try not to get too bummed

You shoulda spent your time in school networking and schmoozing important people in your city, instead of, you know, studying and getting good grades.

Like they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

All I can say is contact some of your professors that liked you and see if they have any suggestions.

these guys have alot of good advice. you may have to wade through the stuff that doesn't apply to your specific situation, but they are a wealth of career development knowledge.

http://www.manager-tools.com/

I'll say it again. Networking and even Schmoozing in this profession is never a bad thing.

A lot of kids in school never really understand that and some are way too full of themselves thinking they shit strawberry sherbert. At least that was from my experience.

Being nice and having a "likability factor" really pays off in huge dividents too.

I've worked with some REAL assholes before and when they met the axe, they would try desperately to network and but it would be too little too late for them.

PORTFOLIO
is what you should be refining, re-do diagrams, renders etc.,...whatever you think needs improvement but, your portfolio should show your evolution as a student so you should not re do first year projects etc.,...
_Just work and re-work your portfolio (online and physical book), until your completely satisfied it represents who you are...your portfolio will either put you in the group of thousands that are generically the same or set you apart from them giving you the opportunity for interview, then thats where your "likeability" is called into action
_keep submitting everywhere, even to the firms that are not hiring.
_keep insisting on the same firms while adding more...when a position opens up, they will remember you and maybe (depending on your emailed portfolio) they will provide you with an interview.

Im a recent B. Arch graduate, and I worked my ass off through school I recently got hired by a firm who valued my work and not my likeability. I did not need to kiss no instructors ass but I did have to submit a bunch of resumes to a bunch of firms even the ones I did not like and got some positive responses from the ones I was really interested in, the negative was that some of them could not afford to pay. But atleast, I got three firms that were interested in me and got the opportunity to decide my salary from 3 options, which in this economy is quite decent. The responses basically showed me the work and effort I did in school paid off and not the ass kissing.


hope this helps and just rework your portfolio.

Thanks for reading

Because in society we're taught that the only way to get ahead is either to be the best, or if you're not, to act like you're the best. Just how nobody wants to date someone that says "I'm not that awesome", nobody wants to hire someone that has that attitude.

Its called marketing yourself, and you aren't going to be successful if you don't. You know why so many people claim their shit don't stink? Because *everyone* else says theirs doesn't.

Portfolio is your way to get the interview, if you don't have any connections, I don't even think they look at resume as much as your portfolio.

start saving canned goods and lots of water.

I graduated in a relatively good year and had a hard time finding a job until fall, despite having an ivy league degree. I think a lot of firms like to hire cheaper interns during the summer rather than taking on recent graduates. And, I planned well ahead and sent out resumes in the spring, even getting interviews at good firms only to have interviewers ask, "wait, you haven't graduated yet?" Um, yeah that's what it says on my resume . . .

So, I would suggest you not be too hard on yourself. It's a really tough time right now, and it will probably take a while. But send out lots of resumes, be consistent and be personal and enthusiastic in your cover letters - companies are being flooded with resumes right now since it's required that people on unemployment make several job contacts a week, so to stand out in the crowd, let them know you're really interested and not just fulfilling a requirement.

And if you have professional experience with more technical things like CA, detailing, spec writing (stuff you don't learn in school), make sure you mention that.

First and foremost, keep your head up. I would encourage you to do whatever you can to acquire & master skills with the most demand.
Right now that would include the following skills:
-BIM (Revit, Archicad, etc.),
-LEED/sustainable design,
-Public speaking, &
-Building construction field experience.
A small percentage of designers have really mastered BIM. Think of the old dog new tricks saying; this holds true for a large number of highly experienced designers.
I would recommend that you learn how to incorporate BIM w/ sustainable design via energy analysis and learn how to market this to prospective employers.
Also, until the industry turns the corner, consider picking up a job in the construction field doing framing, cabinetry/woodworking, finish work (less labor intensive than roofing, etc.). You'll be able to draw on this experience for the rest of your career.
Good luck!

go east!

I agree with evanc.

Go east, west, or anywhere in the middle.

head for the hills

I really feel for the new grads out there. There are *some* jobs out there but generally firms are working their existing staff harder rather than take on the expense of new hires. And if they hire, many are hiring part time contract work.

