I graduated recently last year with a bachelors and have been looking for a job since October. I live in nyc so I assume the competition has been tough. Maybe my portfolio is just weak for a bachelors graduate? Or the fact that I only had 1 summer of internship experience? I wouldn't mind doing another internship to get more experience but it seems that most ads say they want someone who is currently in school. im not sure. I've been searching and applying to job ads on archinect/linkedin. specifically junior architect/architectural designer/designer jobs.
I have my portfolio linked below and welcome any tips and critique's on finding a job/improving my portfolio.
don’t only apply to ads and job postings, just email apply to the firms you like the work of. have you tried networking with your professors from your bachelor’s? or try attending AIA events. competition is tough, it might be about who you know…
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 1:48 am
thank you for the advice! I will start doing that this week. I also am planning on attending some AIA events soon to meet people and network more.
natematt
Jan 29, 24 3:27 am
For reference, how many firms have you applied to up to this point?
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 4:18 am
About 64 applications. Starting from the end of October until now.
Josh Mings
Jan 29, 24 12:09 pm
FYI, October through now is generally a weird time for applying for places. The current economic uncertainty hasn't helped, but it seems to be easing somewhat (based on the amount of inquiries I've had in the last couple of weeks).
natematt
Jan 29, 24 12:42 pm
Josh, very true.
Have you been getting any interviews?
Josh Mings
Jan 29, 24 12:58 pm
I went out on my own. However, my part-time person has been looking for full-time work since I'm not quite there yet with the workload - he's been getting some interviews lately.
natematt
Jan 29, 24 6:11 pm
I was asking NM NM NM, but glad to hear your part time guy is getting attention! :)
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:30 pm
No interviews, only automated rejection emails so far.
axonapoplectic
Jan 29, 24 9:16 am
reach out to fellow graduates and see if there are any openings at their offices. Some offices offer bonuses to people who help find quality employees (usually if they stick around for 6 months or something).
this is a career where you really need to build and work your network - so do good work, be good to work with, don’t burn any bridges.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:31 pm
Yeah I definitely will. even though I did school in Florida there’s some people I graduated with that are here in NYC too. I’m trying setting up some meetups over coffee this week.
pandahut
Jan 29, 24 10:35 am
I also second the motion to just apply to places you enjoy the work of, not ones that just have postings. Sometimes, those firms posting are hiring to help with a job vs. someone that may come along and fit in well because of the personality, Anyways, your portfolio looks pretty solid honestly for someone with a bachelors and I would not change anything. Hang in there, something will pop up at the right time. I see you went to school in FL but in NYC now. It may be worthwhile just applying anywhere if you can swing it in the US. I started my career basically getting an internship out of college (at a great firm) when all of my peers got a straight up job. They ended up bringing me on full time after that and I have zero regrets. Sometimes you have to wiggle your foot into the door before it opens up wide.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:41 pm
Yeah i set up a google sheet today with firms that I like, regardless of an ad or not. I’m going to send emails out and check off the list this week.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:42 pm
Also, thank you for the feedback on the portfolio. And I wouldn’t mind taking another internship at all. Just wanting to get more experience in an office.
monosierra
Jan 29, 24 4:07 pm
NY is probably one of the most competitive job markets in the world. I think sending one's resume out into the nether wouldn't work in your case - hell, it wouldn't work in most young applicants' cases. Personal networks go a long way - is there an alumni network you can tap into? Professors who can connect you to prospective employers?
If you're not American, then the hiring incentives are further reduced.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:44 pm
Yeah I’m born in Florida, but have family in NYC and Florida, so I’ve bounced back and forth all my life and decided to live in nyc to be next to my mom and aunt for now.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:45 pm
And yeah I’m going meetup with some alumni from my school that work and live in NYC.
atelier nobody
Jan 29, 24 5:36 pm
I got my first architecture job by cold calling every firm in the Yellow Pages (yes, I'm that old) - the firm I ended up at started with "Y".
natematt
Jan 29, 24 6:17 pm
Genuine question to people making suggestions about cold applying. Does cold applying at an entry level really work anymore? It didn’t seem to work well when I graduated ten years ago, and I can’t imagine it’s gotten much better.
gwharton
Jan 29, 24 6:33 pm
The quality of random applicants has gone way down in the past decade, so many of us have put up lots of barriers and gatekeeping in self defense. Sad but necessary.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:47 pm
Yeah I’ve always heard mixed opinions on it, but applying directly to job ads as been slow so I think
it wouldn’t hurt to try another method.
nm_nm_nm
Jan 29, 24 6:49 pm
thank you all for the reply’s and advice. I sincerely appreciate it. Job hunting can be rough as I’m sure you all understand.
