Young Architect's Blog (22)

Are you trying to find your first architecture job? Are you stuck writing the perfect cover letter to entice your future employers?

A misconception that most students have when they are seeking their first jobs in the design and construction field is that employers actually care about their individual…

This last tip is the one that I know will receive the most eye-rolls yet it is the most effective career building tool. Informational interviews are the “wolf in sheep’s clothing” because it is an interview, however there is not the pressure of an immediate employment decision to be made. I’ll explain……

The idea of the “Thank You” note sounds outdated and borders on inappropriate. However thanking people for helping you out throughout your career is one of the best career moves you can possibly make. If any of you readers have ever received a Thank You Note, you know that it can make someone’s day and it won’t be forgotten.…

You read correctly. Even if you are gainfully employed, even if the economy and job market is terrible (like it is now) it’s always a good idea to see what else is out there. Your job may have been an awesome opportunity when you started a few years ago, but maybe your interests or needs have changed. The actual act of searching for a job psychologically puts you in…

This last tip is the one that I know will receive the most eye-rolls yet it is the most effective career building tool. Informational Find a way to exercise leadership skills by spearheading activity in your office; it can be directly related to your business or totally goofy. Find a way to organize a team of people, whether they be peers or supervisors, around a common goal. In…

Whether you are gainfully employed or not, you should always be keeping your resume, portfolio and other related documents current. In doing so, you won’t need to panic to get all of your materials ready to go job hunting.

I recently wrote about this in Career Guide: Getting Started series so I…

Many readers that have come to the website and have contacted me have been those that are laid off, recently graduating, or looking for a major change in their career situation. The content that is written on YoungArchitect is really aimed at accommodating these people as there is not much career advice for architects on-line. Below is a comprehensive guide of some of my best…

No matter how you slice it, getting laid off is one of the most psychologically damaging things that anyone can go through in their career. However, this is sometimes unavoidable and it is often far too easy to close yourself from the outside world and hide in a deep depression. Instead, I suggest being proactive and using the time as productively as possible.…

Two days ago, I went over some of the interview questions that you should be ready for when searching for a job. As a part of your interview, you should also be pro-active and ask questions that will help you gauge whether or not the position and environment is suited for you.

Here are 5 Questions to ask in order to…

As I discussed in my last post, your portfolio should be as un-complicated as possible and speak for itself. The goal here is to waste little time on mundane graphic details when in actuality, your architectural work should be speaking for you. Now I want to take the portfolio the next step further in order to streamline your job-hunt process.…

Have you been slaving over your portfolio? Are you on your fifth or sixth different version of it? Do you think about page layouts and binding as you fall asleep? Stop!

Portfolios are built up to be the ultimate in self-expression as if the design and quality of them will define…

Looking for a new job is stressful regardless of where you are in your career. Job hunting never really gets easier and, for architects, this is compounded by the fact that we need so much more than simply just a resume (i.e. portfolios and work samples). So why would we make this task harder than it really needs to be? If you take a few things into…

Carole, a loyal reader, wrote me an e-mail about an issue that many of us have experience in.…