Thoughts on the 2013 AIA National Convention

The 2013 AIA National Convention was this past weekend in Denver, and overall, to me, it was...okay. The seminars early in the weekend, like on Thursday and on Friday morning, seemed like basic information--marketing 101, firm management 101, all style and little substance. The Friday afternoon and Saturday seminars seemed a little gutsier: a conversation (with an actual lawyer!) about the grey areas of architectural ethics, a discussion of how AIA Continuing Education is lacking in how it teaches its profession (and some of the steps it's taking to improve, as well as things we can do to make our in-house education better), and a fantastic discussion with some emerging professionals on how to really engage the future of the architectural profession.

It was that last seminar that made the weekend worthwhile. It wasn't just that four sharp young professionals stood on a stage and said "here's how to engage Millennials", it was that they had the guts to lay out the bleak economic realities of being an intern in 2013--the rising cost of education; the starting pay that doesn't match the second mortgage that is college debt; and the fact that "normal" for interns is a lot of job hopping, working in related fields, and doing contract work instead of having a nice and steady gig (like I've had for thirteen years--I know I've been fortunate and atypical). I also appreciated that the overall message was that "emerging professionals" are a) a tough bunch to pin down due to the fact that "emerging" covers a 26-year range of experience and age, and b) they're just like everyone else.  They want to learn, want to participate, and want to make a contribution to a firm and to society.  It was the perfect way to cap off what started out as a bland and uninspiring weekend of an old, white profession patting itself on the back for still being kinda-sorta-almost-relevant.

To all interns out there: it's getting better. Stay with me.  I need you to stay in this profession and make it better, kinder, more profitable, and more sustainable (both in terms of the environment and life-work balance). There aren't enough Gen Xers like me to go around to help lead firms, so you're going to have to step up and step into the roles we need you to play.  And I know you'll do so with grace and vigor, with both substance and style.

Random weblinks for another busy week

In the spirit of being lazy with my blog so I can be busy as hell at work, I bring you a few more links today. This week's theme is optimism, especially as it relates to architecture.

Is it finally a good time to be an architect? Maybe, says this article.

More interns are getting licensed and employed these days, or so the figures are showing.

In other news, compliments may have a similar effect on a person as giving them cash. While on the face of it, that doesn't sounds like good news, it means that your firm can't just throw money at you and hope you'll be quiet and happy--they're actually going to have to treat you like a human being. Money in the form of raises, bonuses, and additional paid time off can bost morale, but it only goes so far. Research shows that at some point, people feel like they're being bought off, and morale dips again.

Redlined Resumes: more info, please

This week's Redlined Resume comes from SE, whose format I strangely like.  S/He starts with Experience, then goes to Education, which puts the emphasis on SE's experience and work ethic--a subtle but important angle.  However, I need more information as to what experiences and tasks were included in that work experience because the jobs and roles have been overly-bulleted.  When SE was a woodworker or fabricator, what did s/he make and do every day?  When SE was a shop manager or designer, what did s/he design or do typically as part of that role?  By defining those roles and tasks, SE can indicate to a potential firm all the many skills that s/he has and can contribute to a firm.

SE will have room on the resume to add those things once s/he deletes the list of attributes under "Areas of Competency".  As I've stated in a previous post, seeking out new challenges and a willingness to learn are a given for any intern and don't need to be stated in a resume.  (Hobbies at the bottom of the resume can also be deleted--we can talk about hobbies during the interview.) I would also find a different phrase than "hard work" to describe the physical building and labor that SE has done.  All of architecture is hard work, even if someone isn't swinging a hammer.

By removing some extraneous info and adding more explanation to his/her various job descriptions, SE can illustrate a great blend of design knowledge and technical experience that would be an asset to any architecture firm.  Right on, SE!

Creative outlets for workaday interns

One of 8,000 things I love about working with interns is that they never fail to surprise me in good ways.  Recently, I wore to work a pair of nicely-made wood and aluminum earrings that I purchased for a handsome price at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival here in Denver.  As I filled my coffee cup that morning, another intern complimented my earrings and said, "Did you buy those from X?", X being an intern in our office.  I said no, I got them from an art fair, and thanked the intern for the compliment.  A few hours later as I was heating up my lunch, an architect waiting for the microwave asked me, "Ooh, did you get those from X's Etsy site?"  Again, no, but thank you for the compliment.  


