I wanna work in Europe this summer. I am a US citizen finishing my 2nd year of a 3 year M.Arch program. Some questions:
(1) is applying to European firms pretty much the same as applying to American firms? Just look for what their website says about how to send in materials? Is there some common way they do things that wouldn't be obvious to me?
(2) i assume it's kind of a bad time to be looking for a job. will the european firms be more likely to hire EU nationals than me?
(3) is it true that european firms treat internships as part of the educational period and thus typically only pay about EUR 300 / month?
(4) i know i can stay in europe without a visa as a tourist for up to 90 days. do i need a visa anyway if they're going to pay me if my job is under 90 days? what if my job is like 100 days - is there any easy way to get a 2 week extension to the 90 day rule?
(5) oma is definitely not my top choice in europe, but they are on my list. their website says include recommendation letters with the typical cover letter, resume, references, portfolio stuff. what's the deal with that? i've never heard of that for a job. i think it's kind of awkward to ask my professors for a 'recommendation letter' for a little internship when it seemed like such a big deal to ask them for a rec letter for applying to schools, and besides, oma is only one of like 20 places i'm going to apply to. is the practice of rec letters for jobs common? will i be at a disadvantage if i ignore this and just send my stuff in?
(6) any other tips for finding jobs in europe? does it help to know people rather than just send stuff in cold?
thanks for the response. i guess i could consider taking a semester off from school and working for 6 months...
is there any tactful way to phrase in a cover letter,
"well, i'd prefer to work for 2 months, but i could do 3 if that's your bare minimum, and i'd consider 6 if you make me a good offer..."
I suggest you say you are available for up to 3 months, but you may be able to extend it to six months if required.
You can always leave after two months anyway, unless your employer ties to to the chair and locks the doors. People have made careers on the basis they worked for 1 month in a high profile architecture practice!
The popular firms will be flooded with applicants from eager students from all over the world so I think you should put yourself forward as someone, flexible and eager to consider any type of work, you are not in much of a position to bargain with your prospective employer.
The usual guidelines should apply, make sure you tailor your letters to suit the practice you are applying to. Say why you want to work for *them*, rather than any other architecture firm.
1) NO... the cover letter and resumes are structured differently. make sure you apply in the local language (not in english, unless it is a huge international company like OMA) - you can find examples of different cover letters through google.
portfolio is the same... usually up to 2mb as pdf document.
(2) it´s not really... while there have been layoffs in some countries, the situation in others (including germany) is still quite stable.
(3) depending on what kind of company you are looking at, interns earn from NOTHING (very rare nowadays) to like 800 euros a month. try to find a job as a student worker, which classifies for an hourly wage (9 euros at my company).
(4) i wouldn´t fuck with the visa... so make sure you check it out with the embassies - there are loads of organisations which can get you a cheap student/intern visa too, so you might want to try to find out about american organisations which get you a student/intern visa and spare you the hassle (usually, these aren´t expensive as long as you find your own internship spot).
(5) recommendations are not common. if you have never done an internship before and cannot offer to include references from recent jobs, you might want to consider asking your professor though. suggest writing the reference and just getting him to sign it. quite common practice.
(6) it DOES help to call beforehand to find out about the most important questions you have, and if people are hiring. e-mail applications are common practice for overseas interns, so you should apply to more places. my company is always looking for talented interns - if you speak german, that is ;-)
try some german companies... they all seem to be doing okay right now. (if you want to work in germany, that is)... you can e-mail me if you want help with a german application.
actually most companies in berlin pay nothing (especially the bigger ones) and smaller ones about 400 euros a month (and thats about the general amount for companies in germany).
May 17, 09 4:22 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
Summer internships in Europe
I wanna work in Europe this summer. I am a US citizen finishing my 2nd year of a 3 year M.Arch program. Some questions:
(1) is applying to European firms pretty much the same as applying to American firms? Just look for what their website says about how to send in materials? Is there some common way they do things that wouldn't be obvious to me?
(2) i assume it's kind of a bad time to be looking for a job. will the european firms be more likely to hire EU nationals than me?
