Archinect - News

On your cover letter, sell yourself without "selling" yourself

2021-02-25T13:18:00-05:00

The cover letter is a component to a strong application package, but applicants can often shoot themselves in the foot. A common mistake tends to occur when candidates try to follow good advice in the wrong way. One such piece of advice is that we should do all we can to "sell ourselves." However, many misconstrue this practical point and end up sounding a little too arrogant or sometimes even naive.

Selling yourself by not selling yourself

The best way to sell yourself is by highlighting favorable aspects of your character through your resume, portfolio, and cover letter. You don't want to try and do this by telling a prospective employer how great you think you are. Some common statements that go along this line look like this:

"I know I will be the perfect fit for this organization..."
"I am the best in my field at..."
"This organization needs my help..."
"When I begin working for you, I will..."

We could go on, but the tone here comes off overly confident and arrogant, and honestly...

When it comes to the job hunt, perseverance is key

2020-08-20T11:30:00-04:00

Sometimes the search for a job can be discouraging. You spend hours on your portfolio, work on tailoring your resume and cover letter to each position, and you might even get called in for a few interviews. But after all of the hard work, there's no call back. You take some additional steps and follow up with your prospective employer, but still, you're met with indecision or rejection. What do you do when you've done all you can do?

Previously on Archinect: Einstein, Rejection, and Crafting a Future. Image: Einstein in 1947. Photograph by Orren Jack Turner.

Revisiting the rejected genius

A while back, here on Archinect, I wrote a piece about Albert Einstein his excruciating two-year job search that was filled with numerous rejection letters. He diligently applied to countless jobs, but received no offers. His response to the misfortune was to keep on working on his skills. There was nothing and no one that could tell him he wouldn't make something of himself. He went from a nobody ...

Four rookie mistakes architecture graduates make when writing a cover letter (and how to avoid them)

2020-07-16T12:53:00-04:00

You've just graduated architecture school and it's time to start pursuing your first job. Like most, you've probably spent a lot of time on your portfolio, and perhaps even your resume, but what about the cover letter? Are you confident you're composing this crucial component of your application package in a way that captures the attention of your prospective employer? And more importantly, you'll want to be sure you aren't doing the opposite, that you aren't destroying your chances of moving forward in the hiring process by making avoidable errors.

Of the countless young professionals I've been able to help in their job search, many make these four rookie mistakes when it comes to writing their cover letters. Let's go through them so that you can be sure you stay clear of them as you embark on the next chapter in your career. And be sure to check out Archinect's Tips on writing an effective cover letter for critical insights on composing a professional level submission.

Previously...

Tips on writing an effective cover letter

2019-10-03T17:00:00-04:00

After seeing countless application packages and talking to a fair number of hiring managers, the one thing that applicants tend to need the most improvement on are their cover letters. As with anything that will be reviewed by a human, everyone will have their own things they want to see in an application package, so take the following with a grain of salt. Some people want to see a thoughtful cover letter accompany your materials and others could care less what it says, it all depends on the audience. With that said, here are some tips on writing your cover letter:

It's not a copy of your resume. Don't waste your word count on repeating what your resume already communicates. Too many people write cover letters that say things like "In the summer of 2012, I worked at x firm and did x things, and then I worked at x and did x and then..." See what I mean?
How does your experience fulfill the need of your prospective employer? A better approach when mentioning past positions is to talk...