Recruiting & Careers

Temporary Summer Jobs    Full Time Positions    Career Path    The Work    Keys To Success

The majority of positions within the Appraisal District require a four-year college degree. In addition to filling openings throughout the year as they occur, the District actively recruits at college campuses to fill some entry-level appraisal positions. During each spring semester, the District will recruit at most, if not all, of the following colleges and universities:

• Texas Christian University
• Southern Methodist University
• The University of North Texas
• The University of Texas at Arlington
• The University of Texas at San Antonio
• Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio
• Prairie View A & M
• Texas A & M at Commerce
• The University of Texas at Dallas

For interview schedule information, contact the university or college placement office, or email us at hr@dcad.org.

In addition to college recruiting, the District typically participates in a number of local college job fairs as well as the regional MAC 3 Career Fair in Arlington.

Temporary Summer Jobs

A limited number of summer temporary positions are available from May through mid-July of each year for students actively enrolled in a college or university course of study. For more information, email the Human Resources Specialist at hr@dcad.org.

Full Time Positions and Position Requirements

Entry-level appraisers may be hired to work in the Residential, Commercial or Business Personal Property Divisions. The District prefers candidates with business degrees in real estate, finance, or accounting. Other degrees are occasionally considered, if the applicant has appropriate job experience, additional training or education that would qualify him or her for a position. The number of available positions during the college recruiting process depends upon turnover and budget plans.

Career Path

The District offers employees the opportunity to advance based on their individual achievement. With the exception of specialized positions, the District typically promotes from within. This policy allows employees the opportunity to grow with the organization. Appraisers can be promoted to Staff Appraiser once they have achieved a combination of job performance ratings, educational achievement and experience. Senior and Territorial Appraiser positions as well as Supervisory positions are also typically filled from within DCAD. The District does not use seniority as a basis for promotions, and instead considers individual performance, training, and education when evaluating employees. Individual achievement and ability are the primary ingredients to a successful career at the District.

The Work

Each year appraisers typically spend from five to eight months in the field where they gather information on either Residential, Commercial, or Business Personal Property (BPP) accounts. Residential appraisers handle accounts for single-family homes, condominiums, and mobile homes. Commercial appraisers handle accounts for commercial buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, warehouses, etc. Business Personal Property appraisers handle accounts for the furniture and fixtures within a commercial property, inventory of goods, leased equipment, utilities, etc.

In the case of real property which are the Residential and Commercial accounts, the appraiser visits new construction sites and measures the property or obtains information that determines the value of the improvement. When a building permit is issued, the appraiser also goes to the field to view the changes and update the account accordingly. In addition, at least one-third of the real property accounts are reappraised each year to determine if the information is correct based on recent real estate sales in the various neighborhoods and commercial market areas. With over 640,000 Residential accounts and almost 75,000 Commercial accounts, the process is highly automated, so that an appraiser can work a large number of accounts in a short period of time.

Since appraisal year 2003, appraisers carry a pen-based tablet computer to accomplish their fieldwork instead of a paper worksheet and clipboard. These lightweight Fujitsu devices are designed to operate in bright sunlight and allow the appraiser to enter or view the relevant data on an account and calculate a tentative property value using either the market, cost, or income approaches. When the appraiser returns to the office, the pen-based tablet is placed in a docking station that is connected to the network and the main repository of data on file servers for uploading and downloading purposes. The appraiser also has at least a 19-inch monitor, standard size keyboard, and mouse as part of his or her in-office desktop.

Before May 1 of each year, the District mails real property Notices of Appraised Value to taxpayers whose property has been reappraised. The appraisal staff then begins informal hearings with property owners to discuss their values. At this point in the work cycle, appraisers must be able to effectively communicate to taxpayers both on the phone and in person regarding the value placed on their account. More experienced appraisers are assigned to work formal hearings before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). Starting in mid-May, these three-member panels of citizens hear appeals by taxpayers and determine if a change in value is warranted. During these hearings, appraisers present evidence to support the value decisions reached by the District. During ARB, the appraisers will interface with thousands of property owners. In a typical year, over 30,000 individual hearings are held before ARB panels during a 45-day period. Following the ARB, the cycle begins again with field work.

Business Personal Property appraisers are involved in a cycle similar to that of the real property appraisers. However, one of the major differences is that BPP appraisers visit every operational place of business within the District every year. Certain accounts are visited in order to verify existing information regarding ownership and location, while others receive a more detailed inspection to determine inventories, furniture, fixtures, and equipment values. In addition to onsite inspections, the appraiser uses depreciation and other statistical information to compare his or her opinion of value against the rendered assets of the business. In mid-May, the BPP Notices of Appraised Value are mailed. Just as in real property, there is a period of time for informal hearings with taxpayers, followed by formal hearings before the Appraisal Review Board. At the conclusion of ARB, the field cycle begins again.

Keys to Success

To be successful as an appraiser, you must be able to work independently during the field cycle, yet be able to change gears and thrive in a high-pressure environment that involves a large amount of public contact during the Appraisal Review Board process. The reputation of the Appraisal District is a product of our employees. We look for capable, dedicated, ethical employees who enjoy serving their community.