reallynotmyname
Jan 30, 24 11:37 am
Your portfolio looks acceptable, so I don't think it's the issue. Have you had anyone check your resume and cover letter to make sure there are no issues there?
smaarch
Jan 31, 24 8:38 pm
An old timer here. Your portfolio is acceptable in terms of design thought with some qualification. And yes I am in NYC. The reality is you will most likely to be hired to produce construction documents so try to balance your portfolio accordingly. That said I don't find your execution of construction documents particularly interesting. These are some fairly basic details. Two to be exact. Up the understanding of how to put something together. And the graphics. Your stair / bulkhead detail is not something I would look forward to. Just an honest assessment and no offense intended.
reallynotmyname
Feb 1, 24 12:43 pm
Do you regularly see entry-level candidate portfolios with more construction document work than the OP? I agree that what the OP has are not super-compelling, but most entry level portfolios we get have absolutely zero construction detail content. (and they go in the reject pile for that reason).
Jay1122
Feb 1, 24 10:46 am
This is normal. Fresh out of school is always the hardest. Large candidate pools, few openings and no actual job experience. You are competing with all these ivy league graduates and master degree holders across country. About half of fresh arch graduates not go into traditional architecture field and end up taking jobs in other fields. My opinion is that you should apply to jobs down in other locations too. Come back to NYC later with some experience. it's been quite a few months. You are starting to form gaps and have opportunity costs. If you can't land one in a year. I think you should consider other fields. Those CMs I deal with seems to be doing nothing yet making big bucks.
Chad Miller
Feb 1, 24 12:05 pm
Jay1122 wrote:
"This is normal. Fresh out of school is always the hardest. Large candidate pools, few openings and no actual job experience."
I agree - depending on the economy. If you have a good portfolio you'll have better odds.
"You are competing with all these ivy league graduates and master degree holders across country. "
This is pure BS.
"About half of fresh arch graduates not go into traditional architecture field and end up taking jobs in other fields. "
Have a data to back this up? I'm not doubting you, I just a haven't been able to find any data stating this.
"My opinion is that you should apply to jobs down in other locations too. Come back to NYC later with some experience. it's been quite a few months. "
This is good advice
"You are starting to form gaps and have opportunity costs. If you can't land one in a year. I think you should consider other fields.
Possibly. "
You’ll still need experience in those fields. Maybe try looking at other firms instead to get a base experience level.
"Those CMs I deal with seems to be doing nothing yet making big bucks."
You work with some stupid CM’s or don’t actually know what one dose. Most architect don't have the skill, knowledge, or experience to be a good CM.
reallynotmyname
Feb 1, 24 12:50 pm
We've had some former student interns who have graduated and gone directly in to entry-level assistant project manager roles at CM's after graduation, so it's not impossible. Some are willing to train recent graduates.
Chad Miller
Feb 1, 24 4:44 pm
really - The key word in your comment is 'some'. I know of a few recent grads in the past 20 years that could become a CM. Those few also had CM minors in addition to their B Arch or M Arch. They are the exception though. I've found that most recent grads don't have the construction, contracts, detailing, or CA experience to function as a CM.
Jay1122
Feb 2, 24 10:16 am
LOL Chad, you have not seen the applications we received for entry level jobs. You could easily get hundreds of applications to one job openings. Usually its the ivy league master degree holders that gets selected for interview first. Now I don't have solid data about how many goes into traditional field neither do I care. It was a comment I heard from my Arch school principal. Anyway it is more of an expression rather than data. And it is not a bad thing. Many arch related jobs have better hours and better pay. The CM I work with, they work for a public government agency with a couple thousand employees. That says it all. Got a project that is 1 year behind the contract substantial date. Still stalling. No consequences. Always excuses from the GC. Not much real efforts from CM too. Small renovation jobs though, so it is not like the building is not opening. Those, they put real man powers on.
Chad Miller
Feb 2, 24 10:47 am
Jay - so you have antidotal 'experience' with this and think it's common. Got it.
Jay1122
Feb 2, 24 10:58 am
Whatever dude. Maybe give OP some actual advice instead of being the forum police and pick on every sentence someone wrote.
Chad Miller
Feb 2, 24 11:05 am
I'm trying to provide the OP with actual advice and just not the limited personal experience of someone working a dead end position due to lack of skill or talent.
Josh Mings
Feb 2, 24 11:11 am
Why are you both fighting on this most holy of days? Bill Murray would be so disappointed.
Chad Miller
Feb 2, 24 11:14 am
Wait, what day is it? I ask cuz I've been working for 31 days straight and only get out of the office to ski and climb.
