brought the req in through Kim Sloan, anchors the warm open and carries the account-and-setup pieces, including the ownership thumbs-up. Joanne is shadowing on her first intake — there to listen, not to drive. Jake (AM) is optional and likely won't join, so the billing-entity capture has to land live on the call, with Jake confirming owner entity, AP contact, and W-9 status in writing within 24 hours.
1 · Internal candidate, or clean external search?
"Before we source a single person — is anyone already informally in the frame for this seat? Someone on the new property team, or someone the region's been coaching? Asset fills maintenance from within roughly half the time, so I'd rather know today than three weeks in."
2 · EPA 608 level — Type 1, Type 2, or Universal?
"Is this a Universal role, or is Type 2 workable here? The level kills candidates if we get it wrong on intake, so I want it locked before I write the spec — and with a pool and spa on site, I'll also ask whether CPO is required or trainable."
The Position
Replay opened Fall 2025, so the work skews to warranty/callback coordination and learning new systems — not deferred-maintenance repair. Two facts shape the spec: it's near-new, and its first 648-bed student Turn is right around the corner.
- Why open — true new headcount as the property staffs up, or a backfill? Solo tech, or part of a forming bench?
- Work mix — warranty/callback coordination vs. day-to-day work orders vs. make-ready/Turn labor; rough split on a near-new asset.
- First Turn — late July–August, 648 beds turning at once. Does this hire need to be ramped before Turn?
- Bench & reporting line — solo, or under an MS/GM? Who's the direct supervisor, and who screens candidates day-to-day?
- On-call / after-hours — weekend rotation, emergency coverage, and how it's compensated. Surface early; techs drop late if it's a surprise.
- Tools, uniforms, vehicle — provided or BYO on a brand-new build?
The Profile
Q1 is always the ranked must-haves. Adapt the rest to a Class A student new-build.
- Top 3 must-haves, ranked — and how the supervisor evaluates each. Verbatim.
- EPA depth — confirm the gate level, and whether new-construction warranty experience offsets a lower cert.
- HVAC mix — mini-split / central / heat pump; what's actually in the building.
- Trades coverage — plumbing, electrical, drywall, paint, appliance repair: generalist expectation, or gate on any one?
- Pool / CPO — required or trainable (resort-style pool and spa on site).
- Software — work-order platform (Yardi Maintenance / RealPage / AppFolio); gate or trainable?
- License + clean MVR — confirm; bilingual a plus given the student/resident mix?
- Where prior MTs have fallen short — failure modes across Jennifer's portfolio, even though Replay itself is new.
The Process
Maintenance pipelines move fast and Asset's internal candidate hardens quickly — build the cadence tight from the first call.
- Interview stages — count, format (phone / video / onsite), and who runs each round; does Jennifer screen, or a property MS/GM?
- Day-to-day scheduler — who books interviews and relays feedback (Kinley?). Get their cell on the call.
- Maintenance assessment — does Asset use a written/practical test here? Pressure-test it — Asset's Everson MS assessment scared off otherwise-qualified candidates.
- Background / drug screen / MVR — timeline.
- Offer mechanics — who generates, who approves, typical turnaround.
- Presentation mode — standouts as we find them, no batching; first submit within 48 hours.
- Calibration call — lock it live, T+5 (not T+7).
Comp & Setup
Comp confirmation and the owner/vendor setup were the two items the team flagged hardest in the prep huddle.
- Real comp number — posted band is $20–$26/hr, but a luxury student new-build may need top-of-band or above. Get the number Jennifer will actually pay, plus any bonus structure.
- Billing entity — fees route to the property owner, not Asset Living. Capture owner entity name + address + AP contact + W-9 status.
- Ownership thumbs-up — confirm the owner has cleared this search to go live. Standard on student-housing reqs, but reconfirm given a brand-new contact.
- Vendor / W-9 timeline — fresh owner entity → budget 5–7 business days for vendor setup so the first submit isn't held up.
- Standard terms — 15% · Net 30 · 75-day guarantee · Georgia law · 5-day notification window.
Before we hang up
- Receipt back. Mike reads three bullets summarizing what we heard on EPA level, comp, and the internal-candidate gate. Confirm or correct.
- Re-confirm the internal-candidate answer. The single most decisive variable on an Asset maintenance search — say it back, and make sure it's a real "no internal," checked at both property and regional levels.
- Hidden stakeholders. "Anyone else in this hire — a property MS, a regional maintenance lead — whose name I should have?"
- First submits within 48 hours. Commit on the call; standouts go immediately, no batching.
- Exchange cells. Flag Cameron's (and Mike's) number to Jennifer and Kinley so it doesn't show as Scam Likely — and get the day-to-day scheduler's cell.
- "What should I have asked that I didn't?" Always last.