just recently recieved an invitation for interview from Norman Foster + Partners. I am thinking about flying all the way to London for the interview... anyone who has had experience on that wanna share your experience and insight? any input will be greatly appreciated!!!
well first ... lucky you for getting this wonderful oppurtinity and i wish you the best of luck =) i'd like to know how u got it ... did u just send ur resume or what ? i 'd like to know about you too ... your country, education ... etc.
I have a very useful guide for job interviews called 'Interview Questions and Answers' ... it's a word file and i dont know how to uppload it here, so if u r interested give me ur email and i'll send it to you immediatley.
I have never worked their but hear that the practice may be up for sale. Foster is apparently looking to outside investors to raise the capital for a global expansion plan which may include up to 30 offices.
I think £50million was the ballpark figure. Nuisance, really, since I needed my change for the bus.
It's a big office and I guess one could get lost but, if you're good then there are certainly opportunities to do some pretty wild projects in strange places.
wow -
I have mates who remained in London after grad school and began to work for Fosters....now they didnt' say it was bad, however, they did say they put in wayyy too many hours and the reality hit me when I flew over and saw them 1 year later. Many of them looked sleep deprived, barely were earning enough for the high cost of living in or near central london, and even when I saw them (a sunday picnic at Hampstead Heath) they quickly had to run off because they "had to be back at the office to finish up some things!" To which I scoffed - sweet jesus, you have no life of your own.
however, they were not "invited" as you seemingly have been. My take is that you must be brilliant, and or very experienced or both. In which case, best to you mate. I just hope you don't get spent, as many of my mates apparently have been.
a couple friends were "invited" to interviews. one from north america, another from within london. they both turned down offer, working for other starchitects. neither said why; just wasn't their thing.
however, i am given to understand that it is quite corporate and hours are longer than they should be (considering that the work is not THAT cutting edge)...then again i never realy liked any of that hi-tech stuff from uk, so am biased.
anyway, my friend from north america also arranged 4 other interviews while in london. he was a superstar in school so had offers from all as i recall, and picked the one he liked based on atmosphere and the work he would be doing...
depends a bit on what level you will enter the ofice i think. when you say invite do you mean they are paying for you to fly to london?
first of all, thank you so much for your sharing and wishes.
They are kind enough to set up a phone interview for me, which will save me a trip.
yeah, seems like long hours is a MUST to work there and the money situation is tough. do ppl think it's worthy in terms of learning and growing despite all these?
How's the work enviroment at the studio? are people there willing to spend time to train and teach entry level architects with 2 yrs experience like a mentorship program will provide?
A few friends I know worked for him in the early 90s when i was really kicking off. Two years later they say they became detail phobes...too much in their system i guess (hope they aren't reading this)
I worked there in 2002, but not as a designer. It seemed the word on the designers' floor was that you spend almost all your time doing detail work - you never see the full project, and you work 9am-6pm at least, with lots of over-hours, working on tiny details for projects you don't see. The open plan office also makes the whole place seem a little like you're being watched all the time, and it gets claustrophobic.
Also, rumors had it that the designers weren't paid particularly well and that the average turn-over rate for employees (the length of time the average employee worked before quitting) was an astonishing four weeks.
But you'd be working for Foster, so hey. I had a good time. I was paid badly and expected to stay late, but I remember it being a nice time.
I've never worked there myself, but a very close friend of mine spent about three years there, and truthfully, she has only really, really positive things to say. She busted her ass, and was constantly working, but came out of the experience very well off. She has gone on to quite a bit of success in the last couple of years, and I know she credits a big chunk of that to her time working there.
Jan 28, 07 3:12 pm ·
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any insight-working at Norman Foster + Partners?
just recently recieved an invitation for interview from Norman Foster + Partners. I am thinking about flying all the way to London for the interview... anyone who has had experience on that wanna share your experience and insight? any input will be greatly appreciated!!!
well first ... lucky you for getting this wonderful oppurtinity and i wish you the best of luck =) i'd like to know how u got it ... did u just send ur resume or what ? i 'd like to know about you too ... your country, education ... etc.
I have a very useful guide for job interviews called 'Interview Questions and Answers' ... it's a word file and i dont know how to uppload it here, so if u r interested give me ur email and i'll send it to you immediatley.
wow, more than hardcore design, they like people who are interested to work on architectural detailing.
I have never worked their but hear that the practice may be up for sale. Foster is apparently looking to outside investors to raise the capital for a global expansion plan which may include up to 30 offices.
I think £50million was the ballpark figure. Nuisance, really, since I needed my change for the bus.
It's a big office and I guess one could get lost but, if you're good then there are certainly opportunities to do some pretty wild projects in strange places.
solidred, try 500-800 million pounds...that's what I read he 80% stake in his practice is...I hope he opens a New York office.
wow -
I have mates who remained in London after grad school and began to work for Fosters....now they didnt' say it was bad, however, they did say they put in wayyy too many hours and the reality hit me when I flew over and saw them 1 year later. Many of them looked sleep deprived, barely were earning enough for the high cost of living in or near central london, and even when I saw them (a sunday picnic at Hampstead Heath) they quickly had to run off because they "had to be back at the office to finish up some things!" To which I scoffed - sweet jesus, you have no life of your own.
however, they were not "invited" as you seemingly have been. My take is that you must be brilliant, and or very experienced or both. In which case, best to you mate. I just hope you don't get spent, as many of my mates apparently have been.
My $.02 cents
a couple friends were "invited" to interviews. one from north america, another from within london. they both turned down offer, working for other starchitects. neither said why; just wasn't their thing.
however, i am given to understand that it is quite corporate and hours are longer than they should be (considering that the work is not THAT cutting edge)...then again i never realy liked any of that hi-tech stuff from uk, so am biased.
anyway, my friend from north america also arranged 4 other interviews while in london. he was a superstar in school so had offers from all as i recall, and picked the one he liked based on atmosphere and the work he would be doing...
depends a bit on what level you will enter the ofice i think. when you say invite do you mean they are paying for you to fly to london?
first of all, thank you so much for your sharing and wishes.
They are kind enough to set up a phone interview for me, which will save me a trip.
yeah, seems like long hours is a MUST to work there and the money situation is tough. do ppl think it's worthy in terms of learning and growing despite all these?
How's the work enviroment at the studio? are people there willing to spend time to train and teach entry level architects with 2 yrs experience like a mentorship program will provide?
A few friends I know worked for him in the early 90s when i was really kicking off. Two years later they say they became detail phobes...too much in their system i guess (hope they aren't reading this)
I worked there in 2002, but not as a designer. It seemed the word on the designers' floor was that you spend almost all your time doing detail work - you never see the full project, and you work 9am-6pm at least, with lots of over-hours, working on tiny details for projects you don't see. The open plan office also makes the whole place seem a little like you're being watched all the time, and it gets claustrophobic.
Also, rumors had it that the designers weren't paid particularly well and that the average turn-over rate for employees (the length of time the average employee worked before quitting) was an astonishing four weeks.
But you'd be working for Foster, so hey. I had a good time. I was paid badly and expected to stay late, but I remember it being a nice time.
I've never worked there myself, but a very close friend of mine spent about three years there, and truthfully, she has only really, really positive things to say. She busted her ass, and was constantly working, but came out of the experience very well off. She has gone on to quite a bit of success in the last couple of years, and I know she credits a big chunk of that to her time working there.
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