So many people whom I graduated with are in the same boat, but finding a job in a firm is so difficult nowadays. I have considered re-training in another field but am still hopeful that 1 day the building industry will pick up again. Freelancing has it's advantages in that you are able to pick and choose what projects you wish to do and not having to answer to anyone but at the same time, it would be nice to work in an environment with similar minded people and have a continuous flow of work.
This is something I've said before and most will probably not agree with it — finding a job is a numbers-game based on chance; it's an exercise of dumb luck. With an increasing number of larger companies moving towards automated resume screeners while other companies have staffing shortages, your best bet is to get your resume in the stack within the first 30 or so applicants.
However, if you play the game long enough, you'll eventually succeed with 1-out-of-100 chance.
However there are a number of things that can help your prospects. Making connections with firms and architects can really help. Having a portfolio that is different helps. Also one might consider sitting on a local government board for design reviews or affordable housing. Getting in the system is really the name of the game.
I think the school you've attended plays a large part too ... Some employers are more likely to look at your portfolio and give you a job when they hear you graduated from so and so university.
i think its pretty hard, most of my architecture colleagues are recent grads,
we graduated in May, and those that have been vigilant about the quest to get a job, i think are finding their way, its been about 5-6 months since graduation, and if i had to rough guess i would say about 60% have found employment some very recently..
so its taking people alittle bit of time, but i dont know anyone who hasnt tried HARD everyday who eventually didnt find anything,
NOTE: most of these jobs my colleagues are gettting are in or around Atlanta metro area, or in the southeast
I wonder if those who were mediocre in school regret their time there. My necessary conditions here are that the people in this thread are new graduates.
Most instructors try hard to hire their best students, or to find placements for them. There would be no such proclivity for the recalcitrant or the angry (Mr or Ms XYZ were such negative, self-entitled plebs - let me recommend him-or-her to all I know!). Was the rebel pose worth it, or was it to mask a fear that being a good designer is harder by exponential efforts?
Or if going to mid-level schools, at the same cost bracket of ivy institutions, has created a stalemate situation of overburdened loans as well as a school without much of a network. Most interesting yet is that something fundamental has changed, and the power relationships of architects to capital are finally over.
I have every sympathy for job-seekers. I've spent hot afternoons with the baking sun reflecting off sidewalks to enter cool air-conditioned lobbies and hand a cv to a dismissive receptionist. Just musing on a long trip home
i once sent out 95 resumes in three days and was employed within the week.
i was also cheap as fuck back then.
it is also a factor of sentiment. wait a few days before sending out resumes if stupid news like "unemployment is still at 8%, obama sucks" or "no QE3 for you, bishes" is the current headline.
I recently landed my first job through a personal contact and it was the best interview experience I've had yet. Coffee, long talk about my experiences, followed by lunch, then drinks...somewhere after our long nebulous discussion I was offered the job.
Network your ass off. Get to know people and know them well. I cant believe how much time I spent / wasted tweaking my resume to every different job posting on simply hired or indeed or the like. Never again.
I'm going through this right now. Basically straight A's in school, scholarships and awards and bla bla bla... employed immediately upon graduation but recently laid off. It's taken me 2 weeks to put together a decent cv and portfolio... I keep tweaking it but I think I'm finally done and I'll start sending it out tomorrow.
I've been networking, got an interview last week (without a portfolio, even) and it went okay but I don't think the firm is busy enough to find a seat for me.
I'm in a weird position because I'm not an extremely outgoing person and I've basically just been offered jobs in various fields for the last 13 years, with an exception here or there. I've never cold-called anybody and I'm wondering if it really works. I don't want to just walk in the front door without making a phone call first, but I hear some people do have success with that.
In the end, I'm sure I'll end up finding something through somebody I know. Seems to me, that's just the way it works.
Perfect comobo of graduating in 2009, having a bs degree, and not being able to afford grad school. However I think I'll finally get a break in the next month or two. Thank God.
