I think it is very easy to dismiss some of the life skills that architectural studies teach you. We tend to focus on what we don’t have and seek to find and attain that which we don’t have if we want to become employed.
When writing up a CV it is a first impression checklist - like a name badge but with a lot more room, except you are doing the talking but on paper. It is a subjective thing to write a good CV but we can definitely notice a bad one when you see it. A CV is a professional document - professional meaning this serves a specific purpose. If you spend time making it as clear and concise, it makes it easier to get a better first impression of yourself. As design students, we can get caught up in displaying our CV like a design task in itself. But that is where you have to be cautious, the content of the CV is far more important but it helps to have one that is easy to read - physically and literally. Finding the balance of this is key. Time and time again, after attending generic cv workshops and architecture employment workshops you start to see what is essential in making a CV and that is the literal content.
There are skills that you develop in a short space of time if you fully embrace yourself in your studies. What is even better is that they are skills - life skills that are not only great if you want to develop a career in architecture but a career in general. So here are five life skills that you learn whilst studying architecture that are worth emphasising in your CV.
Communication skills
Although this may seem like an obvious one to start with, it is definitely worth unpacking to understand what this skill is in its entirety. Communication is the ability to explain thoughts and ideas coherently. Architecture can teach you to do this visually and verbally. The layout of your portfolio and design of your CV is just one of many ways you can demonstrate this. Another way you’ve developed this skill is through presentations. You see you’ve probably had countless interactions and discussions with others, whether your peers, tutors in tutorials and crits in presentations or one to one conversations. You’ve had to explain your ideas and break them down into its essential aspects. Design students do this a lot more than other students which is why you should emphasise this skill. I remember talking to friends who had never had to do presentations whereas during your degree you had to encounter this on a regular and sometimes daily basis because that is just part of the studio culture and education environment you are in. This is where it can be transferable to the workplace - having to present to an array of industries within the built environment from clients to engineers this is a skill that is truly character building and worth a mention on your CV.
Attention to detail
With the number of times I’ve seen this in a job posting, you’d think it would be obvious to design students. It is one we either talk about for too long or don’t talk about at all. You can show this in various ways beginning with your CV. Have you proofread your CV? Have you made sure that you didn’t repeat yourself? Have you spelt your name correctly? Have you made sure you haven’t overlapped your images/text? These are minor things that can really prove that you don’t have attention to detail when done badly. This is not to say that you aren’t human, but it is always worth getting a second or third glance from someone you trust to make sure that it is the best it can be. This is one of those skills that you need to show in the first instance of any job application that you make. The information and skills you display must be proven and obvious to the employer. Remember the saying ‘show me, don’t just tell me’. This is where you should apply this rule, especially when it comes to applying for jobs and your CV is the first example where you can do this.
Adaptability
Adaptability is the characteristic that is very important regardless of what degree you do. During this crisis this is one of the skills that you have developed whether intentionally or not. You’ve had to change your working methods and some point. For instance shifting from a physical studio to a virtual one. You’ve had to teach yourself programmes because you simply had to for a given result or drawing that you wanted to make. You’ve perhaps encountered a shortage or limitation during your studies that range from a large spectrum of physical to mental struggles. Showing how you overcame these is even a bigger triumph because no matter what you are doing whether it is drawing, model making, any CAD or rendering tasks you will always find opportunity in these moments otherwise you wouldn't achieve a specific outcome. Although this may not result in a prize, this is a great skill to mention where you can elaborate during a discussion in an interview. It becomes useful in the workplace too. Architecture and all the disciplines associated and interrelated to it is changing, so being able to show that you embrace change to achieve your desired outcome is something worth mentioning. You won’t always have an abundance of resources but showing that you are willing to work with or learn new ways of working can only make you better equipped in all aspects of your career whether you want to become an architect or not.
Critical Thinking
This in itself is one of the many skills that allow you to progress throughout any given task. Constantly seeking new outcomes, concepts or results don’t come out of thin air, they come from questioning and analysing various given realities. During your studies, you’ve probably had to explore various different mediums and working methods to find ones that allow you to come up with the best solution to a given problem or the best way to serve the community/ issue you are exploring in your projects. Critical thinking is an aspect that allows you to grow new skills and develop a mature approach to the problems you face as a designer. The studio space is among many of the spaces that push you to think differently, it may also include conversations with history and theoretical frameworks of the past, or simply with your tutors or the community of your project. It allows you to also find the essence of what your design projects are really about, it provides you with depth and clarity about issues that you would have otherwise dismissed if you didn’t think critically of the present condition of places and spaces.
Time management
As with most of academia, it involves a lot of various tasks to have a great foundation and understanding of architecture as a whole. You have various components within your design module but more evidently are the various modules you study. You’ve had to juggle working on an essay or a dissertation project, as well as a technical module all at the same time. You are going to have to manage not only these modules but life outside of university as well such as your physical and mental well being and social life/ extracurricular activities. If you managed to find somewhat of a balance or a realistic working routine this is definitely something that will seep into all aspects of your life. This isn’t to say that a perfect balance exists but the ability to manage equally or rather appropriately by prioritising is definitely applicable here. Your studies will be replaced by the same timestamp as work so achieving a balance may seem like a challenge that you will always have to find for yourself. it is well worth making sure that you can manage your time effectively regardless of the circumstances, as this is a life skill, not just one that you can pick up at university. This is an achievement on its own so you should exhibit this where you can.
With the five life skills that studying architecture teaches you, I hope that you begin to uncover some of the skills that you do have because this list is only limited by what you have developed over the years. Architecture is an industry that requires so many skills and realising that technical skills aren’t the only skills that you develop.