If I'm unemployed at the time of applying for a job, is it a red flag to potential employers?
I'm pushed over my limits at my current office- it's been way too much work with way too little guidance since day 1 and boss doesn't seem to realize how much work he's dumping on me. I want to switch out, but taking care of work eats up a lot of my personal time and i'm not left with a lot of time to put together and send out resume/portfolio. I feel trapped. I'm considering just quitting- at least that will buy me time to sit down for myself and apply for new jobs, and I can live on savings for a while... But at the same time, afraid that I may end up spending a long long time being unemployed. Some friends and coworkers have advised to just quit. Some have said just push through, you are learning, it's too risky to just quit without anything to fall on, esp. for this competitive job market. I've pushed through for 3.5 years...
Any advice/anecdotes of personal experience would be much appreciated. Thank you!
geezertect
Jun 14, 17 7:02 am
Resume gaps are never a good thing.
Are you buried with work that calls for skills beyond your comfort zone, or is it just an excess of the same old shit? If the former, you are probably learning a ton whether you know it or not. Early in your career is the best time to make mistakes, when you're on somebody else's payroll.
won and done williams
Jun 14, 17 9:42 am
Words I've lived by: never leave money on the table.
I don't understand how you can't find the time to put together your resume and portfolio while you are still working at your current job. Unless you are working 16 hour days (which I doubt), go home and spend one hour a night working on your portfolio and additional hours on the weekend. Do this for two weeks, and you're done.
We're in a strong economy right now and firms are hiring. You need to take the initiative to go out there and get a new job, but don't quit your current job first.
More words I've lived by: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
kjdt
Jun 14, 17 9:48 am
If you can afford it, one thing you can do sometimes in this situation is go to part-time at your current employer. Don't be too specific about why - just say you're wondering whether he'd be open to you working 3 or 4 days a week for a while. Whether your current employer will go for that is a toss-up, and you'll probably lose any benefits you currently have. But, it gets you out of having to say that you're unemployed, and it gives you more time to be interviewing elsewhere.
shellarchitect
Jun 14, 17 11:03 am
Don't know your location, but finding a new job shouldn't be that hard the way the market is now. I wouldn't quit, an hour or so every other day should be plenty for the portfolio
Volunteer
Jun 14, 17 11:19 am
You will not be any good at a new job if you are a burned-out nervous wreck from your current job. If the boss is not the kind of guy you can have a beer with, and apparently he isn't, just tell him you are not going to work more than 45-50 hours a week (overtime of which you are being paid, right?), you are not working Friday nights, or weekends, and you have family responsibilities you intend to fulfill. Make it a point to get out of the office for an hour lunch everyday to have a change of environment and be around different people.
spiketwig
Jun 14, 17 12:03 pm
Have you actually talked to your boss about the amount of work you have? If you haven't said anything how would he know? If you're thinking about quitting anyway, there's literally no downside to talking to him and outlining the issues you're having at your current job and seeing if they can be resolved. And even if they can't be resolved long-term, you might get enough of a reprieve that you'll get some time to work on that portfolio without having to quit.
Speaking as a manager I'd be really annoyed if a team member just quit without ever talking to me about the issues they were having. Sometimes things are solvable if you just take the initiative to bring them up.
zonker
Jun 14, 17 12:22 pm
I'm pushed over my limits at my current office- it's been way too much work with way too little guidance since day 1 and boss doesn't seem to realize how much work he's dumping on me. I want to switch out, but taking care of work eats up a lot of my personal time
Why did you get into architecture?
this comes with the game - Jesus H Christ - you want some 9-5 job? - go for work the bank
tduds
Jun 14, 17 12:33 pm
I hate this mentality. It encourages burnout and undervalues our profession. I work a comfortable 40-45 hours (rarely over 50 unless there's a deadline), enjoy my life, and make a decent living. Anyone who tries to make me feel guilty for that should be ashamed.
Miles Jaffe
Jun 14, 17 1:00 pm
Agreed. The way school indoctrinates aspiring architects with slave-labor mentality is destructive.
JLC-1
Jun 14, 17 1:18 pm
doesn't come with the game, it's the assholes without families or friends that make it this way. At some point, some idiots tried to make me work at the office saturday and sunday because we were working with saudis, go figure....
geezertect
Jun 14, 17 8:18 pm
You should have told them you needed Ramadan off, and would need to stop and
pray five times a day.
shellarchitect
Jun 14, 17 12:32 pm
I've worked 8-5 for 10 years with very few exceptions....
working 6 am - 4:30pm for the past couple months though
Archinect
Jun 14, 17 12:43 pm
Gaps in employment, and jumping around to a lot of offices are sometimes viewed as red flags by firms. You may be interested in reading our "How to Get A Job At _______" series where firms share insight into how they hire and what they look for (and what they don't look for).
mightyaa
Jun 14, 17 2:25 pm
Agreed. Job hopping was a red flag when I hired. Basically it implied to me you could have any variety of problems, none of which I wanted to bring on.
Beepbeep
Jun 14, 17 12:43 pm
I agree Xenakis mentality is what is wrong with the field - you are just adding fuel to the fire. Of course,your Boss would love you to work 60 hours a week because your putting money in their pocket. This is the mentality of people who do not care about people or life.
There are great design firms that offer good quality of life, work, and environment out there, just go find them. No-one wants to work with a bunch of depressed narcissistic zombies like many architects become.
Volunteer
Jun 14, 17 12:57 pm
The graveyards and divorce courts are just full of people who worked insane hours for months and years at a time. After a certain number of hours a week at work your are neither creative or productive so who is kidding who here?