No offense Quentin, but I find it amazing that you could not find a job in three years. Have you done any temp work or shop drawings or craigslist crap or volunteer work? What have you done for three years? A future employer will be asking the same question.
You better believe it - even though I have 4 years exp - every interview the question comes up about my 12 months of long term unemployment between 11/08 and 12/09 - the recession is no excuse anymore - you are competing against those you have continuous employment -
So I am going on 5 years of “underemployment” spring 2008-present
Got Revit, Sketch-Up, training, but I still have to find the means to acquire the other “hot” software packages
Got the LEED AP certification
Taught a course for two years part time in construction management
Volunteered a lot
Did some paying freelance work: three landscapes, a kitchen, a bathroom remodel, Community garden for the city, and a church renovation
I am in a small city Urbana IL and I realize that is a hindrance. I wonder if I should not put my address on the resume and cover letter. Definitely should move but risk not having a crummy McJob or clients for the occasional freelance job makes survival difficult. I think there is a song about this kind of dilemma, staying or going.
But I am 500 hours from finishing IDP, I had an interview recently, and I have decided to not take the free internships offered before that recent legitimate interview.
Things have picked up in most places and so the folks who gave up are going at it again, but I hope this uptick is real and can hold for a while. We have a lot of talented folks who need a job.
To echo everyone else, it has been pretty rough out there. I was looking in Toronto and DC for a while. I found a greater number of (poorly paid) positions in Canada, and many fewer (but much better-paid) positions in the States. Took me nine months after graduation to find reliable work, and it's still only temporary positions. In the meantime I volunteered and did part time consulting. That kept my resume from having large holes, and paid enough to get by.
During my search I networked with friends, colleagues, mid-size firms' principles, and a handful of corporate executives. I then expanded my search beyond design, then beyond business development and marketing, and then well beyond that into just about anything A/E/C related. None of those steps worked. You know what the most successful strategy has been? Get up early, and refresh craigslist over and over throughout the day with your resume ready to fire off. Be the first to respond to new ads, don't say too much in your e-mail response (since they probably didn't say much in the ad), and wait for them to bite. I have found that people tend to get back to you within a day or two. May not work for everyone, but it worked for me.
i totally disagree with med. sometimes (especially at the beginning) you have to take the shitty job to amass knowledge and move onwards. even if the shitty job pays 15/h with no overtime, no insurance and you spent the first week there arguing with people because they wanted to label you a 1099 contractor only so they could fire you a few months later because you were making multiple people obsolete...
also, if you have been out of the job for more than a month, you should know revit, grasshopper, rhino, and python (yes, all) and have at least one brand new competition entry in your portfolio showing how awesome you are. if you aren't that awesome, you're competing against people who are. a lot of people.
also, if you have been out of the job for more than a month, you should know revit, grasshopper, rhino, and python (yes, all) and have at least one brand new competition entry in your portfolio showing how awesome you are. if you aren't that awesome, you're competing against people who are. a lot of people.
Check the portfolios and resumes in the people section of archinect - if you are not one of these people, then maybe you should go into something else - there are no points for second best
Firstly LOL alot of your comments cracked me up...good to find levity in a frustrating situation! ! I too feel frustrated at the non-responses after sending what seems like a million resumes! Makes you wonder why we went through archiTORTURE school, put blood sweat and tears into it and suffer again to find a semi decent job whereas just doing easy manual labor gets paid THRICE as much! hmmm miserable struggling architect or happy go lucky fruit picker in Australia with savings?? food for though! :p :p
Nov 25, 12 8:55 am ·
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How hard is it to find a job!!
So many people whom I graduated with are in the same boat, but finding a job in a firm is so difficult nowadays. I have considered re-training in another field but am still hopeful that 1 day the building industry will pick up again. Freelancing has it's advantages in that you are able to pick and choose what projects you wish to do and not having to answer to anyone but at the same time, it would be nice to work in an environment with similar minded people and have a continuous flow of work.