Also, this isn't a fight. Just Jay giving bad advice from a position of jealousy.
whistler
Feb 1, 24 1:46 pm
All my jobs were gained through networking, word of mouth and cold calling. I am not a social animal either so I was not being aggressive just focused a curated group of offices who I felt were a good fit and I had skill they would need and appreciate. Randomly dropping off resumes is not a successful strategy and anybody who attempts that to gain employment in office doesn't gain much traction.
star_sc
Feb 5, 24 3:08 pm
Great portfolio! I am also a recent grad (May 23) and have been looking since October. I think my portfolio may be on the weaker side compared to yours, but I also agree that networking is a huge part of breaking in for entry level. I have also looked for internship roles and everything I’ve seen is current student roles.
I graduated recently last year with a bachelors and have been looking for a job since October. I live in nyc so I assume the competition has been tough. Maybe my portfolio is just weak for a bachelors graduate? Or the fact that I only had 1 summer of internship experience? I wouldn't mind doing another internship to get more experience but it seems that most ads say they want someone who is currently in school. im not sure. I've been searching and applying to job ads on archinect/linkedin. specifically junior architect/architectural designer/designer jobs.
I have my portfolio linked below and welcome any tips and critique's on finding a job/improving my portfolio.
https://drive.google.com/file/...
don’t only apply to ads and job postings, just email apply to the firms you like the work of. have you tried networking with your professors from your bachelor’s? or try attending AIA events. competition is tough, it might be about who you know…
thank you for the advice! I will start doing that this week. I also am planning on attending some AIA events soon to meet people and network more.
For reference, how many firms have you applied to up to this point?
About 64 applications. Starting from the end of October until now.
FYI, October through now is generally a weird time for applying for places. The current economic uncertainty hasn't helped, but it seems to be easing somewhat (based on the amount of inquiries I've had in the last couple of weeks).
Josh, very true.
Have you been getting any interviews?
I went out on my own. However, my part-time person has been looking for full-time work since I'm not quite there yet with the workload - he's been getting some interviews lately.
I was asking NM NM NM, but glad to hear your part time guy is getting attention! :)
No interviews, only automated rejection emails so far.
reach out to fellow graduates and see if there are any openings at their offices. Some offices offer bonuses to people who help find quality employees (usually if they stick around for 6 months or something).
this is a career where you really need to build and work your network - so do good work, be good to work with, don’t burn any bridges.
Yeah I definitely will. even though I did school in Florida there’s some people I graduated with that are here in NYC too. I’m trying setting up some meetups over coffee this week.
I also second the motion to just apply to places you enjoy the work of, not ones that just have postings. Sometimes, those firms posting are hiring to help with a job vs. someone that may come along and fit in well because of the personality, Anyways, your portfolio looks pretty solid honestly for someone with a bachelors and I would not change anything. Hang in there, something will pop up at the right time. I see you went to school in FL but in NYC now. It may be worthwhile just applying anywhere if you can swing it in the US. I started my career basically getting an internship out of college (at a great firm) when all of my peers got a straight up job. They ended up bringing me on full time after that and I have zero regrets. Sometimes you have to wiggle your foot into the door before it opens up wide.
Yeah i set up a google sheet today with firms that I like, regardless of an ad or not. I’m going to send emails out and check off the list this week.
Also, thank you for the feedback on the portfolio. And I wouldn’t mind taking another internship at all. Just wanting to get more experience in an office.
NY is probably one of the most competitive job markets in the world. I think sending one's resume out into the nether wouldn't work in your case - hell, it wouldn't work in most young applicants' cases. Personal networks go a long way - is there an alumni network you can tap into? Professors who can connect you to prospective employers?
If you're not American, then the hiring incentives are further reduced.
Yeah I’m born in Florida, but have family in NYC and Florida, so I’ve bounced back and forth all my life and decided to live in nyc to be next to my mom and aunt for now.
And yeah I’m going meetup with some alumni from my school that work and live in NYC.
I got my first architecture job by cold calling every firm in the Yellow Pages (yes, I'm that old) - the firm I ended up at started with "Y".
Genuine question to people making suggestions about cold applying. Does cold applying at an entry level really work anymore? It didn’t seem to work well when I graduated ten years ago, and I can’t imagine it’s gotten much better.
The quality of random applicants has gone way down in the past decade, so many of us have put up lots of barriers and gatekeeping in self defense. Sad but necessary.
Yeah I’ve always heard mixed opinions on it, but applying directly to job ads as been slow so I think
it wouldn’t hurt to try another method.
thank you all for the reply’s and advice. I sincerely appreciate it. Job hunting can be rough as I’m sure you all understand.