On top of that, all the senior architects I keep in touch with all have said they are unwilling to hire younger staff that require years of training at a time when fees are so tight. (Yes, although you have a degree, it will take at least 12 months of F/T work before you are trained enough to be profitable to a firm.)

What does get hired is specific knowledge. Since you are just starting out I'm sure you don't have connections that can bring in new work, so I'd focus on the technology. BIM is the future and if you can master it, and prove that to a firm, you have a decent shot of getting a job. Problem is that you could be pigeon holed into a CAD Tech job. While I could do the 3D shit back in the day, I never promoted myself as that guy because I wanted to be doing more than sitting behind a screen. It's a fine line to walk.

Lastly, I'd say given the current economy there is no shame in finding an alternative career. 5 years down the road nobody will hold it against you if you spent time after graduating working in a different field. Probably will give you a leg up in an arch firm as they are always looking for diversity in people. I'm constantly amazed at the backgrounds of my fellow co-workers.

There is another demon recent grads need to worry about, the student loans!

jms - here's my take, simply as someone doing the hiring (whenever that may happen again):

first, most firm principals i talk to are very, very reluctant to hire on people full time right now, even if they have project needs. the reasons are numerous but include benefits structures, unemployment taxes, and a general unease about their ability to maintain workloads 6 months from now. this will affect a lot more than recent grads, but i'm going on record and saying it's just the way things will be done for the next 2-5 years: expect more opportunities to do short term, non-employee related contract work.

second - fees are as competitive as i ever hope to see them again. meaning, all too often it's a race to the bottom. why this matters to you is that there's a liability and a potential opportunity in this trend. the liability is that more complex the project is, the more established firms are going to need experienced people working faster and for, yes, less money in order to make the current fee structures work. and right now, there's a huge pool of talented people who'll take short term work for a bit less than they were getting before being laid off. the potential opportunity is that, unless the work is very complex, you might be able (with some luck) find a smaller firm that gets just enough work to hire and they'll probably be ok with less experience if it means they're paying less overall.

last (for now) - i'd still focus on larger firms doing work in the healthcare arena, as well as work in saudi arabia or uae, neither of which has the same issues that dubai has. those firms are the most likely to actually have the ability to take on new hires, especially if there's something 'else' you can bring to the table that makes you an attractive long term possibility.

when sending out resumes: always, always, always do your homework beforehand and make the case, in your cover letter, as to what you can specifically contribute to the firm you're applying to. i cannot tell you how many emails i've gotten this year from people talking about how enthusiastic they are, how they're looking to expand their professional development, blah, blah, blah, me, me, me. no offense, but i care less about you than about my firm overall. i'm really interested to know you've taken some time to research us, know what we do, where we're heading, and how you're going to fulfill some need we didn't even know we had. with that in mind, i'd start with 20 firms. do your homework with them, craft an actual paper resume and 2-3 pages of projects. find out the principal owner or studio head you want to send it to. stalk them (well, you know what i mean) for a couple of months. introduce yourself before you send anything to them. and when you do, make the case airtight. it may not guarantee a job right away (that's more at the mercy of the economy overall), but i absolutely guarantee if they have anything come up, you're going to be on the very short list of people they call prior to putting something out on the street.

good luck -

I forgot to mention, dont aim too high and start low.
offer yourself for a temporary internship paid or unpaid (even though it would suck) it will give you the opportunity so they can get to know you and you know them instead of applying for a full time position. That will help you break the ice and make connections within the firm, try it out for a while and both will end up happy and mayeb you will end up with a full time position at that firm.

.- "Lastly, I'd say given the current economy there is no shame in finding an alternative career. 5 years down the road nobody will hold it against you if you spent time after graduating working in a different field."

That is a very risky move because you might lose alot of your design skills, people tend to forget CAD. rhino and other softwares if not being practiced frequently as well as people will still be graduating from arch schools meaning they will be fresh out of school with newer ideas while someone who was waiting tables for a while. As long as you keep improving your skills entering competitions and pushing yourself to stay competitive with others then you migt have a chance but for how long?
Instead, I would recommend to stay within the field

Whatever happened to the four years experience of internship?
you did not get to talk to anyone during that time or what?
maybe those guys could give you some advice or tip you off to when their respective firms are hiring? who knows...

