philadelphia is in the same situation as the rest of the northeast at least
economy seems to be hurting architects, but not as bad as it has in the past

we had to let 2 of our youngest go (who were still in school) due to project load not being high enough right now. but that is generally expected to pick back up by the summer/ fall

did you get to interview anywhere at all? or just heard no response?

When I was looking to move here last summer, I remember having to do a lot of leg work to get interviews set up. ie, not many people would call me back. I eventually had 7 lined up.. 5 on one day and two on the other.. out of that bunch only 1 was "actually" hiring and another was in the position to hire if they found the right person.. I ended up at the latter. It was good timing and what I think is a good fit.

Onion Flats and SMP Architects were looking for people a couple of months ago, but I don't know if they still are. I haven't heard of anyone else hiring but there are quite a bit of other Philadelphians around the boards that are much more entrenched than myself (I've only been here 3 months).

Good luck.

Thanks, I haven't gotten any interviews lately. I got 3 interviews a few months ago. Most were no responses when I called back to check on status. One said they were examing office needs which means it could be another month or so till i hear a response.

The only other option right now it seems is to apply to the postings that are outside of the city, but most are at least an hour commute and they seem to make decisions faster. In the past I have ended up getting offers from the firms within the city a month or two after I ended up accepting a position at a firm that was an hour away.

I am thinking about sending another round of resumes but it does seem a little fruitless as the interviews I was able to get were only from places that had job listings posted on craigslist or the aia website. It seems like most of the postings on firms websites are old. I notice one posting that was the exact same since 2005 and the website hadn't really been updated in years.

dont just send resumes to firms with job openings posted somewhere
a lot of times that can be out of date anyway

i would look into firms in general, and call those you would like to work for and try to set up a meeting with them
sometimes you can find someone with some work available, but they havent really posted anything yet


a lot of times, firms dont post entry level positions
so you never know what you might find
i lived in northern nj when i was interviewing in philly, and i went on a couple interviews where they didnt have an opening at the time, but were meeting with me for future stuff, and to help me out.

Thank you everyone. Marm do places usually post for people with 2 to 3 years experience?

marmkid has the right idea of things. i only sought out places that I was interested in whether they were looking to hire or not. We have an open invitation for resumes as we are always looking for good talent out there.

It also pays to call around to places asking if they are currently hiring... If they are not they may or may want to atlest interview you or for you to send in a resume should a position become available at a later date.. that's how I know those two firms I mentioned above are hiring...

i think many times, firms dont bother posting unless its a specific opening requirement, like they need a project manager with 15 years in a certain area

otherwise, firms would be posting and unposting staff stuff constantly

i could be wrong though, thats just based on my limited experience

thats why i think its a good idea to call around like ether just commented
many times things depend on workload and if a firm gets a specific job or not. they wont post if they dont have the job, but if you call them, they will let you know that and you will have a foot in the door should they get that job. then you are in when they have work, and maybe can stick around even if things then get slow again

thanks, very good advice.

follow up on all your resumes... sometimes it even makes sense to ask for an interview...

if you are confident that you are a better candidate than average you need to make them know that

thats a good point

dont always assume that just because you sent in a resume that someone will automatically follow up with you

some places recieve a ton of resumes, its very easy to get lost in the pile. chances are, if you call to follow up, you will be granted an interview just based on that

you can get bumped to the top of the interview list as well, if you make a follow up call
otherwise, they might just start at the top of the pile, then not get to yours until a month later or more
you figure you take 5 resumes, try to coordinate an interview with each, probably takes at least 1-2 weeks
what happens if you are the 30th resume?
could take a while
but if you call to follow up, they dig out your resume, then put you on the top of the list

I heard Philly is doing alright...

I'm trying to fasten my seatbelt now and ride this thing out until I have enough experience to not be as expendable.

word on the street here is things are slow. How slow? it depends on the firm.

IArch- send your resume to places you want to work, those that have openings, any firm you are interested in.
Then CALL.
Then ASK for an interview.
Worst they will say is no, at best you will get an interview, at the least if they are slow and approachable thay may let you in for a visit.

Then you knock their socks off with your (insert best outward quality) and when things rebound they will wonder where your are. And if you call back they will remember you.