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We all know how difficult it is to get a job in architecture at the moment, with 1000's of responses to job ad's in journals and little work about, things are looking bleak. There are however things you can do to improve your chances of getting job interviews and landing a job, as there is still work out there and buildings being built.
Here, I have compiled a list of suggestions on how to go about getting a job compiled from talking to directors of firms, talking to Part 1's and Part 2's who have had many job interviews and offers at good firms during the recession and my own experience in finding a job. |
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Quantity, not quality Apply everywhere. In these times you can't be fussy. Landing that dream job might have to go on hold, and an 'anything will do' attitude may have to be employed. Although it may be worth being systematic about things, creating a list and applying to the places you would most like to work first. However there is usually a positive experience to be had at most firms and big name practices are not always the best places to work. There are over 3000 architecture firms in the UK, if you haven't applied to all of them, then you haven't looked hard enough. It is better to send out speculative applications, as firms are avoiding advertising jobs as they receive too many responses to go through. A lot of the time it is about timing, if your CV lands on a directors desk the day they get a new job into the office, chances are they'll give you a call. |
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Contacts/ Networking Use all the contacts you have. Your friends, friends friends half cousin will do. If you know someone who is working, ask them if their practice is looking for people. Give them your CV. Talk to your tutors or old tutors about jobs, I know many people who have got jobs this way. I also know people who have got jobs by talking to directors at end of year shows, I know someone who got a good job by talking to an architect at an architecture exhibition and another friend who got a job after talking to an architect at the end of an architecture talk. Getting yourself out there can make that difference. |
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Keep Improving Keep going out to see buildings, keep drawing, keep improving your drawings, enter competitions, keep producing. Go on short courses. Everything that you do can go in your portfolio. Doing these things will also show that you have a real passion for architecture. |
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Your CV It is good to keep in mind that unless otherwise requested, it is better to send in a hard copy of your CV. This is too expensive a tactic to employ for every application, so it is better to be selective on who your hard copies go to. But the more hard copies you have, the better. It is good to have more than one version of your CV in both hard copy form and in PDF format. This can also be useful if you want to send different CV's to different types of firms. All in all, I think I had 6 versions of my CV in the end. Choose the images of your CV well. Be very selective and only choose your very best images. If you have time, keep improving your images, spend as much time as you can making them as good as you can. |
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Cover Letter The cover letter is tricky. As there simply isn't enough time to write bespoke letters to each firm. You can of course do this, or alternatively you can spend a lot of time making one really good letter which you can send out to everyone. In the letter I would be very specific and honest about your interests in architecture. |
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Your CV Again Printing your CV can be very expensive and a bit of a pain. I would try and find the best colour laser printer service you can, and get the best price you can from them by printing in bulk. I would do test prints at several places on different types of paper. Keep in mind that different printers and different types of paper can completely change the way your work looks. |
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Your Portfolio Keep reviewing your portfolio and make sure all your drawing details work and that there are no novice looking mistakes in your drawings. It is also important to make sure you are showing your portfolio in its best format. Does your portfolio look better on screen or on paper? Does it look better at A3, A2 or even at A1 or A4. Should you simply show your work using a laptop? In my experience a mixture of A3 & A4 paper and laptop works well, but everyones work is different. |
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Conclusion In summary, present your work as well as you can. Don't accept bad prints or any poor quality images. Apply to as many places as you can, speak to as many people in the profession as you can and perhaps most importantly, keep improving yourself as an architectural designer and keep improving your portfolio and CV during your search. |