I am thinking about soliciting the small and medium sized firms in my area for work or possibly volunteer experience. I don't know the best way of going about it as I expect most of them to be disinterested as they don't have websites or use recruiting tools to their advantage.
I live in the Los Angeles area and there are many places to check so I could go through a lot of names. I figure it would involve a lot of cold calls and emails and I am thinking about other ways to talk to them like attending local AIA events or other meetings.
Any suggestions? Maybe ways of sorting out the best bets from the dead ends before contacting them?
i wouldn't call it "volunteering" if it's for a for-profit firm. my advice would be to don't do that.
i've been kind of thinking along the same lines of building a network too, since i don't have one right now. your current mindset is focused on what you can get out of the relationship (a job or at least experience). what with the lack of jobs and such in the world, that may be the dead-end. what i've been thinking about but don't have a plan is a way to just sit down and talk to some of the firm leaders, maybe in either an ownership or management position. an aia event is probably a start, but personally i'm not particularly sociable and my introverted self is uncomfortable engaging in that sort of environment.
is it common to cold-call small firm ownership and just say, let's do lunch, i'll pay (hard for someone just out of college, but i think i could handle a few)? i'm not looking for a job or a commitment from your firm, i just want to get a better idea of what the profession looks like in this area. any archinectors in my fly-over state want to do lunch?
An old thread, but using the search tool I found that this question hasn't been answered. In my case it's a matter of having a network of sorts, they have given me a few numbers of folks to call, either first hand contacts of theirs, or a friend of a friend. Now that I have graduate, and looking for work, I'm not so sure about the customs and courtesies I should observe. Any advise? I have one lead in particular that has an opening that I am qualified for, and really interested in...
Thakopiank, are you a post grad unemployed? I am an employer (former) and can contribute. What are you driving at? Are you trying to get-in? If you are meeting just to explore ideas it is a good strategy. I have offered before that seeking to meet about their projects because you are writing an article about architecture that may involve their work is a good strategy and a way in. Tell them that you have visited their work and have questions about it or a particular detail you have observed. It will be welcomed and they will be curious about your intentions. Getting-in involves the unconventional and your notion of meeting to discuss things, even in general, is a good strategy.
Meeting people personally and shaking hands, even at an AIA meeting, is the most fruitful way to get-in. This idea of broadcasting 50 resumes a day via email is fruitless. Get out there, network, and get face-to-face with people is the best solution.
I am curious if anyone has experience contacting firm leaders through Linked In instead of cold calling. I know some of these people are really busy and calling them annoyed them sometimes. May be trying to get in touch with them through email, if u get reply back from them, proceed to mentoring/ face to face meeting will be more appropriate?
Unless you have a premium account contacting them through linkedin is not an easy proposition, even then you have to have them add you as a connection before you can contact them.
Aka115, I would not recommend contacting anybody through any form of wired-media, most especially email. I have done extensive reading and wrote about email on my Blog, email is really a dieing medium, ruined by the spammers. People also refuse to communicate through email and all you’ll get back is “Ugh”, “Thanks” & “Gotcha”. The people you need to contact in firms either have people sifting through it for them or scan though it themselves in the evening looking for something they’ve “ordered” clicking delete at lightning speed.
LinkedIn is another place that doesn’t work. Have you ever tried to contact anyone there? I have attempted to contact many old pears through it and have never gotten a response. I have asked people in the positions you mention about my attempts and they say “Hell, I haven’t been on there in years”. All it is, is a place to post a profile to prove you’re alive.
You don’t need contact you need communication and all forms of wired-media fails at communication. The phone is also a failure, over 90% of people carry them around in their hands, staring at them all day and night, but they won’t answer the phone even when they know whose calling. Sorry, but the only form of communication left standing is face-to-face communication.
How do you get face-to-face? There are many ways that work. Sorry again, but pencil and paper works. Nobody, I mean nobody gets a real letter in the mail anymore. It will get to the person you seek and they will look at it. Don’t be direct, be indirect telling them you are writing a Blog or article and would like to meet them to discuss/interview on one of their projects THEN make a follow-up phone call…be inventive with things like that. And of course the obvious – all forms of networking, investigate where these people go and go there. AIA meetings are the most obvious and there are also art swarays, fundraisers, university open houses…anything to do with art attracts these people. Find the organizer or someone who seems popular, have a polite conversation and ask them if they know of any architects in attendance. If they point someone out make a B-Line. If not, have another scotch and hit the door. Just one hand-shake and you’re-in through these things.
I know it may be hard for you to do but sitting in your room broadcasting 50 resumes a day is only hoping that you will fall through a crack. I’m not saying you should stop this but it needs to be supplemented with targeted rifle-shots.
Sorry for the repitition.