"last (for now) - i'd still focus on larger firms doing work in the healthcare arena, as well as work in saudi arabia or uae, neither of which has the same issues that dubai has."

Dubai is part of the UAE.

hopefully my advice was better than my geography (i was trying to think of abu dhabi, which is still uae, but couldn't get the name right in my head).

i saw this in my reading last night - by the founder of 37signals, which has a bit of a cult following in business circles right now. regardless, i think his logic is spot on (and echos what i said above):

Once we begin vetting candidates, we also behave a little differently. For one thing, we ignore resumés. In my experience, they're full of exaggerations, half-truths, embellishments -- and even outright lies. They're made of action verbs that don't really mean anything. Even when people aren't intentionally trying to trick you, they often stretch the truth. And what does "five years' experience" mean, anyway? Resumés reduce people to bullet points, and most people look pretty good as bullet points.

"What we do look at are cover letters. Cover letters say it all. They immediately tell you if someone wants this job or just any job. And cover letters make something else very clear: They tell you who can and who can't write. Spell checkers can spell, but they can't write. Wordsmiths rise to the top quickly. Another rule of thumb: When in doubt, always hire the better writer.

We look for effort, too. How badly does this person want the job? Pestering is not the same as effort, though. We hired a designer named Jason Zimdars because: 1. He was good, and 2. He made more effort to get the job than anyone else. He built a special website pitching his skills just for us. So few people make the extra effort like Jason did. (Check it out to see what I mean: jasonzimdars.com/svn.)

During interviews, we love when potential hires ask questions. But all questions aren't equal. A red flag goes up when someone asks how. "How do I do that?" "How can I find out this or that?" You want people who ask why, not how. Why is good -- it's a sign of deep interest in a subject. It signals a healthy dose of curiosity. How is a sign that someone isn't used to figuring things out for him- or herself. How is a sign that this person is going to be a drain on others. Avoid hows."

can some of you people enlighten the rest of of practicing professionals, as to why you would fire veterans of architecture, who make or break a projects success, and replace them with interns?

i know i said "of" 2 times oops,

displaced - sometimes it's purely a financial situation. sometimes it's because the veterans might not really be as good as other people think. sometimes it may be more related to simple personality issues or a desire for the principals to 'train up' a new generation which will do things the way they want. my guess is that the situation varies immensely with each firm.

i've seen principals laid off - people who had 25+ years with a firm - simply because they were no longer bringing work in (and really, a couple of them had skated by for a decade or more on the strength of one or two core repeat clients, whose account volume alone kept them and their studio busy and profitable. their mistake was that they hadn't diversified out to any other clients - once those few pulled the work back, they couldn't adjust).

thanks for the explanation,
in the cases i witnessed there was absolutely no chance that an intern was better than the veterans they replaced, even on a bad day they couldn't wear their jockstrap "pardon the pun", but i will buy that maybe they had not been bringing in work, or skating somehow. Though I will say that as far as bringing in new work has been left up to the the VPs mainly, because they have the resources and time to network while the principals are managing projects.

PS. I'm not one of those 30 year veterans, still a baby architect with 5 years of working experience, though i have been told i am well ahead of my years of experience, but because I've witnessed those old and very good architects get canned like yesterdays news, I'm determined to open my own office, so that does not happen to me.

so, i guess my advise to new architects, is work get your license, as soon as possible and hang up your own shingle.

Make sure your portfolio is sweet. Try to show up in person to a firm and try to talk to anyone that will listen to you. Make sure you leave them a copy. This works a lot better with small firms. Repeat until someone calls you back. That's really about all you can do.

See if there is a chapter of Architecture for Humanity or some organization that architects may be a part of and join. Volunteering sucks but you can quite once you get a lead on a job.

a red flag goes up the other way if the person interviewing you refuses to answer "why."

it's important to remember that an interview goes both ways - you can usually tell which places are going to be a good fit or if you should run far far away - but you won't know unless you ask the right questions.

and - you should approach an interview (also your cover letter and hopefully your future job) as if it would be mutually beneficial for you to work there, not act as if they are doing you a favor by giving you an opportunity to work in an architecture office. take the latter approach (and it's hard because there isn't a lot out there), and people are either going to take advantage or not pay any attention to you.