(3) is it true that european firms treat internships as part of the educational period and thus typically only pay about EUR 300 / month?
(4) i know i can stay in europe without a visa as a tourist for up to 90 days. do i need a visa anyway if they're going to pay me if my job is under 90 days? what if my job is like 100 days - is there any easy way to get a 2 week extension to the 90 day rule?
(5) oma is definitely not my top choice in europe, but they are on my list. their website says include recommendation letters with the typical cover letter, resume, references, portfolio stuff. what's the deal with that? i've never heard of that for a job. i think it's kind of awkward to ask my professors for a 'recommendation letter' for a little internship when it seemed like such a big deal to ask them for a rec letter for applying to schools, and besides, oma is only one of like 20 places i'm going to apply to. is the practice of rec letters for jobs common? will i be at a disadvantage if i ignore this and just send my stuff in?
(6) any other tips for finding jobs in europe? does it help to know people rather than just send stuff in cold?
thanks!
-ryan
(7) is it true that european firms generally want interns for a whole 6 months? what if i only have time to work for 2 or 3 months?
(8) will the bureaucratic hassle of work permits and visas make euro firms not want to hire me?
xD
ryan
im in the exact boat as you except im undergrad. i have a couple answers though
7: yes. unfortunately. but... maybe they'll allow us to work 3? :x i hope
visa stuff, i wouldnt fuck with it. either work for like 6 months and get a visa, or work for 3 months and dont get one
here's to both of our chances. i'll be watching this thread
answers
2) now is a good time. interns ARE cheap, and because of that alot of firms atm will increase there intern staffing levels.
3) yes
6) for nl see www.archined.nl
7) yes, 6 is better but 3 is sometimes possible
8) not always a big problem.
thanks for the response. i guess i could consider taking a semester off from school and working for 6 months...
is there any tactful way to phrase in a cover letter,
"well, i'd prefer to work for 2 months, but i could do 3 if that's your bare minimum, and i'd consider 6 if you make me a good offer..."
I suggest you say you are available for up to 3 months, but you may be able to extend it to six months if required.
You can always leave after two months anyway, unless your employer ties to to the chair and locks the doors. People have made careers on the basis they worked for 1 month in a high profile architecture practice!
The popular firms will be flooded with applicants from eager students from all over the world so I think you should put yourself forward as someone, flexible and eager to consider any type of work, you are not in much of a position to bargain with your prospective employer.
The usual guidelines should apply, make sure you tailor your letters to suit the practice you are applying to. Say why you want to work for *them*, rather than any other architecture firm.
1) NO... the cover letter and resumes are structured differently. make sure you apply in the local language (not in english, unless it is a huge international company like OMA) - you can find examples of different cover letters through google.
portfolio is the same... usually up to 2mb as pdf document.
(2) it´s not really... while there have been layoffs in some countries, the situation in others (including germany) is still quite stable.
(3) depending on what kind of company you are looking at, interns earn from NOTHING (very rare nowadays) to like 800 euros a month. try to find a job as a student worker, which classifies for an hourly wage (9 euros at my company).
(4) i wouldn´t fuck with the visa... so make sure you check it out with the embassies - there are loads of organisations which can get you a cheap student/intern visa too, so you might want to try to find out about american organisations which get you a student/intern visa and spare you the hassle (usually, these aren´t expensive as long as you find your own internship spot).
(5) recommendations are not common. if you have never done an internship before and cannot offer to include references from recent jobs, you might want to consider asking your professor though. suggest writing the reference and just getting him to sign it. quite common practice.
(6) it DOES help to call beforehand to find out about the most important questions you have, and if people are hiring. e-mail applications are common practice for overseas interns, so you should apply to more places. my company is always looking for talented interns - if you speak german, that is ;-)
good luck!
thanks!
i do speak german....
;)
try some german companies... they all seem to be doing okay right now. (if you want to work in germany, that is)... you can e-mail me if you want help with a german application.
;-) e-mail should be through my profile...
actually most companies in berlin pay nothing (especially the bigger ones) and smaller ones about 400 euros a month (and thats about the general amount for companies in germany).
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.