There's stuff going on here but the job situation is really tricky. Having a personal connection is still the best way to obtain employment.

Theres a trickle of jobs, which is definitely an improvement over last year about this time, but overall the situation is still pretty miserable for the majority of folks. BTW, 84 viewings, and two responses. Nice guys, nice.

This past month i had a couple of interviews, for jobs at architecture offices, and 2 for jobs outside of architecture, I just need to find a job so i can take my freaking are exams and open some kind of a shop of my own even if it means working in a factory for now, but yes listen to make it is all about connections seems like they don't care how experience you are these days.

Yep, it's all about who you know. Chicago architects are flaky like that. The problem is my entire network has been obliterated the past few years. I think I know more unemployed than employed at this point, not to mention a couple old offices closing. A lot of the ones that are working are part-time, so their offices don't exactly have hiring on the horizon. The "trickle of jobs" is mostly base intern material you'll be viewed as overqualified for anyway. I've had some steady construction observation thrown my way by a friend's firm from out of town equaling a couple days per week plus the occasional odd job through my solo arch. friend. Outside of that, the random cold resume I send out hasn't gotten me even a phone call in the past 6 months outside of recruiters and temp. agencies. Can't get much of a bite outside of architecture, either, if that makes you feel any better. Sounds like I'm at about the same level as creativity: IDP done, just need to fund my exams.

My advice? Know Revit and become the next generation CADmonkey for awhile until things get better. You won't be eligible for many jobs I see listed without it. Oh, and have a killer, attention-getting portfolio. Firms advertising still see hundreds and hundreds of resumes. Without a connection, your resume probably will never be seen.

ugghhhh... I've sent out my resume and portfolio to many firms here over the past few months, and I've had exactly one interview, which did not turn into a job offer. I finished up my +1 year of grad school after a 5 year B. Arch and 1 year of experience, and I'm seriously low on cash. Going to start looking for survival jobs soon, but I'm afraid that might be difficult as well. This sucks.

"Yep, it's all about who you know. Chicago architects are flaky like that. "

Chicago architects are flaky like that? huh?

Its about who you know in every profession in every city in good and bad times... isnt that basically Rule #1 in searching for jobs?

Id agree though with the sentiment that there might be a trickle of jobs, its probably better than it was a year ago, or two years ago, but its still not fantastic. Keep plugging away and sending resumes. Dont forget to check in as well, anything to establish some kind of contact differentiates yourself right from the start.

Also, id say if your salary demands are reasonable (aka... low...) a person with a lot of experience capable of taking on a mid level job should be pretty valuable right now, id like your chances of finding SOMETHING.

took me 800 resumes to find something. we are on very shaky ground. i'm making less than i made starting at my old job five years ago, w/o benefits.

Thanks everyone for your responses and suggestions. I am looking at relocating in about 4-5 months, and I am hitting the search hard. I have already abandoned any hope of regaining my previous salary, so perhaps that will make me more attractive. I am also hoping that being an unknown outsider with a killer portfolio will help rather than hurt me. I keep telling myself all I need is one job.

you could get a job making whole enchiladas..

One thing not discussed much around here is that the Architecture Profession is morphing into something else. Save for a few Large and international firms still operating on the classic Architect lead design, bid then build model, the industry has taken a dramatic, sharp turn into Design-Build operation. Quite simply, more jobs are contracted to the contractor directly who in turn hire the architect as a subcontractor. Ive experienced this arrangement first hand lately. In this arrangement the contractor does a lot more of the leg work that was once done by architectural staff, especially interns. If as I suspect this is the new model for practice, jobs are going to slim for a long time coming.

And I make a mean enchilada :)

Welcome to the new normal.

Anecdotally, I've heard that that people are getting hired again by leveraging their network. Firms aren't advertising openings, but relying on their staff to get resumes. While this is definitely better than two years ago when layoffs were happening, the good times are most certainly not coming back for the foreseeable future.

So in other words the way to get work is to bring work into the firm. This is probably useful for partnerships, younger people, not so much.

nah, le bossman i dont think thats what agitated is saying. What is correct from my perspective is that offices might be looking into new hires, but they are inundated with resumes and recommendations and they dont have to do much if any work to get good interviews. They're relying on the judgment of their remaining employees to bring them good fits for staffing back up, rather than actively searching for random people who might be good fits. This has been my experience certainly. Our office has begun to staff back up mostly with rehires, but of the new people, most have been through recommendations of existing employees.

