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Senior LA - Work Sample v. Full Portfolio...?

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Hi - 

I am a senior LA with 14 years of experience and find myself in a position where I am needing to update my collection of work experiences. Is a 10 page work sample sufficient for where I am at in my career and for any opportunities that may arise?

My gut says yes and at this point in my life and career, I'd like to avoid spending a whole lot of time and headache updating my now very dated portfolio. Seems more useful for junior staff...

Any advice from senior LAs/Archs/Designer is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 
Oct 31, 23 8:39 am
drums please, Fab?

you're going to need somewhere between 10 and 2,244,779,911,223,345,545 pages to sufficiently show your work experience

Oct 31, 23 9:45 am  · 
 · 
reallynotmyname

You really need to update it.  I showed up to my interview at a fancy firm with an old portfolio.  I was coming in to the meeting with a stellar recommendation from someone the firm principals respected and frankly, I also didn't want to spend any of my personal time and money on updating, printing, and binding a new portfolio.

While I did ultimately get the job, the senior partner in the place was apparently very offended that I didn't make a new portfolio just for the interview and basically hated me from that day onward.   

In your case OP, I'm afraid some people will also interpret an old portfolio as a lack of effort/interest in the job on your part.

Oct 31, 23 10:58 am  · 
 · 
BulgarBlogger

"Hated me". LOL. I doubt that was the only reason...

Oct 31, 23 3:38 pm  · 
 · 

Shhhhh . . . you're projecting BB.

Oct 31, 23 3:45 pm  · 
1  · 

Update yes, but you're probably fine with 10-15 pages total. My last one was 15 before I went out on my own and had no issues with it.

Oct 31, 23 2:56 pm  · 
2  · 
pj_heavy

10-15 p is a very good length to land an interview. I always have a full  version ( 50-60 p ) or a good construction set ( depend on your role) with me at the interview. Works every time , so far :)

Oct 31, 23 6:36 pm  · 
2  · 
bowling_ball

We tend not to bother reviewing portfolios by either licensed architects or equivalent experience (say, 7 years). If we're talking, it's because I've already asked at least a couple of our mutual contacts about you. I'm not meeting with just anybody off the street - in that case, I definitely want a portfolio first, interview second.

Nov 1, 23 7:21 am  · 
1  · 
Bench

Interesting. When you've talked to mutual contacts, how have you approached discretion? I imagine if someone in the 7+ range has expressed an interest in working with BB, they likely are currently employed somewhere already and may be attempting to keep a low profile while searching for a change in employment. Ive often wondered how architects in hiring positions try to deal with this.

Nov 1, 23 8:45 am  · 
 · 

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