It occurred to me that maybe I should see X's work for myself. I asked him for a link to his site, and once there I beheld some of the most elegant, well-made, and reasonably priced jewelry I'd seen in a long time.  He did outstanding work. And it occurred to me: how many interns are doing what X does, finding time outside of work for creative endeavors with perhaps even a bit of microcapitalism thrown in for good measure?  X makes time on weekends and evenings to indulge in this hobby-turned-second-income-source. In talking with X, it appears that this hobby/income gives him above all a source for replenishing the well of creativity, which is often lacking in an intern's usual work day.  


Making families and detail components in Revit is nice, and checking shop drawings is educational, but where's the pure creativity in it?  It's easy to get overwhelmed with the dailiness of our profession, and I don't want that everyday-ness to kill your creative spirit.  I've recently started making (bad/horrible/amateur) multimedia collage/art projects in my spare time as a means of getting back to that feeling of purely wanting to express something through a visual means.  I'm still as bad at it now as I was in college (I swear, sometimes I don't know how I made it through six years of studio), but it feels good to paint with watercolors and make tiny designs with ink and cutcutcutcutcut with an X-Acto knife. 


And something else occurred to me: I have a blog that's read by interns all over the U.S., and indeed the world.  What creative outlets do you pursue?  Would you want to show them on this site?  And would you want me to link to your Etsy site or to a brick-and-mortar store that sells your goods?  Let me know via email from the sidebar or in the comments below.  I'd love to get a community going here for interns's creativity and entrepreneurship.

Redlined Resumes: straightforward, clear, and sharp

CT's resume, our submission for today, is just...well done.  It's clear and well constructed, not just in terms of the format but also the content.  As usual, I advise that CT remove the Eagle Scouts awards and the Interests section, but my remaining comments are just small tweaks on a good thing.

Double-click image to see enlarged image in separate browser or tab.

My one graphic concern is CT's use of the yellow slash at each section--this is a nice feature, but it might not show up if this is printed in black and white.  If CT is looking for a warmer color (that's not red, which everyone seems to use), then maybe a more orangey-yellow or rust-color might be appropriate.  That would more likely show up as some shade of grey instead of barely a smudge, which I suspect might happen with the yellow. CT can emphasize his* ability to speak various languages (which could be very helpful depending on where the firm works) and his ability to coordinate meal prep for a large number of people (catering is a tough job, and it requires mental and physical fortitude as well as the ability to organize and coordinate lots of people and activities).


CT has also managed to do something that's difficult for even 25-year veterans of architecture: he's summarized his jobs and tasks into three sentences, each starting with an active verb.  "Created construction documents..."  "Prepared exhibit materials..."  "Manage hundreds of orders..."  Architects are taught, whether by school or starchitects' books or both or neither, that we need to be verbose and use $20 words throughout our writing.  However, using fairly simple writing and well-edited sentences allow our readers to be entertained and informed without having to work so damn hard to understand what's being written, and that's what CT's resume ultimately does here.  Everything is explained in 1-3 sentences, some of which have concrete examples ("...projects up to 40,000 square feet").  CT, my hat's off to you!


*I generally keep these resume reviews gender neutral--however, the fact that CT was an Eagle Scout pretty clearly makes him a "he".


If you have a resume you'd like to have edited for Redlined Resumes, or if you have a question you'd like to ask or a topic you'd like to see discussed here, let me know in the coments or via email in the sidebar.  Thanks!

Redlined Resumes: Nicely done!

Today's Redlined Resume comes from GPV, who combined a fantastic image of his/her work with a clear method for describing his/her experience and education.   Contact info is snugged up underneath an image of the work, while Skills are then set at the bottom of the page so they a) save space in the body of the resume for the Education and Experience as well as Honors, and b) they stand out to anyone who just wants to know "does this person have experience with X or Y software?" Also, by turning the date vertically and setting it off with a colored bar (that is bold/dark enough to show up well if the resume is printed in black and white), GPV saves space on the resume and allows more room for his/her experience and education to speak.

Double-click on the image to open it larger in another browser tab or window.

GPV has a few spelling and grammatical errors here, but overall this is a great resume that reads well graphically.  I would recommend deleting a few of the earliest studios, and I'd be a little wary of telling folks over and over that you had your work printed in the same publication.  If it's a school publication, that might not mean as much to someone who doesn't know much about that school.  At the very least, the publication needs to be defined early on in the resume.  


Overall, GPV has a resume that will really appeal to a firm that's looking to improve or continue its design-related strengths and focus, and the resume reads like someone who knows how to design well but not over-design.  Would that I were so sharp myself!