With the recent and potential nuclear devastation going on in Japan. I feel it is trivial for me to point out the problems of only hiring your buddies.

The trend of rehiring former employees really is discouraging to me as a recent grad trying to get a foot in the architecture community in Chicago. I mean, I understand the logic behind it, and I'm sure those who are being rehired are grateful and probably deserve the opportunity. But, I had one interview where I felt like the interviewers were simply going through the motions and had their minds made up before I walked in the door, which was obviously a total bummer.

"Yep, it's all about who you know. Chicago architects are flaky like that. "

Chicago architects are flaky like that? huh?
---

Are you saying architects aren't flaky, letdown? I could probably dig up countless comments on here, some maybe even by yourself, that claim far, far otherwise. Go check out the "architects getting f'd on craigslist" board for starters. Every business profession is flaky. Architecture is actually BEYOND flaky, similar to nepotism.

hahah... ok find me a quote of myself saying architects are not flaky...
thats not what im saying at all... i said all jobs are about who you know, not just architecture...

newguy, rehiring makes sense in a lot of cases so dont take it personally.
in some cases, employees who had to be let go were done so only when there were no other options. They were people who understood the office, the way that office worked, were comfortable with the principals, and the principals were comfortable with them... That sort of cohesion takes months or years to develop, so if given the opportunity, it makes perfect sense for office to look to rehire before adding new hires.

@lletdownl - That's exactly what I'm saying. The people I've seen get hired had different levels of experience, some very green, some not. The one commonality between them is that they all had a friend(not acquaintance, not linkedin) who could vouch for them. I also agree that most practices probably have received piles of resumes and that's its efficient to trust your current employees to vet people for you.

I hope this does not turn into one of those "people not fired" vs. "people who were fired". I think the real question people are asking you employed people is "do you think that this practice of hiring friends over those people that are just as or more qualified is just?"

I am 100% sure that lletdownl, agitated_mind, and others did witness people being let go who they considered far better architects than they are. One thing I will add is that this practice of hiring your buddy, is largely prevalent in the downtown area, not in the surrounding suburbs or small offices. I do understand as do most veteran architect employees what the reasons are for this practice.

Since I've been interviewing in some of these firms, when I get the office tour, it is very awkward because I knew plenty of those "buddy employees" in college or past jobs, and it is awkward because that's the only way they got in and I'm there interviewing without that buddy connection and they know it. Creates a weird social situation especially when they know I'm good at what I do. Just an observation.

I suppose this is all relative... perhaps there are offices who only hire 'buddies' regardless of talent or qualifications.... i dont personally know of any.
Id just say, if youre an office looking to hire and you have two resumes in front of you of equal quality. One of them has no personal connection to you, and one of them comes recommended from a trusted employee. Thats an absolute no brainer, im not even sure why anyone would think taking suggestions from people who know your office is in any way a bad idea.
I dont mean to disregard your experiences, i suppose im just a little surprised that some are surprised offices favor hires who have come recommended...

No, letdown, you're right. I am that way now. Some of the unemployed that I have met are that way because they have issues unrelated to the economy. I tried to give drafting work to several unemployed intern architects I met and the results were a disaster. I will only work with people that I know through a connection and that can show they know what they are doing.

CE - I'd have lunch and break the ice with your old classmates. I have met a few on Facebook and although we all agreed that our time at IIT in the early to mid 90s was filled with strive and turnover at the top, we've all managed to pull it together and become creative, licensed architects.

I know an office where the guy going the hiring hired a bunch of his buddies. Err, nevermind, that firm doesn't exist anymore.

it would be nice to get back in touch with my college colleagues, while i was in college lets just say I was not mr. popularity, but I did get along well with those in my graduating class, except for a few people that just plain didnt like me, I suspect it was because I was alive who knows? I wouldn't know where to begin. Maybe ill open up a linkedin account well see. Its

CE,

Can't hurt. I don't think I was Mr. Popularity either but I think we have all moved on.

Good luck!!!!

:-)

PS Did you see the Adler Planetarium addition?



Did Lohan draw this?

Or should I ask:

Whose skyhooks are they?

