Letting the Artist Show Through in an Architecture Resume
By Sayaka Seino
A well-written resume is a vital part of a job search in the architecture industry. It should reflect who you are as a designer and the style you are capable of. Crafted well, it should bring attention to key projects and experiences that apply to the position. As a design project, it advertises your capabilities. Within the industry, it is common to implement creativity and uniqueness in a resume, but all the basic elements of a traditional resume should still be present. It should be short, clear, concise, and with easy to read sections that include: personal contact information, which may mention a portfolio website; education, listing degrees in reverse chronological order; professional experience, where highlights of your architectural projects are placed; a skills section can include design, rendering, hand sketching, model building, and schematics you created, and software knowledge you have worked with, such as AutoCAD and Adobe Photoshop. There should also be a section for awards, which flag success in design competitions. Depending on your level of experience, you may consider listing studio projects as well.

	It should reflect who you are as a designer and the style you are capable of.

A well-written resume is a vital part of your job search in the architecture industry. It must be clear and concise in communicating your personal accomplishments, skills, talents, and background. In additional to the more traditional pieces of information, your resume should also reflect who you are as a designer and what style of work you are capable of. Think of your resume as a design project that markets and advertises your capabilities. It should reflect key projects and experiences that best apply to the skills required by the position you're applying for as well as the employer you are targeting.

Avoid allowing your resume to become too lengthy or too complicated. A resume for an architecture job or internship should be short, clear, concise, and easy to read. Sections that should be included are:

• Personal Contact Information: Include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number. The e-mail address you provide should be professional and include your name. If you have an online portfolio, the URL should go here.
  
  
• Education: Begin with your most recent degree. Include the name of the institution, degree earned, year of completion, city and state, and whatever majors or minors are relevant. Additional degrees should be listed in chronological order.
  
  
• Professional Experience: Include any relevant professional experience you have, including internships. List specific information regarding projects you've worked on such as education architecture or health care architecture. If you have contributed to or given presentations, attended meetings as an intern, or contributed to a design library, include these as they will really stand out to a potential employer.
  

  A well-written resume is a vital part of your job search in the architecture industry.

  
  
• Skills: The skills section of your resume should be detailed with plenty of information about your capabilities. Some skills you may want to mention, assuming they apply to you, include design, rendering, hand sketching, model building, and schematics. You should also highlight any soft skins you have, like communication, team building and customer service. Any carpentry or construction skills are worth mentioning as well. Finally, list computer hardware or software knowledge that you may possess. Important applications worth mentioning are AutoCAD, Microsoft, and Adobe Photoshop. If you have any specialty experiences like sustainable design, building to be green, art history, museum history or graphic arts, you should mention these as well.
  
  
• Awards and Honors: An awards and honors section can include prizes and awards from design competitions and contests, information about your college GPA, and any on-campus leadership positions or activities you participated in. Depending on your level of experience you may consider listing studio projects, but it might be wise to add these into a Selected Accomplishments section so they stand out from the other accomplishments you are attempting to showcase.
  

In the architecture industry, it is common to implement more creativity and uniqueness into your resume than in most other industries. Your resume is certainly allowed to be more design-oriented than a traditional resume, but all of the basic elements of a traditional resume should still be present. Aim to use a readable font and font size. However, unlike traditional resumes, you may design your own unique letterhead, using a logo if you have one.

While an entire resume can easily extend to several pages, you should aim to keep it no more than one carefully designed page. You should not need to showcase any work in your resume because this will be requested in the form of a portfolio by a potential employer who is satisfied with what he sees in your resume. If you're not sure how to begin your resume or are having difficulties proceeding, consider seeking professional assistance, because every detail truly does matter when making the right impression.