Center for Emerging Professionals Webinar: Talent and Culture

Mad props once again to the AIA's Center for Emerging Professionals for putting on this series of webinars open to all levels of folks in the architectural profession.  The fourth in the four-part series, is on Talent and Culture, which will be broadcast in December 1st.  It's $15, and I've heard from others on this blog that the seminars are really good and worth it.

Taking the ARE early? Woohoo!

I received an email from Intern 101 reader Joe, who passed along info on taking the ARE early.  Indeed, some states allow you to take some or all portion of the ARE before you have completed the required work hours.  You can find a list of what each state/jurisdiction allows by clicking here.


 NCARB brought itself into alignment with this movement in 2011 and spoke at length about the changes at the 2011 National Convention in New Orleans in May.  To NCARB, all you need is three things: the accredited education, the time spent in an approved work environment, and to pass all seven sections of the test.  Who cares what order you do them in?  While my inner fuddy-duddy harrumphs at this, I overall think it's a good thing. I think of interns in my office who have been hamstrung by the crappy economy and haven't been able to finish their on-site CA credits.  With this rule in effect, they can start taking tests while waiting for a project to make it all the way to construction and finish their credits then.  I also think of interns who have been laid off and unable to find a new job.  With at least some of their credits in place, they can start testing while they have some time to study.


However, I would warn against anyone coming straight out of school and immediately starting into the tests.  Why?  Two reasons.  Number one: While you do need to study for the ARE regardless of how long it's been since you were in college, some of the stuff on the tests makes more sense when you've actually seen or done it on a job.  And number two: you may decide you don't want this.  Yes, that's a weird thought to have, but plenty of gung-ho students realize a couple of years into the profession that they don't want to do this anymore.  That's already a real downer after 4-6 years of schooling, but it's even suckier when you've dropped several hundred dollars on licensing tests that you'll never use.

YAF Mentoring Series: Doing Good Work Webinar

Yet again, the Young Architects Forum (YAF) is sponsoring another webinar (with which you can gain 1.5 LUs!) on doing good work.  I love that the YAF is doing the kind of thing that I encourage firms to do with their interns in my AIA seminars and hopefully on this blog.  If you work at a firm that doesn't yet have any mentorship programs going on, or if you're between firms, this is a good option.  (Though frankly, I think this kind of webinar can be helpful even if you get great mentorship wherever you work.)  You can see a description of the event and register for it here.

Using your skillz to pay the billz

I went to lunch with an intern at my office recently to find out how things were going for him, both project-wise and firm-wise.  The intern has only been at out firm for about three months, and he was put on my project about a month ago and really thrown into the fire.  Between bites of empanada, he told me that things were going well, but he was a little disappointed--he wasn't doing what he thought he'd be doing, the reason he thought we'd hired him in the first place.  When he interviewed at our firm, he explained that he was really good at working through a design into how it actually worked and got built.  He was great at Sketch-Up and used it as a design tool to then explain how to build something, then carry that design through to CDs.  However, for just about the whole three months he'd been with our firm, he was all Revit all the time.


I had to laugh a bit, mostly because I think our profession is a lot of "this is not what I thought I was going to be doing."  But I also tried to comfort him by revealing a bit of the Big Picture.  He may have wanted to do some design stuff in Sketch-Up, but the fact is that right now, when he was interviewing, we need people to draw designs that have already been partly- to mostly-thought out. But his skills aren't going to waste the way he might think.  Thing is, firms hear about plenty of interns (and architects, mind you) who want to design pretty stuff, but some of these folks will have a nervous breakdown if you  ask them to actually detail and figure out how to build it, how to make it so.  When my intern stated that he enjoys and is good at taking a design in Sketch-Up into the how-and-where, that's a great skill that transcends software platform.  That kind of thinking and problem-solving is useful and important in all areas of a design and construction project.  Further, the opportunity to use the exact skills and software he described will come.  He can remind people that he can do that (and he should remind them), but the chance to do what he enjoys will come.  It's just that we don't have the exact need right now...but we will.


When you tell potential or present employers about your strengths and skills, dn't just think about the exact situation and platform on which you're trying to do the work.  Think about the overall skills that you use when doing those tasks to which you feel particularly suited.  That intern of mine is now designing and coordinating the ceilings in a 250,000-sf medical building--he's working through design intent and ideas with one architect and the interior designers on one hand, and he's making it work with the mechanical and structural engineers on the other hand, all using Revit.  It may not be exactly what he hoped to do, but it uses the same skills.  Those are skills that firm managers can use now and in the future, which is how they make hiring decisions.