;-)

well that's another office I had an interview with, maybe ill call and ask Mr. Lohan personally, I'm sure he wont mind. ps. there's no way i would step under that display.

Not to beat the topic again, but i still think that because 50 percent of architecture employees were let go, it is kind of unrealistic to expect all of us to know some who is employed in order to get hired. Why can't employers depend on the 3 or more references that we submit? the other thing is that ethically you have to be honest, this does create a elitist situation, what happens when the people being hired are those that are incompetent? and those that are competent who are not part of this social club are left out? Is this truly an objective and fair practice?, but again I've only seen this practice in the big offices in downtown u guys know who they are no need to list them here. Just my thoughts.

i wouldn't give up on all hope. i didn't get my job based on anyone i knew, it was just a cold email i sent out. the one interview i did get through a friend turned out to be really awkward and i didn't get the job. most firms that i know people at have been on hiring freezes for a long time. have you tried any smaller firms? just do a search for "architect" on google maps in the city, and you'll find all kinds of smaller design outfits that aren't even listed with the aia. this is the kind of place i'm working: very small, entrepreneurial, and willing to do anything to survive, even decks, front porches, etc. but it is these small, nimble outfits that have survived for this long that are able to make work for themselves. it's not glamorous, but it is something.

thanks for the encouragement le bossman, if i have given the impression that I'm desperate or have lost all hope sorry about that, nothing could be further from the truth. I mainly wrote these last comments in response to people who think that its ok to let this status quo practice continue as if it is the right thing to do. It is an unfair hiring practice.

Oh yes, I am trying smaller firms. I'm very entrepreneurial minded, and am confident I will be my own boss one day. Not to disparage other co workers in the past or people I know but I think it is a waste to get licensed just so u could hang your license in front of your desk. I totally agree the smaller firms that are finding those small jobs have all my respect.

guess i just flat out disagree. I dont think its unfair hiring practice. Its probably not as egalitarian as perhaps you would like, but these companies arent playing with free money. A hire is a massive investment, and it just makes sense to base that investment on the opinions of people you trust... really confused as to how you find that unfair or even questionable... anyway, its a moot point. One day perhaps you'll run your own outfit. Hopefully you'll remember this and ONLY hire people you know nothing about. I better not see Creativity Expert Architects being run by you, your partner and your partners friend from college in a few years...

letdown, put this into perspective man. you are completely correct, but are you out of a job right now? do you know anything at all about what it's like to be unemployed in this city with no network? when you are really, truly out of a job with no options, a week is like a lifetime. trying to find work when you don't know anyone, have just moved somewhere or just graduated, is next to impossible and extremely frustrating, especially if you have any level of experience or competence. there are a lot of qualified people out there who are passed over simply for these reasons. put yourself in his shoes. you don't have to be patronizing about it.

When I do run my own shop, I will read all letters of recommendation for each of the employees that fit the position. Atleast 3 letters is industry standard, and they are not given out lightly either. lletdownl, you mentioned before you graduated in 2007, I don't know how many different offices you have worked at. You should know by now that getting atleast 3 letters of recommendation that are positive, and from higher ups in the office is not that easy to achieve. Yes it is a massive investment to hire a new person. Keeping that in mind. Why would you pass up someone with vastly more knowledge and still young to boot, over someone that just graduated?

im definitely not trying to be patronizing... and no i wasnt laid off. I guess the only thing i was trying to say is i truly understand your frustration, i have a lot of friends who lost their jobs and really really struggled to find new ones, or still have not. It totally sucks, and im sure many highly qualified people are passed over for less qualified friends of friends... Youre both right, im sure that happens... im just being a realist... whats the point of complaining about this particular aspect of the job search process? its never going to change...
ill leave it at that though and wish you guys best luck... i really get a sense things are going to turn around, and though i doubt we'll boom, hopefully the good ones will get jobs...

I think I was merely expressing my opinion rather than complaining, on something I see as wrong in society. As a problem solver that I think I am it comes naturally for me to try to figure out the problem and possible solutions. The first step is the hardest you know defining the problem and admitting there's something wrong, but I'm glad to see that we have come to a kind of cordial agreement, and am glad to see fellow IIT alumni are still working out there. I hope this discussion was of some use to other people out there struggling.