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When job hunting, less is more

2021-02-19T12:11:00-05:00

You scour the internet, looking for an employment opportunity that best fits your qualifications, and you think, reasonably enough: "the more resumes I send out, the better." And then you have another thought, also seemingly reasonable: "the faster I submit, the better." This two-fold conclusion — volume coupled with expediency — is flawed, and will likely leave you perplexed over your empty inbox and stunted progress.

Previously on Archinect: Resume tip: Tailor to the job

Turn the tables

When you spend a lot of time working on a resume (and cover letter), showing it to colleagues, revising and reworking, it can seem that you have now acquired a kind of golden ticket that can be sent to as many people as possible. Surely, someone will see how excellent this is, one may assume.

But, usually, that "someone" immediately recognizes that they're looking at an applicant who has not thought about the specific opportunity in question. People looking for a good job always say that they don'...

What should you put at the top of your resume?

2020-12-11T17:11:00-05:00

It can be easy to adhere to a templated idea of how your resume should be organized. Typically, people put their experience near the top, then education, then awards and extracurriculars, and towards the bottom it becomes a free for all. But, does experience always need to be first? How should that decision be made?

Previously on Archinect: When to omit a job from your resume

As with all of the other aspects of your application package, you should always look to tell a prospective employer a (true) story about yourself that directly responds to the opportunity you are pursuing.

Previously on Archinect: Resume tip: Tailor to the job

Think about someone with little to no experience, but who has a lot of relevant volunteer work. There might be a scenario where that volunteer work is placed at the forefront. Or perhaps you have some work experience, but you've just completed a graduate degree, something an employer has said is particularly important to them. You might put your education ...

When to omit a job from your resume

2020-11-30T13:57:00-05:00

One of the inevitable questions for someone with a lot of work experience is if all of those previous jobs should be included on a resume. The answer should depend on the circumstance. As a general rule, it's best to remember that a resume should always be tailored to the job you are applying for.

Remember this: employers want to see relevant experience, not just experience for experience's sake. Upon college graduation, I had a lot of work experience compared to most of my peers. When I was fourteen, I started working at Six Flags Magic Mountain. When I turned eighteen, I started working at Home Depot. I then did a little stint with ADT Security, knocking on doors, until I finally transitioned to architecture internships while in school.

Previously on Archinect: Tools of the Job Hunt: Understanding the Employer

Frame other's perception of you

When I started applying to full-time jobs, I put all of that experience on my resume. Later, a mentor helped me see how the presence of those...

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 ...

Don't do these two things in your resume skills section

2020-07-17T12:49:00-04:00

Resumes are an important part of an application package. They outline your experience and abilities, and give the employer an overview of your competencies. Of the various sections shown in most resumes, the skills section, for architects and designers, provides an opportunity to communicate proficiency in the software programs that will be required for the position in question. However, there are some alarming trends among more "modern" professionals in relation to this section that can negatively impact your success in the hiring process.

When tackling the skills section of your resume, make sure not to do these two things.

Previously on Archinect: "Portfolio tip: Show your work."

Using graphic charts to show software knowledge

In an attempt to be more creative, many have started using a kind of graphic measuring system to communicate proficiency level in various software. For instance someone might list Revit, Photoshop, and Excel. They'll place five dots next to Revit, to commu...

Portfolio tip: Show your work

2019-10-25T12:38:00-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the importance of tailoring your resume to a particular job opportunity. While a resume provides a brief picture of your experience, a portfolio presents a tangible proof of your ability. Today, we'll look at one overarching principle that can work as a measuring stick for all of the decisions you make as you create your application package. When it comes to your work samples, you want to do your best to capitalize on your opportunities to show your work.

Page spread from Archinect user Sirapa Supakalin's portfolio

There are too many portfolios out their that just look too pretty, too perfect. We need to start roughing them up a bit. The final product (the "money shot") is the culmination of all of your work. An employer wants to see how you arrived at that final result. Think about math class in grade school. You had to show the teacher how you solved your long division problem. The teacher's job was to teach you how to arrive at the solution not j...

Resume tip: Tailor to the job

2019-10-10T11:23:00-04:00

Resumes are kind of a default when it comes to job hunting. Sometimes they might even seem like an accessory to your portfolio and work samples. In a sense it is, but only with the right sense of value. Like a building made of many parts, some more visible and beautiful and others more rough and hidden, they all are necessary for the structural composition to hold together.

In your application package, the portfolio packs a powerful punch, but the resume communicates your historical value in a way that a portfolio cannot. How do my past experiences position me for the position in front of me? This is the question we must ask when crafting a resume.

Highlight the essential

If you're just starting out, your high school summer job at Ralphs may not be applicable to your inquiry on an opening for junior designer (unless perhaps you highlight your lessons in teamwork and collaboration). Creating a resume comes with many approaches and techniques but one universal rule of thumb: tailor i...

Have Instagram profiles become resumes of the 21st century?

2019-09-20T12:45:00-04:00

When searching for a job, sprucing up your resume is one of the first things to do. However, in the hyper-visual age we live in, the design of resumes, in terms of presentation and format, is undergoing a dramatic transformation.

Chip Cutter of the Wall Street Journal reports, "as Gen Z enters the workforce, companies are seeing digital CVs filled with artistic flourishes, including illustrations of college mascots, logos of past employers and icons to denote hobbies such as home renovation and watching movies."

How much can a highly stylized render or a creative headshot really impress an employer when looking at a resume? Cutter continues to dive on the subject, "while earlier generations played with eye-catching print fonts and horizontal lines, today’s tech-savvy young people have a new arsenal of tricks. Many throw in headshots. Some add bitmojis, the personalized avatars used in text message."

Some employers share that they enjoy and appreciate the personalization. However, h...

How Recruiters See Your Resume

2012-04-11T15:19:00-04:00

The study used a scientific technique called “eye tracking” on 30 professional recruiters and examined their eye movements during a 10-week period to "record and analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of information or completing a task. ...the study showed recruiters will look at your name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education.

NEW: Archinect's Online Job Application Center

2011-07-28T15:00:00-04:00

Archinect is working hard to connect hiring firms with job seekers. In tumultuous economic times, it may become hard for a firm that seeks to employ new talent to find the right match among hundreds of received applications. That is why we recently launched a brand new service for job advertisers and job applicants alike, the Archinect Online Job Application Center.

We designed the service with both ends of the, often tedious, application process in mind.

JOB APPLICANTS can:

apply for any job listing on Archinect that uses the new service, with only a couple mouse clicks, directly from the listing page
personalize the application with a cover letter
use their Archinect profile to provide employment and education history, show off their skills and of course use the projects on their profile as work samples
save money by not having to mail out expensive hard-copy portfolios or exceeding your internet bandwidth
easily keep track of their sent out application...