Miles Jaffe
Jun 14, 17 12:58 pm
Whatever direction you choose (I endorse frank discussion with your boss), you need to find some self-respect and refuse to be anyone's mule. Charettes are fine, work needs to get done, but not every project every day and extra effort needs to be recognized with time & money.
william wynne
Jun 14, 17 10:32 pm
Do not, I repeat do not...get a teaching job with a public school system.
There you will find the worse examples of what we are taught to fight against,...tasteless, middle of the road, dummies...etc.
If I'm unemployed at the time of applying for a job, is it a red flag to potential employers?
I'm pushed over my limits at my current office- it's been way too much work with way too little guidance since day 1 and boss doesn't seem to realize how much work he's dumping on me. I want to switch out, but taking care of work eats up a lot of my personal time and i'm not left with a lot of time to put together and send out resume/portfolio. I feel trapped. I'm considering just quitting- at least that will buy me time to sit down for myself and apply for new jobs, and I can live on savings for a while... But at the same time, afraid that I may end up spending a long long time being unemployed. Some friends and coworkers have advised to just quit. Some have said just push through, you are learning, it's too risky to just quit without anything to fall on, esp. for this competitive job market. I've pushed through for 3.5 years...
Any advice/anecdotes of personal experience would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Resume gaps are never a good thing.
Are you buried with work that calls for skills beyond your comfort zone, or is it just an excess of the same old shit? If the former, you are probably learning a ton whether you know it or not. Early in your career is the best time to make mistakes, when you're on somebody else's payroll.
Words I've lived by: never leave money on the table.
I don't understand how you can't find the time to put together your resume and portfolio while you are still working at your current job. Unless you are working 16 hour days (which I doubt), go home and spend one hour a night working on your portfolio and additional hours on the weekend. Do this for two weeks, and you're done.
We're in a strong economy right now and firms are hiring. You need to take the initiative to go out there and get a new job, but don't quit your current job first.
More words I've lived by: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
If you can afford it, one thing you can do sometimes in this situation is go to part-time at your current employer. Don't be too specific about why - just say you're wondering whether he'd be open to you working 3 or 4 days a week for a while. Whether your current employer will go for that is a toss-up, and you'll probably lose any benefits you currently have. But, it gets you out of having to say that you're unemployed, and it gives you more time to be interviewing elsewhere.
Don't know your location, but finding a new job shouldn't be that hard the way the market is now. I wouldn't quit, an hour or so every other day should be plenty for the portfolio
You will not be any good at a new job if you are a burned-out nervous wreck from your current job. If the boss is not the kind of guy you can have a beer with, and apparently he isn't, just tell him you are not going to work more than 45-50 hours a week (overtime of which you are being paid, right?), you are not working Friday nights, or weekends, and you have family responsibilities you intend to fulfill. Make it a point to get out of the office for an hour lunch everyday to have a change of environment and be around different people.
Have you actually talked to your boss about the amount of work you have? If you haven't said anything how would he know? If you're thinking about quitting anyway, there's literally no downside to talking to him and outlining the issues you're having at your current job and seeing if they can be resolved. And even if they can't be resolved long-term, you might get enough of a reprieve that you'll get some time to work on that portfolio without having to quit.
Speaking as a manager I'd be really annoyed if a team member just quit without ever talking to me about the issues they were having. Sometimes things are solvable if you just take the initiative to bring them up.
I'm pushed over my limits at my current office- it's been way too much work with way too little guidance since day 1 and boss doesn't seem to realize how much work he's dumping on me. I want to switch out, but taking care of work eats up a lot of my personal time
Why did you get into architecture?
this comes with the game - Jesus H Christ - you want some 9-5 job? - go for work the bank
I hate this mentality. It encourages burnout and undervalues our profession. I work a comfortable 40-45 hours (rarely over 50 unless there's a deadline), enjoy my life, and make a decent living. Anyone who tries to make me feel guilty for that should be ashamed.
Agreed. The way school indoctrinates aspiring architects with slave-labor mentality is destructive.
doesn't come with the game, it's the assholes without families or friends that make it this way. At some point, some idiots tried to make me work at the office saturday and sunday because we were working with saudis, go figure....
You should have told them you needed Ramadan off, and would need to stop and pray five times a day.
I've worked 8-5 for 10 years with very few exceptions....
working 6 am - 4:30pm for the past couple months though
Gaps in employment, and jumping around to a lot of offices are sometimes viewed as red flags by firms. You may be interested in reading our "How to Get A Job At _______" series where firms share insight into how they hire and what they look for (and what they don't look for).
Agreed. Job hopping was a red flag when I hired. Basically it implied to me you could have any variety of problems, none of which I wanted to bring on.
I agree Xenakis mentality is what is wrong with the field - you are just adding fuel to the fire. Of course,your Boss would love you to work 60 hours a week because your putting money in their pocket. This is the mentality of people who do not care about people or life.
There are great design firms that offer good quality of life, work, and environment out there, just go find them. No-one wants to work with a bunch of depressed narcissistic zombies like many architects become.
The graveyards and divorce courts are just full of people who worked insane hours for months and years at a time. After a certain number of hours a week at work your are neither creative or productive so who is kidding who here?
Whatever direction you choose (I endorse frank discussion with your boss), you need to find some self-respect and refuse to be anyone's mule. Charettes are fine, work needs to get done, but not every project every day and extra effort needs to be recognized with time & money.
Do not, I repeat do not...get a teaching job with a public school system.
There you will find the worse examples of what we are taught to fight against,...tasteless, middle of the road, dummies...etc.