This is something I've said before and most will probably not agree with it — finding a job is a numbers-game based on chance; it's an exercise of dumb luck. With an increasing number of larger companies moving towards automated resume screeners while other companies have staffing shortages, your best bet is to get your resume in the stack within the first 30 or so applicants.
However, if you play the game long enough, you'll eventually succeed with 1-out-of-100 chance.
sometimes 1 out of 200
However there are a number of things that can help your prospects. Making connections with firms and architects can really help. Having a portfolio that is different helps. Also one might consider sitting on a local government board for design reviews or affordable housing. Getting in the system is really the name of the game.
2 years looking finally found a free internship which was shit....I regret choosing architecture
I think the school you've attended plays a large part too ... Some employers are more likely to look at your portfolio and give you a job when they hear you graduated from so and so university.
How hard is it to find a job!!
was your original question, or exclamation
i think its pretty hard, most of my architecture colleagues are recent grads,
we graduated in May, and those that have been vigilant about the quest to get a job, i think are finding their way, its been about 5-6 months since graduation, and if i had to rough guess i would say about 60% have found employment some very recently..
so its taking people alittle bit of time, but i dont know anyone who hasnt tried HARD everyday who eventually didnt find anything,
NOTE: most of these jobs my colleagues are gettting are in or around Atlanta metro area, or in the southeast
I wonder if those who were mediocre in school regret their time there. My necessary conditions here are that the people in this thread are new graduates.
Most instructors try hard to hire their best students, or to find placements for them. There would be no such proclivity for the recalcitrant or the angry (Mr or Ms XYZ were such negative, self-entitled plebs - let me recommend him-or-her to all I know!). Was the rebel pose worth it, or was it to mask a fear that being a good designer is harder by exponential efforts?
Or if going to mid-level schools, at the same cost bracket of ivy institutions, has created a stalemate situation of overburdened loans as well as a school without much of a network. Most interesting yet is that something fundamental has changed, and the power relationships of architects to capital are finally over.
I have every sympathy for job-seekers. I've spent hot afternoons with the baking sun reflecting off sidewalks to enter cool air-conditioned lobbies and hand a cv to a dismissive receptionist. Just musing on a long trip home
Come to Dallas - 16 job postings on the AIA site...
http://aiadallas.org/candidatecentersearchresults.cfm
The "A" students teach
The "B" students may or may not find jobs (see 1 in 100 odds mentioned above)
The "C" students end up being principals and oversee the B students
The "D" students drop out and get their MBAs
It's probably also worth noting, no one gives a shit where you went to school once you've made it past your 3rd year in the profession.
Oh and yeah if you want a job Dallas/Houston are definitely hiring.
what jjr said.
i once sent out 95 resumes in three days and was employed within the week.
i was also cheap as fuck back then.
it is also a factor of sentiment. wait a few days before sending out resumes if stupid news like "unemployment is still at 8%, obama sucks" or "no QE3 for you, bishes" is the current headline.
First, finding a job aint easy...
Second, I recently read referrals make up 90 percent of job placements.. This article agrees but to a lesser extent. http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/expand-networking-circle-tips-making-friends
I recently landed my first job through a personal contact and it was the best interview experience I've had yet. Coffee, long talk about my experiences, followed by lunch, then drinks...somewhere after our long nebulous discussion I was offered the job.
Network your ass off. Get to know people and know them well. I cant believe how much time I spent / wasted tweaking my resume to every different job posting on simply hired or indeed or the like. Never again.
I'm going through this right now. Basically straight A's in school, scholarships and awards and bla bla bla... employed immediately upon graduation but recently laid off. It's taken me 2 weeks to put together a decent cv and portfolio... I keep tweaking it but I think I'm finally done and I'll start sending it out tomorrow.
I've been networking, got an interview last week (without a portfolio, even) and it went okay but I don't think the firm is busy enough to find a seat for me.
I'm in a weird position because I'm not an extremely outgoing person and I've basically just been offered jobs in various fields for the last 13 years, with an exception here or there. I've never cold-called anybody and I'm wondering if it really works. I don't want to just walk in the front door without making a phone call first, but I hear some people do have success with that.
