Looking for a job as a graduate has its challenges. There are a lot of things you’ll learn once you leave the world of academia looking for a graduate role or starting your career in the architecture industry. With every application, submit button and email sent you’ll realise there isn’t one way to guarantee you a role but there are so many things you can work on in the meantime to make sure that you are doing your best every single time. Looking back, here are 5 things I wish I knew when job hunting.
Your connections are key, so start building them now
Apply through an application form, a generic email, RIBA job posting or Dezeen job listing is all too automated. When you think about it, all you do is attach your CV, Sample Portfolio and copy in/attach a Covering letter and press send. Just as it is easy for you to do that, it is easy for many, many others to complete as well, and the more people that apply the more people will apply. This isn’t to discourage you to apply altogether because I know how intimidating and time consuming it can be to do things differently. And this is where your connections come in. As a self-confessed introvert with no urge to talk in a conversation unless I really have something to offer I know how daunting speaking to what you may deem as a stranger may be. But connecting with others in your industry is really important.
With social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, you should feel more open to engaging with and connecting with causes, individuals and professionals that you’d like to work with. LinkedIn is a great place to start. Engaging with content they share and talking to them as a person (because they are in fact people) is a good way to get your name heard. In times where we can’t all interact in person, doing so online and building a presence with the companies and individuals you are interested in will help you. None of this is automatic and easily translates into a job interview. This takes time, this takes a lot more time than you think but you’ll be pushing yourself to speak about the architecture industry and to those involved within it. You’ll be building the confidence you need once you can do this in person, reducing the friction of first impressions that can be awkward for some because you can introduce yourself in the previous interactions that are meaningful to both parties.
Go back to the basics
You may have the impression that you have a decent cv, portfolio and covering letter format. But if you aren’t getting any responses, and you aren’t being proactive, this is where you’ve got to go back and really make sure that what you are sending out really is the best it can be. Go to a CV workshop, watch a few talks and tutorials for CV making from recruiters regardless of industry. If you’ve spoken to enough people and attended enough tutorials you’ll realise just how important your CV is first before any other document. There is debate on certain aspects of CV making as there isn’t one way to make one but as a visual person, architecture is a design based industry – so get designing! As for your covering letter checking out what consists of a good layout is one way to go about learning to build one that works with your experiences and shows your ability to articulate yourself. Having a portfolio is standard practice so making sure that you are sending a brief of 10-12 pages of examples of your work in a clear layout that is graphically clean will often give a good impression (I’ll talk a lot more about this in next article). Getting the basics right for all these documents will only ever work in your favour, and realising that as design students we don’t always know how to make these documents for the purpose of finding work will make the process of job hunting better yourself when you do learn how to do them correctly.
Ask for help when you need it
You can get stuck in your own bubble of looking for work that sometimes you become blinded by the ‘why aren’t I being called back for interview’ after sending countless emails, follow-ups and the strongest application you possibly can. The idea that you are doing your best at the moment is all good and well, but take no feedback as feedback and review what you are sending out, but this time don’t do it alone. Talk to a peer, tutor, someone you know that is in the industry you are working in and ask them to critique your application – whether it is your portfolio, CV or covering letter just start somewhere. As for most creative things, it is subjective to have someone else’s opinion on your work but having an alternative to your own can give you some ideas to improve your existing documents. What is great is we now have platforms like The Architecture Social where you can get tonnes of eyes on your work for feedback which is a good place to start at. You can’t improve your CV if you don’t see other types of CVs and the same goes for the other documents you send, on this same platform you can see how others have received feedback and get some new ideas on making what you showcase as presentable as possible. You need to see what works and what doesn’t and soon enough you’ll find a format of your documents that work best for the employer and for yourself, but if you don’t reach out to change and seek feedback you’ll never know what is possible to achieve and do within them.
Work with people first, those skills will always be handy
You are aspiring for an architecture role and right now it might not be easy for you to find them. This is why you shouldn’t negate the possibility of doing other jobs that aren’t directly in the role of an architectural assistant. If you’ve had retail experience, volunteering experience or a social media presence these are all skills that seem outside of the architecture industry but they really aren’t. These roles teach you how to communicate with people, and people skills are a category of skills that students with little to no experience lack but need to have in order to be a better designer in any given role. If architecture is the industry you want to dive into, and you want an architectural role building your people skills will give you (some funds if your circumstances mean you have to financially support yourself) confidence to apply to those jobs that you might not have thought you’d be fit for, showing that you are a wholesome individual and have interests (and skills) that can influence the architecture and design you want to be part of. Just remind to prioritise what you must, and keep going everything is about timing, sooner or later you’ll find the role you were meant to be in.
Volunteer with organisations you are passionate about
If you don’t have work experience altogether but you have a social media presence or passion for a particular cause volunteering can be a great way to add to your CV and get references outside of academia. Your design skills will come in handy for creating graphics, for research and managing social media platforms, you name it. There are so many ways you can use your degree to help support a cause, and this will diversify your experience shows employers that you’ve been adaptable and that the skills in you do know have been transferable in other ways that have helped others. With most work situations, work has become remote and finding ways to support and partake in opportunities to grow your awareness of just how skilled (but also needed) your graphic, research and communication skills are in this day and age where everything is moving online. Without realising it you’ll be developing a network with others within an industry or within a sector of architecture that will allow being better connected to real problems and initiatives talking about these issues you are fond of. Experience is experiencing and with volunteering, there isn’t monetary gain, so being realistic and transparent with how much time you can dedicate is important. Admin side of things is something you may find yourself doing so don’t put too much expectation on volunteering but make the most of what you can lend a hand in, you’ll be compensated in other ways without you realising and understanding the logistics is always a bonus.
The things you learn along the way to landing yourself a job is endless which is why there will be the second article in continuation of this one, so stay tuned in for that next week!