I have currently 4-5 years experience in industry + before that I spent couple of years in interior/furniture design companies. Currently employed in 10-15 people firm in one of the largest cities in US - my previous firm was even smaller, around 5 people (though I received my education in Europe, I'm currently taking AREs and I'm going to start evaluating my degree soon). In those firms I worked mostly on a lot of SFRs, then some multi-unit & mixed use buildings, and commercial buildouts... what most of the small firms here typically do. I'd love to secure a position with larger firm that would allow me to work on big commercial & residential projects, unfortunately with mostly single family houses in my portfolio, I feel like I'm not sparking much of an interest (I had few interviews and even received one offer from a large firm, but they were focused on hospitality projects, which doesn't interest me). Does anyone have any tips or advises?
I work at a large office. I have reviewed a ton of portfolios coming in. For interiors, I see a ton of people with residential experience, lobby work, small commercial (restaurants, etc.) I think it is all about how you curate your work and also express your interest in a new type of project work. 4-5 years experience is still very young and more importantly is your ability to have a keen eye to design, everything else CAN be taught.
I think it depends what size of an office you want to get into and what exactly interests you in their work. I think a mid sized office is a good sweet spot, 100-300 people.
You need to eliminate all houses out of your portfolio when applying to a commercial firm. Employers are hesitant to roll the dice on someone's chances of successfully moving from residential to commercial and will gravitate to people with proven commercial experience.
For that reason, you should present only commercial work when applying.
You are wise to avoid hospitality firms. The interior designers generally have all the fun and make all the money that sector.
Oct 16, 22 12:13 pm ·
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Transition from small to large firm
I have currently 4-5 years experience in industry + before that I spent couple of years in interior/furniture design companies. Currently employed in 10-15 people firm in one of the largest cities in US - my previous firm was even smaller, around 5 people (though I received my education in Europe, I'm currently taking AREs and I'm going to start evaluating my degree soon). In those firms I worked mostly on a lot of SFRs, then some multi-unit & mixed use buildings, and commercial buildouts... what most of the small firms here typically do. I'd love to secure a position with larger firm that would allow me to work on big commercial & residential projects, unfortunately with mostly single family houses in my portfolio, I feel like I'm not sparking much of an interest (I had few interviews and even received one offer from a large firm, but they were focused on hospitality projects, which doesn't interest me). Does anyone have any tips or advises?
I work at a large office. I have reviewed a ton of portfolios coming in. For interiors, I see a ton of people with residential experience, lobby work, small commercial (restaurants, etc.) I think it is all about how you curate your work and also express your interest in a new type of project work. 4-5 years experience is still very young and more importantly is your ability to have a keen eye to design, everything else CAN be taught.
I think it depends what size of an office you want to get into and what exactly interests you in their work. I think a mid sized office is a good sweet spot, 100-300 people.
You need to eliminate all houses out of your portfolio when applying to a commercial firm. Employers are hesitant to roll the dice on someone's chances of successfully moving from residential to commercial and will gravitate to people with proven commercial experience.
For that reason, you should present only commercial work when applying.
You are wise to avoid hospitality firms. The interior designers generally have all the fun and make all the money that sector.
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