Aug 23, 14 7:27 pm ·
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Contacting local offices
I am thinking about soliciting the small and medium sized firms in my area for work or possibly volunteer experience. I don't know the best way of going about it as I expect most of them to be disinterested as they don't have websites or use recruiting tools to their advantage.
I live in the Los Angeles area and there are many places to check so I could go through a lot of names. I figure it would involve a lot of cold calls and emails and I am thinking about other ways to talk to them like attending local AIA events or other meetings.
Any suggestions? Maybe ways of sorting out the best bets from the dead ends before contacting them?
i wouldn't call it "volunteering" if it's for a for-profit firm. my advice would be to don't do that.
i've been kind of thinking along the same lines of building a network too, since i don't have one right now. your current mindset is focused on what you can get out of the relationship (a job or at least experience). what with the lack of jobs and such in the world, that may be the dead-end. what i've been thinking about but don't have a plan is a way to just sit down and talk to some of the firm leaders, maybe in either an ownership or management position. an aia event is probably a start, but personally i'm not particularly sociable and my introverted self is uncomfortable engaging in that sort of environment.
is it common to cold-call small firm ownership and just say, let's do lunch, i'll pay (hard for someone just out of college, but i think i could handle a few)? i'm not looking for a job or a commitment from your firm, i just want to get a better idea of what the profession looks like in this area. any archinectors in my fly-over state want to do lunch?
An old thread, but using the search tool I found that this question hasn't been answered. In my case it's a matter of having a network of sorts, they have given me a few numbers of folks to call, either first hand contacts of theirs, or a friend of a friend. Now that I have graduate, and looking for work, I'm not so sure about the customs and courtesies I should observe. Any advise? I have one lead in particular that has an opening that I am qualified for, and really interested in...
Thakopiank, are you a post grad unemployed? I am an employer (former) and can contribute. What are you driving at? Are you trying to get-in? If you are meeting just to explore ideas it is a good strategy. I have offered before that seeking to meet about their projects because you are writing an article about architecture that may involve their work is a good strategy and a way in. Tell them that you have visited their work and have questions about it or a particular detail you have observed. It will be welcomed and they will be curious about your intentions. Getting-in involves the unconventional and your notion of meeting to discuss things, even in general, is a good strategy.
Meeting people personally and shaking hands, even at an AIA meeting, is the most fruitful way to get-in. This idea of broadcasting 50 resumes a day via email is fruitless. Get out there, network, and get face-to-face with people is the best solution.
I am curious if anyone has experience contacting firm leaders through Linked In instead of cold calling. I know some of these people are really busy and calling them annoyed them sometimes. May be trying to get in touch with them through email, if u get reply back from them, proceed to mentoring/ face to face meeting will be more appropriate?
Unless you have a premium account contacting them through linkedin is not an easy proposition, even then you have to have them add you as a connection before you can contact them.
Aka115, I would not recommend contacting anybody through any form of wired-media, most especially email. I have done extensive reading and wrote about email on my Blog, email is really a dieing medium, ruined by the spammers. People also refuse to communicate through email and all you’ll get back is “Ugh”, “Thanks” & “Gotcha”. The people you need to contact in firms either have people sifting through it for them or scan though it themselves in the evening looking for something they’ve “ordered” clicking delete at lightning speed.
LinkedIn is another place that doesn’t work. Have you ever tried to contact anyone there? I have attempted to contact many old pears through it and have never gotten a response. I have asked people in the positions you mention about my attempts and they say “Hell, I haven’t been on there in years”. All it is, is a place to post a profile to prove you’re alive.
You don’t need contact you need communication and all forms of wired-media fails at communication. The phone is also a failure, over 90% of people carry them around in their hands, staring at them all day and night, but they won’t answer the phone even when they know whose calling. Sorry, but the only form of communication left standing is face-to-face communication.
How do you get face-to-face? There are many ways that work. Sorry again, but pencil and paper works. Nobody, I mean nobody gets a real letter in the mail anymore. It will get to the person you seek and they will look at it. Don’t be direct, be indirect telling them you are writing a Blog or article and would like to meet them to discuss/interview on one of their projects THEN make a follow-up phone call…be inventive with things like that. And of course the obvious – all forms of networking, investigate where these people go and go there. AIA meetings are the most obvious and there are also art swarays, fundraisers, university open houses…anything to do with art attracts these people. Find the organizer or someone who seems popular, have a polite conversation and ask them if they know of any architects in attendance. If they point someone out make a B-Line. If not, have another scotch and hit the door. Just one hand-shake and you’re-in through these things.
I know it may be hard for you to do but sitting in your room broadcasting 50 resumes a day is only hoping that you will fall through a crack. I’m not saying you should stop this but it needs to be supplemented with targeted rifle-shots.
Sorry for the repitition.
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