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Janitorial job - jobs as a janitor

Someone working in a janitorial job (a janitor) is employed to clean and maintain a building or area.  The specific definition of a janitorial job will differ from country to country.

In the US for example, a janitorial job would be a building superintendent or maintenance engineer (residential building or apartment block).  This individual would be responsible for all aspects of keeping the building in order.

General janitorial job duties in the US involve:

• Keeps building in an orderly condition

• Tends to furnace, air conditioning, boiler, water systems

• Sweeps, mops, scrubs and vacuums hallways and stairs (communal areas)

• Empties trash

• Carries out minor repairs, notifies management of major repairs

• Tends to gardens

• Advertises vacancies

• Usually lives within the building

Jobs in the UK

However, in the UK a janitorial job would generally be a more conventional 9 to 5 type affair, and while the janitor would carry out much the same duties, some of the work would be the responsibility of others (for example, a separate gardener would tend the gardens).

Commonly in the UK, janitorial jobs would be with businesses, usually tending to larger buildings (like offices, schools, etc).

Janitorial jobs are more commonly advertised locally, rather than via websites or recruitment agencies, so we would advise job seekers to contact employers directly.

Businesses, building owners (or property management firms) and local governments would all be a good place for job seekers to find janitorial jobs.

Conclusion

Janitorial jobs, no matter if they are in the United Kingdom, or the United States (or anywhere else in the world!) are fairly commonplace, so it should be simple enough for job seekers to find vacancies.

However, with this comes a pitfall of the jobs being highly competitive - there will always be other people around to compete for your job!

Job seekers should be aware of the responsibility of the role and use that to sell themselves effectively to employers.  Employers rely on Janitors to perform a duty - in most cases those duties form the foundation for a large part, if not all of the overall business.

It is this responsibility that employers look for, coupled with the hard skills involved in the job.

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