The coronavirus pandemic has hit most UK industries very hard and the job market for architects is undoubtedly a challenging and competitive one at present. In this career resilience feature, architects reveal the resources and strategies that helped them find jobs in interesting practices, explaining how they demonstrated their skills to the right employers.
Be proactive: take the initiative
Sana Tabassum has been an Architectural Assistant at Carless + Adams, having studied at the University of Greenwich. It is clear that it took considerable initiative and tenacity to secure this role.
“I was looking for roles before I graduated,” Tabassum explains. “I ended up having 9 interviews over 10 months: mostly in-person but one online.”
Social media plays a vital role in today’s market. Her journey to a job offer was ultimately via LinkedIn, albeit indirectly. A conversation sparked by a different application informed her that Carless + Adams had a Part 1 vacancy. Tabassum applied for this unadvertised role and she was successful.
It was an unadvertised role that young architect Kuda Mushangi won at Henry Halebrown. A friend had sent him a notification that they were advertising for a Part 1. He wanted a Part 2 position but applied speculatively.
“They were looking but had not yet made it public,” he reveals. “I was lucky, but I was also sending out numerous speculative applications at the time and contacting many practices: sometimes 10 phone calls a day.”
Stay positive and build confidence
Clearly, you make your own luck. Mushangi admits that being so forthright was a challenge, and putting the same amount of energy and enthusiasm into each phone call was difficult.
“At first I was nervous. I explained that I was a fresh MArch graduate looking for a Part 2 vacancy and would politely ask about their situation. Often they would be dismissive. But I always told myself that the next phone call might be my job.”
This process was a great confidence builder. He remembers a valuable conversation with Cambridge-based Mole Architects, in which they asked about his thesis and were impressed at how keen he was. Even if introducing yourself to practices this way does not lead to a job, you are essentially practicing your interview technique time and again.
Use social media
If it is not already abundantly clear, social media plays a vital role in today’s job market. The advertisement that led to Mushangi’s job had been posted on Instagram. He had also been following practices on LinkedIn and other social media while a student, commenting on their content and posting his own.
“I kept in the loop with practices, following them and building up an online rapport," he says.
Sana Tabassum is a keen blogger, who enjoys providing useful information to her peers and architecture students.
“My blogging and sharing of links has introduced me to a mini-community,” she states. “I have reached out to Part 3 architects, tutors and Associates to provide tools and resources.”
Stay open minded to different sectors
Carless + Adams specialise in assisted living projects and care homes. This brings up numerous sector-specific design considerations that architects do not typically learn about in their education.
“It has been a really instructive experience to learn about real-world design issues in this sector,” Tabassum enthuses. “Accessibility issues, for example, such as the heights of windows and sills that would enable a bedridden occupant to look out of the window.”
Being open to sectors that you might not have initially considered can lead to a job that provides satisfying challenges and can broaden your experience base. Having projects in your portfolio that relate to a practice’s specialism is obviously very valuable, but demonstrating awareness of and enthusiasm for the practice’s work is even more important.
“My first round interview was talking through my CV and portfolio, but the second discussed what I might want to do in the firm, what I was looking forward to, and what my interests were,” Tabassum explains.
For Mushangi, Henry Halebrown’s work complemented his own interest in social housing.
“My passion is the residential sector and my thesis was based on social housing,” he explains. “In the interview we discussed that with relation to what the practice does. I do of course want to become a well-rounded architect and I can expand on my interests as my career progresses.”
Make the most of online learning resources
Software skills are one of many areas that an architect can self-improve on in the content rich, one click away era we are living in. While Tabassum speaks highly of her university education, she was not taught much more than the basics of industry standard software.
“The level of Revit experience practices expect does seem to vary, but it certainly helps to educate yourself in it,” Tabassum suggests. “My tutor taught me the essentials of Autodesk 3ds Max, but I learned a lot from YouTube tutorials for AutoCAD and SketchUp.”
She also enthuses about the support offered by Architecture Social, a community hub which was set up by architect Stephen Drew.
“It is like a LinkedIn specifically for architecture and can connect students with employers and firms,” she explains. “It offers one to one portfolio reviews. You can submit your work – leaving out the identifying details – and receive constructive feedback from other members.”
Thanks to Sana Tabassum, Architectural Assistant, Carless + Adams; and Kuda Mushangi, Architectural Assistant, Henry Halebrown.
Text by Neal Morris. This is a Professional Feature edited by the RIBA Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
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Find out more about job applications and interviews:
- How to impress in a job interview
- Do you have the right technical and practical experience?
- Seven design tips from architects for compiling your Part 1 portfolio
- How to impress a potential employer with your first architecture portfolio
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Article first published on 28 January 2021.