YAF Mentoring Series: Operating Profitably Webinar

The Young Architects Forum (YAF) is sponsoring another webinar (with which you can gain 1.5 LUs!) regarding operating profitably.  Now, while this webinar may discuss general issues regarding the topic (as opposed to training you on the topic itself), it's still very useful stuff to know.  It's the kind of thing that I encourage firms to do with their interns in my AIA seminars and hopefully on this blog.


You can learn more and sign up by going here.  I hear from those who have seen a previous webinar in this series that they're really informative and worth the $15 or so.

IDP 2.0: Changes even an architect can love

While in New Orleans, I had the good fortune to sit in on a seminar with Nick Serfass and Rachel Kros of NCARB, who outlined some of the finer points of the changes being installed by IDP 2.0.  Usually it seems like governing boards and bureaucracies tend to obfuscate in their attempts to clarify, though their aim is usually the opposite.  However, the various changes to IDP to be rolled out anytime between now and Spring of 2012 are doing some really good things that I can get behind, even as a licensed architect.  As Kros and Serfass explained in the seminar, IDP was created back in the 1970s, and some of its requirements no longer reflect the way architecture is done anymore, especially with respect to technology.


Its biggest changes evolve from a change in NCARB philosophy.  In order to get licensed, you need three things: a degree, the experience, and the passing of the ARE.  So who's to say in what order those things need to happen?  So, the first big change I can get behind is that you're eligible to join NCARB and start racking up IDP credits as soon as you're enrolled in an NAAB- or CACB-accredited degree program--no more waiting until after your junior year to start working!


It used to be that, in order for your hours to count, you had to work at least 32 (or 35?) hours a week for 8 weeks straight to get credit for IDP.  Under IDP 2.0, you only have to work 15 hours a week for 8 weeks straight (minimum).  This change does two things: one, if you're working in an area still affected by the economy and no one can hire you full-time during a summer or while you're working and in school, you're not hosed out of credits; and two, it acknowledges that we no longer hand-draw and can actually learn a decent amount of stuff in 15 hours a week (e.g., in 1975, you worked with an architect for an hour, then went and hand-drafted the changes into the plan for 6 or 8 hours).


Another great change is that IDP now allows for some of your experience time to be virtual--a portion of your direct supervision time can be achieved through a mix of personal contact and remote, electronic communication, such as email, teleconferencing, and Skype.  This is great if you end up working onsite of a big project, or if your project is far away and you have to do some of your project meetings or OAC meetings via teleconference or videoconference.  Another great change in the experience setting category is that you can get credits for not just working through supplemental education courses (such as those supplied and produced by NCARB), but you can also get credits for passing the LEED exam or working on a design competition.


You can read more about the changes here, and I encourage you to do so.  Even as a licensed architect who no longer has to worry about IDP, I think these changes acknowledge the wide array of experiences from which interns learn and benefit.

I want to hug these people

A friend and colleague of mine sent me a link to a blog called Architects Who Eat Their Young, and I have to say that I want to hug the people that put this blog together, and then I want to pay them fairly. First of all, I have to love any blog that puts the words "pimping architects" in their URL. Second of all (and more importantly), I'm glad to see someone saying what I've been saying for a long time: interns should be paid for their work--there's no such thing as an unpaid internship. If you've got the skills to be an intern, then you should be compensated--and fairly so--for having and using those skills. And not only are these guys saying it, but they're actually posting ads from firms (and using those firms' names) that advertise an "unpaid internship". Yes. Yes! YES!

AIA Young Architects Mentoring Series -- right on!

I apologize for the lack of posts--I've been on deadline and then out of town. Just as I got back, I got the email below from AIA Young Architects Forum. I'm glad to see them really taking a solid interest in mentoring. Hopefully I'll be able to catch one or more of these and report back. (And if you attend one of these webinars, feel free to write a review for Intern 101! And I'm having a hard time getting this to publish properly, so you might be best served by clicking on the links and going right to the website.)

