If you’re drawn to a job in the landscaping industry, chances are you love working outdoors, know your way around a mower and don't mind getting dirty.
What other skills are we looking for in a new employee?
You might be surprised.
We’ll start off with a couple actual landscaping skills we love to see. But the rest have less to do with edging and mulching and more to do with persistence and organization.
See yourself in this list of skills? We’d love to meet you.
When Paul Wisniewski was a teen working at London Landscape Nursery in Michigan, his bosses always thanked him for his work at the end of the day.
Two small words, but they packed a powerful punch. So much so, that Paul carries on the tradition, always thanking crew members after a hard day’s work.
“Those two words go a long way,” says Paul, a branch manager at Level Green Landscaping. “It says we appreciate what they do. It’s not an easy job. I used to feel good when I heard it at the end the day. I hope my guys do, too.”
When David Briggs needs to talk to you, he could text, email, or pick up the phone. But chances are, he’ll stop by to see you.
He’s that kind of guy.
“I like my customers,” says Dave, an account manager with Level Green for the last 12 years. “I like meeting new people, seeing new things, not being stuck in an office.”
No offense to you office types. But being outside is what drew Dave to a career in landscaping, way back in high school when he tried it out as a summer job.
“When I was young I wanted to be outside, be tan and I didn't mind the heat,” he says. He went on to start a landscaping company with his older brother, Paul. He signed on at Level Green almost from the company's beginning.
If someone offered you a fast track to a management position, you'd take them up on it, right?
Or maybe you'd wonder: What's the catch?
No catch here at Level Green Landscaping. We offer a landscape management training program that prepares qualified candidates for a position as an operations manager or account manager.
Get paid while you learn the ropes of the landscape management business. Then, when you’re done, you’re ready to hit the ground running.
Let's take a look.
Bradley Sarno hits the ground running every morning. Let’s try to keep up.
“I have guys going in four different directions every day,” Bradley says of the four different teams he supervises as enhancement operations manager. “If there’s a new job on Monday, I head there first to get things going.”
Then he joins the second crew as they get ready to place plants. He often lays all the plants out himself. As for the rest of the day, you name it.
When Craig Fugate was a kid, he took his sister’s bike apart. He wanted to see how it worked.
“When my dad saw it, he said, ‘Put it back together,’” Craig recalls. “I didn't know how.”
Soon, he did.
“Then I took the radio apart to see how it worked,” he says. “Whatever broke, I’d see if I could fix it. I just always wanted to fix things.”
He got his wish. After high school, Craig attended Lincoln Technical Institute in Maryland and went on to work as a mechanic at a gas station, car dealerships, auto repair shops and landscaping companies.
You can plant all the flowers you want, painstakingly planning the beds and tucking them into the soil just right, but unless they get water, they’re doomed.
That’s where Robby Robinson comes in, arriving on time to customers’ properties several times a week with a 1,000-gallon tank of water and plenty of patience to let it soak in.
Robby has been at Level Green Landscaping for three years, starting out as a crew member then adding responsibilities as a driver.
During the growing season he mans a water truck, visiting a number of Level Green clients several times a week, keeping an eye on beds of colorful blooms and lush plants and making sure none go thirsty.
During the winter, you’ll find him doing snow removal. In the fall, leaf removal. And he drives truckloads of materials to job sites for enhancement projects.
Here at Level Green Landscaping, 80 percent of the seasonal employees who worked for us last year returned to work for us again this year.
We consider that a success story — for us and for them.
Is a seasonal landscaping job right for you? What kind of work is involved? What do you need to know?
We’ll answer all your questions, right here.
On the campus of the University of Maryland is a giant M created entirely of flowers. The striking floral M, in a circular sea of emerald green lawn, is one of the most photographed spots on campus, with families regularly hopping out of their cars to snap a photo of their smiling college students posing next to it.
Creating the giant plant-filled M is up to Jose Reyes, Level Green Landscaping maintenance supervisor.
In the spring he painstakingly plants it with 1,000 sturdy red begonia plants. In the fall, he swaps those out for 1,000 cheerful yellow pansies.
Jose’s work on the iconic M gets noticed — and not just because it’s huge. University of Maryland horticulturalists ask for Jose, because they know he’ll do the job perfectly.
Why spend your internship at Level Green Landscaping?
We can’t wait to tell you.
We’re a fast-growing commercial landscape company located in Washington, DC and Maryland and we offer one of the most well-rounded landscaping internships in the industry.
While we offer many of the same benefits as the larger companies, we’re a family here. You’ll get to know the owners — and experience every aspect of the business during your time here.
Why intern at Level Green Landscaping? Why not?
We’ll answer all your questions, right here.
