partly yes, that, and a nice portfolio of well crafted work. I got a job at a famous firm in a day. Go in for interview, get a call back the next morning. I was told the wait time for hiring was usually months to a year...so, obviously having some quality work and experience to stand behind you helps emmensely.
from my experience its 20% awareness of happenings in the industry, 20% luck, 60% work(portfolio)..i did not have connections in the US arch. industry but the luck thing worked fine!
it will definitely help.. many firms will ask employees for qualified candidates when looking for new hires (friends of current employees) as a kind of pre-screening process. If you and friend of rem are trying to get the same position, friend of rem might get first notice, or told about an unadvertised position.. or even if you both apply and have the same level of work, already knowing someone in the firm, it's culture, what it's looking for, will be an advantage over someone researching the firm on the internet or through other colleagues..
that said, it's certainly not impossible to land a job at a prized firm if you are unknown to them.. have good work, know the firm as best you can and try to be what they are looking for in there new hires..
connections or just having connected names on your resume are probably a third. portfolio is about a third. luck is the last third.
exception: internship. where it's closer to 1/5 connections (many people don't have 'connections' at this point in their career, but they certainly help if you do), 2/5 portfolio and 2/5 luck.
in my experience, its often been persistance, with one office i just keep
calling in, rang up, or email to see how my app was going - eventually they 'gave in'. once also i accepted a low pay for 6months as a trial - then a real contract. my jobs in europe i got without any connections. but i think then a good CV started to help.
so how important are school names nowadays? I had always imagined that i would take the most familiar approach to the stars by being taught by them in graduate school. However, not due to the lack o this possibility, i have chosen a school that fits my interests more than my selected coat-tails. On top of this the school is realtively unknown due to its infancy. Will firms actually say "where the hell did this guy go to school...never heard of it...toss it out"
its somewhat of a concern since i have chosen a path i had not imagined taking.
monkeyboy, i used to wonder that also - especially as i was studying in australia (and the unfashionable west side) and i had aspirations to work in a name office in europe. but i really dont give it too much
credit now - i know of so many other ppl who got into nice offices without having theAA or similar on their CV.
well lets add to this question: getting into a firm is one thing...how about getting or achieving a role of some responsibility i.e project manager/designer/parnter. Many times i have seen in the bios of these people that they are graduates of a select school. Additionally the newer offices which are getting recognition for their progressive work are also composed of graduates of the same programs and all did their stints at the who's who of avante gard offices. Are these people benefitting from their connections and schools or are these people inherintly motivated and would have had these experiences and opportunities regardless of their degree or work experience.
meeting interesting ppl and working on exciting projects can happen anywhere -
no matter where you studied - but for sure, if you do go to somewhere like the AA you are increasing your chances of getting to meet certain ppl. if you have the money and option to do that - great, if not don't think you will have to end up do some crappy ceiling dwgs for a supermarkt for the rest of your life.
Is it all connections?
Getting a job at a famous/well known arch firm?
partly yes, that, and a nice portfolio of well crafted work. I got a job at a famous firm in a day. Go in for interview, get a call back the next morning. I was told the wait time for hiring was usually months to a year...so, obviously having some quality work and experience to stand behind you helps emmensely.
from my experience its 20% awareness of happenings in the industry, 20% luck, 60% work(portfolio)..i did not have connections in the US arch. industry but the luck thing worked fine!
it will definitely help.. many firms will ask employees for qualified candidates when looking for new hires (friends of current employees) as a kind of pre-screening process. If you and friend of rem are trying to get the same position, friend of rem might get first notice, or told about an unadvertised position.. or even if you both apply and have the same level of work, already knowing someone in the firm, it's culture, what it's looking for, will be an advantage over someone researching the firm on the internet or through other colleagues..
that said, it's certainly not impossible to land a job at a prized firm if you are unknown to them.. have good work, know the firm as best you can and try to be what they are looking for in there new hires..
connections or just having connected names on your resume are probably a third. portfolio is about a third. luck is the last third.
exception: internship. where it's closer to 1/5 connections (many people don't have 'connections' at this point in their career, but they certainly help if you do), 2/5 portfolio and 2/5 luck.
in my experience, its often been persistance, with one office i just keep
calling in, rang up, or email to see how my app was going - eventually they 'gave in'. once also i accepted a low pay for 6months as a trial - then a real contract. my jobs in europe i got without any connections. but i think then a good CV started to help.
so how important are school names nowadays? I had always imagined that i would take the most familiar approach to the stars by being taught by them in graduate school. However, not due to the lack o this possibility, i have chosen a school that fits my interests more than my selected coat-tails. On top of this the school is realtively unknown due to its infancy. Will firms actually say "where the hell did this guy go to school...never heard of it...toss it out"
its somewhat of a concern since i have chosen a path i had not imagined taking.
monkeyboy, i used to wonder that also - especially as i was studying in australia (and the unfashionable west side) and i had aspirations to work in a name office in europe. but i really dont give it too much
credit now - i know of so many other ppl who got into nice offices without having theAA or similar on their CV.
well lets add to this question: getting into a firm is one thing...how about getting or achieving a role of some responsibility i.e project manager/designer/parnter. Many times i have seen in the bios of these people that they are graduates of a select school. Additionally the newer offices which are getting recognition for their progressive work are also composed of graduates of the same programs and all did their stints at the who's who of avante gard offices. Are these people benefitting from their connections and schools or are these people inherintly motivated and would have had these experiences and opportunities regardless of their degree or work experience.
meeting interesting ppl and working on exciting projects can happen anywhere -
no matter where you studied - but for sure, if you do go to somewhere like the AA you are increasing your chances of getting to meet certain ppl. if you have the money and option to do that - great, if not don't think you will have to end up do some crappy ceiling dwgs for a supermarkt for the rest of your life.
wait, i thought supermarkets were the hot shit right now. I've found my niche!!! Doing COOL ceiling drawings for supermarkets!
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