Your portfolio looks acceptable, so I don't think it's the issue. Have you had anyone check your resume and cover letter to make sure there are no issues there?
An old timer here. Your portfolio is acceptable in terms of design thought with some qualification. And yes I am in NYC. The reality is you will most likely to be hired to produce construction documents so try to balance your portfolio accordingly.
That said I don't find your execution of construction documents particularly interesting. These are some fairly basic details. Two to be exact. Up the understanding of how to put something together. And the graphics. Your stair / bulkhead detail is not something I would look forward to.
Just an honest assessment and no offense intended.
Do you regularly see entry-level candidate portfolios with more construction document work than the OP? I agree that what the OP has are not super-compelling, but most entry level portfolios we get have absolutely zero construction detail content. (and they go in the reject pile for that reason).
This is normal. Fresh out of school is always the hardest. Large candidate pools, few openings and no actual job experience. You are competing with all these ivy league graduates and master degree holders across country. About half of fresh arch graduates not go into traditional architecture field and end up taking jobs in other fields. My opinion is that you should apply to jobs down in other locations too. Come back to NYC later with some experience. it's been quite a few months. You are starting to form gaps and have opportunity costs. If you can't land one in a year. I think you should consider other fields. Those CMs I deal with seems to be doing nothing yet making big bucks.
Jay1122 wrote:
"This is normal. Fresh out of school is always the hardest. Large candidate pools, few openings and no actual job experience."
I agree - depending on the economy. If you have a good portfolio you'll have better odds.
"You are competing with all these ivy league graduates and master degree holders across country. "
This is pure BS.
"About half of fresh arch graduates not go into traditional architecture field and end up taking jobs in other fields. "
Have a data to back this up? I'm not doubting you, I just a haven't been able to find any data stating this.
"My opinion is that you should apply to jobs down in other locations too. Come back to NYC later with some experience. it's been quite a few months. "
This is good advice
"You are starting to form gaps and have opportunity costs. If you can't land one in a year. I think you should consider other fields. Possibly. "
You’ll still need experience in those fields. Maybe try looking at other firms instead to get a base experience level.
"Those CMs I deal with seems to be doing nothing yet making big bucks."
You work with some stupid CM’s or don’t actually know what one dose. Most architect don't have the skill, knowledge, or experience to be a good CM.
We've had some former student interns who have graduated and gone directly in to entry-level assistant project manager roles at CM's after graduation, so it's not impossible. Some are willing to train recent graduates.
really - The key word in your comment is 'some'. I know of a few recent grads in the past 20 years that could become a CM. Those few also had CM minors in addition to their B Arch or M Arch. They are the exception though. I've found that most recent grads don't have the construction, contracts, detailing, or CA experience to function as a CM.
LOL Chad, you have not seen the applications we received for entry level jobs. You could easily get hundreds of applications to one job openings. Usually its the ivy league master degree holders that gets selected for interview first. Now I don't have solid data about how many goes into traditional field neither do I care. It was a comment I heard from my Arch school principal. Anyway it is more of an expression rather than data. And it is not a bad thing. Many arch related jobs have better hours and better pay. The CM I work with, they work for a public government agency with a couple thousand employees. That says it all. Got a project that is 1 year behind the contract substantial date. Still stalling. No consequences. Always excuses from the GC. Not much real efforts from CM too. Small renovation jobs though, so it is not like the building is not opening. Those, they put real man powers on.
Jay - so you have antidotal 'experience' with this and think it's common. Got it.
Whatever dude. Maybe give OP some actual advice instead of being the forum police and pick on every sentence someone wrote.
I'm trying to provide the OP with actual advice and just not the limited personal experience of someone working a dead end position due to lack of skill or talent.
Why are you both fighting on this most holy of days? Bill Murray would be so disappointed.
Wait, what day is it? I ask cuz I've been working for 31 days straight and only get out of the office to ski and climb.
Also, this isn't a fight. Just Jay giving bad advice from a position of jealousy.
All my jobs were gained through networking, word of mouth and cold calling. I am not a social animal either so I was not being aggressive just focused a curated group of offices who I felt were a good fit and I had skill they would need and appreciate. Randomly dropping off resumes is not a successful strategy and anybody who attempts that to gain employment in office doesn't gain much traction.
Great portfolio! I am also a recent grad (May 23) and have been looking since October. I think my portfolio may be on the weaker side compared to yours, but I also agree that networking is a huge part of breaking in for entry level. I have also looked for internship roles and everything I’ve seen is current student roles.