In the end, I'm sure I'll end up finding something through somebody I know. Seems to me, that's just the way it works.
3 years and counting :-0
Perfect comobo of graduating in 2009, having a bs degree, and not being able to afford grad school. However I think I'll finally get a break in the next month or two. Thank God.
No offense Quentin, but I find it amazing that you could not find a job in three years. Have you done any temp work or shop drawings or craigslist crap or volunteer work? What have you done for three years? A future employer will be asking the same question.
Quentin
You better believe it - even though I have 4 years exp - every interview the question comes up about my 12 months of long term unemployment between 11/08 and 12/09 - the recession is no excuse anymore - you are competing against those you have continuous employment -
So I am going on 5 years of “underemployment” spring 2008-present
Got Revit, Sketch-Up, training, but I still have to find the means to acquire the other “hot” software packages
Got the LEED AP certification
Taught a course for two years part time in construction management
Volunteered a lot
Did some paying freelance work: three landscapes, a kitchen, a bathroom remodel, Community garden for the city, and a church renovation
I am in a small city Urbana IL and I realize that is a hindrance. I wonder if I should not put my address on the resume and cover letter. Definitely should move but risk not having a crummy McJob or clients for the occasional freelance job makes survival difficult. I think there is a song about this kind of dilemma, staying or going.
But I am 500 hours from finishing IDP, I had an interview recently, and I have decided to not take the free internships offered before that recent legitimate interview.
Things have picked up in most places and so the folks who gave up are going at it again, but I hope this uptick is real and can hold for a while. We have a lot of talented folks who need a job.
People who choose to work for free only deserve the shitty situation they are dealt.
To echo everyone else, it has been pretty rough out there. I was looking in Toronto and DC for a while. I found a greater number of (poorly paid) positions in Canada, and many fewer (but much better-paid) positions in the States. Took me nine months after graduation to find reliable work, and it's still only temporary positions. In the meantime I volunteered and did part time consulting. That kept my resume from having large holes, and paid enough to get by.
During my search I networked with friends, colleagues, mid-size firms' principles, and a handful of corporate executives. I then expanded my search beyond design, then beyond business development and marketing, and then well beyond that into just about anything A/E/C related. None of those steps worked. You know what the most successful strategy has been? Get up early, and refresh craigslist over and over throughout the day with your resume ready to fire off. Be the first to respond to new ads, don't say too much in your e-mail response (since they probably didn't say much in the ad), and wait for them to bite. I have found that people tend to get back to you within a day or two. May not work for everyone, but it worked for me.
i doubled my salary in a bit over two years.
i totally disagree with med. sometimes (especially at the beginning) you have to take the shitty job to amass knowledge and move onwards. even if the shitty job pays 15/h with no overtime, no insurance and you spent the first week there arguing with people because they wanted to label you a 1099 contractor only so they could fire you a few months later because you were making multiple people obsolete...
also, if you have been out of the job for more than a month, you should know revit, grasshopper, rhino, and python (yes, all) and have at least one brand new competition entry in your portfolio showing how awesome you are. if you aren't that awesome, you're competing against people who are. a lot of people.
this is so true
also, if you have been out of the job for more than a month, you should know revit, grasshopper, rhino, and python (yes, all) and have at least one brand new competition entry in your portfolio showing how awesome you are. if you aren't that awesome, you're competing against people who are. a lot of people.
Check the portfolios and resumes in the people section of archinect - if you are not one of these people, then maybe you should go into something else - there are no points for second best
Hi all
Firstly LOL alot of your comments cracked me up...good to find levity in a frustrating situation! ! I too feel frustrated at the non-responses after sending what seems like a million resumes! Makes you wonder why we went through archiTORTURE school, put blood sweat and tears into it and suffer again to find a semi decent job whereas just doing easy manual labor gets paid THRICE as much! hmmm miserable struggling architect or happy go lucky fruit picker in Australia with savings?? food for though! :p :p
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