AIA Professional Architect Mentoring Series Session 1: Getting Work The College of Fellows and the Young Architects Forum are sponsoring the development of a new, easy-to-participate webinar series to foster mentoring in the profession. The mentoring series is directed to firm and organization leaders, unlicensed professionals, young architects, and current and potential trainers and mentors to help them understand what mentoring is and how to establish successful mentoring programs.The program will provide established practitioners with the skills and tools to act as mentors and career coaches to young licensed professionals and unlicensed interns. Description: Each webinar will help mentors and mentees deal with a topic, rather than train on the topic itself. Our first session,“Getting Work,”will deal with marketing and business development. Schedule: Session 1: Getting Work Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 2pm EDT Session 2: Profitability Second Quarter 2011* Session 3: Doing Good Work Third Quarter 2011* Session 4: Talent and Culture Fourth Quarter 2011* Participation: View the Professional Architect Mentoring Series flyer, or Register here for the first session. Fee: $15 per registrant (via Paypal.) Groups may view webinar, but individuals must register to receive the 1.5 AIA Learning Unit. *Session under development, date and time to be determined.

New Year, new chances, and new challenges

Happy New Year to all my readers, and many many thanks for continuing to visit this nonsense of a blog and sending me questions. I was sent some great questions at the end of last year, and I know I need to get to them (and so I shall). As we step into this new year and say goodbye and good riddance to 2010, I do have a few observations, comments, and predictions:

1. 2011 is shaping up to be a decent year economically, but don't dare expect a good, solid recovery to 2007 levels. Here in Colorado, we've seen a sizeable uptick in healthcare and smaller movements in educational work, but it might be a while (six months, perhaps) before we see movement in other sectors. Real estate has to get moving again for some sectors to move forward.
2. That slooow increase in work should add some entry level jobs in architecture for interns, but some of you may benefit in unexpected ways from the downturn. Some of your cohorts have left the profession due to being laid off for too long, or due to being laid off from a profession that they've realized they really didn't like. Either way, depending on your market, you might be able to find a job more so than in 2009 and 2010.
3. Tired of the public debating who designs better museums, Frank Gehry will fight Daniel Liebskind in a no-time-limit MMA match on pay-per-view. I predict that Gehry will win by tapout.
4. Personally, I think some firms are going to lose people as the economy comes back, especially if those firms didn't treat their employees very well. (Some of you may fall into this category. If so, I say carpe diem.)
5. Some of you who are still at firms will find yourselves getting stretched a little thin when the work comes back but your firm is scared to hire more folks. While this can be frustrating and exhausting at times, use this lack of staffing as a reason to learn about more/unusual parts of a project and a firm and get those overdue IDP credits.
6. If you haven't had a performance review, now is a good time to ask for and/or schedule one. It's a good opportunity to ask for feedback on what you do well and what you could better as well as share your thoughts on what can make work easier and more productive for you and your colleagues.

I don't really make resolutions each year, but I do plan to learn how to set some limits and use my energy a little more wisely this year. What about you?

Lulu's Mailbag: Is doing a competition like cheating on your employer?

I know, I know, more Mailbag. But why not? We've had some great questions lately, including this one from R, who hasn't been able to get a job yet in the economy...

So in the meantime I've been working with another unemployed from my graduate classes to do a couple of competitions. We haven't won/place/show/honorable mentioned in anything yet and are now starting to think we need to seek out ways for our participation to be known. It seems like competitions are a bit light on publication of entries and we might be the only ones who have seen what we've put together (aside from new pages in our portfolios). How do we get our images out there? Any thoughts?
Secondly, although we're not architects yet, we appreciate the ability, and freedom, of making our own designs. We are hoping to continue doing competitions in some manner when we do land jobs. Any thoughts on this sort of competition moonlighting? (Really, it doesn't feel like cheating-the-employer type of moonlighting yet, although that might change when we do win something!)

There are two questions here from R. One is how to we publicize our involvement in competitions, and two is how acceptable is it to do competitions while working. Let's address these in order:

First, it's a little tough to drum up interest in your competition work if you haven't won anything yet. Winning makes it easier to toot your own horn. That being said, there are other ways to broadcast your efforts. The obvious first way is to create a blog or website that allows you and your pals to showcase your work. Then, any potential employer can surf on over and have a look at your efforts. The second is through the print media. First, you can write a press release to a local architectural publication or even your local paper about how you and your pals are making the best of a down economy by gong after design competitions. This might also allow you to get featured in the paper or some other publication as a human interest story: look how these kids aren't just sitting around at their parents' houses, waiting for a phone call--they're out doing cool stuff! There are books and online articles about how to write a press release. However, I have to say that I wrote up press releases for the seminar I did at the national AIA convention this year, and no one picked it up. Here's hoping you have better luck than I did.

Second, the competitions and work: overall, it's a good thing. Firms know that you don't get much creative control in your first few years in the business for a variety of reasons, and there's nothing wrong (and many things right) with entering competitions. However, if the competition is to do an actual project that could be built, you might want to talk with your manager(s) and/or firm owner(s). If you win a competition to do a building that will actually be built, you're going to need a licensed architect on board to oversee the design. That's where your firm would come in handy--suddenly, you'd have built-in support to get a project done, plus you'd actually be bringing in work for the firm. When you talk to the firm owners, be sure your group is all in agreement on how the work would be done. Explain that you're happy to do all the work and design on the front end, and that if you win the project that you'd like to be on the project team. If the firm insists on putting someone else on the competition team with you and your buds, be willing to either work with that person or stand your ground about it just being you and your friends...and know that standing your ground might leave a bad taste in the firm owner's mouth. (Remember, just because we're all old and cranky doesn't mean we might not be interested in doing a cool competition with you--your enthusiasm gets us excited!)

Got a question for Lulu or a topic you'd like to see discussed here? Tell me in the comments or via email in the sidebar, and thanks again for all your support and comments!

Lulu's Mailbag: How to toot my own horn on a competition design?

More Lulu's Mailbag again! I really appreciate folks sending me questions, by the way--it makes for a more interesting blog. I can tell you what I think is interesting, but I'd rather hear your questions. Today's question is from J, a return reader/Mailbag Writer, who says:

I graduated in December 2009 from IIT and one of my last Studio's I worked on was a Design/Build studio(spring 2008, summer 2008). Designing during the spring semester a small field chapel in Germany and building the design over the summer. The project went extremely well, an amazing time, an incredible experience professionally and definitely the high point of my B. Arch. Two years have passed and we've received some great attention. [links to various websites and magazine publications here] The Chicago AIA Chapter gave us a Distinguished building - Honor award [for this project].

I'm wondering how to call attention the project, outside of everything I can present in my portfolio. Do I mention the project being published in a book? I know the internet article is only of little importance, as anyone can publish something on the Internet, I'm just wondering if there is a way to mention the book gracefully. Outside of just calling out the Award on my resume is their a better way?

Wow! This is great news indeed, and I don't know why you wouldn't walk into an interview with this news on a t-shirt that you not only wear but also shoot into the potential office with a t-shirt cannon. Okay, I'm kidding (kind of), but I think you can make this more apparent in your cover letter as well as your resume. If you have a section on your resume called "Honors and Awards" or "Competitions", you can describe the project briefly and then list the Chicago award and then say "Featured in Awesome Architecture 2010 (Little, Brown Publishers, 2010)". You should use that section of your resume to describe all the places that the project has been featured as well as any and all awards it has received. Further, you can mention the award and publication in your cover letter or introductory email to a potential firm: "I would be excited to bring my design skills to your firm; my senior studio design team's work received the Chicago AIA's Distinguished Building Honor Award for 2010 and was featured in a recent architectural publication." Furthermore, you can use this project as a way to discuss your usefulness as an architect trying to detail something--after all, having actually had to build something you drew, you have a unique perspective on design and construction. Be sure that you describe the "I built it too!" part on your resume. Do you have any pictures of you and your group actually working on it? Arrange those on a page in your resume, or even better you could provide a link to a blog or website that shows everyone the project. The website might be dedicated to your work alone, or it might be dedicated to the project alone (sketches, final boards, in process construction photos, final product, list of and links to awards).

And speaking of online presence, I'd still mention the internet article about the project. Yes, any fruitcake can publish something online (I'm "Exhibit A"), but it might be on a website with which a firm is familiar, and they might go, "Oh, cool! I saw that building! That was this guy? Get him in here!" It also might excite a not-so-into-design firm: "Neat! This guy's a good designer; maybe he can help us class up our strip malls!" However, bear in mind that if you send your resume to a firm that's more about production than awesome design, your honors may not have as much impact. That's okay--keep tooting your own horn, and don't sweat it.

If you have a topic you'd like to see discussed here, or a burning question about the architectural profession, feel free to ask me in the comments or drop me a line via email in the sidebar. Thanks, and have a great Thanksgiving!

Managing up: even your boss likes the idea

My apologies for the lack of posts--between traveling, a doubling of my workload, and internet problems at home (from whence I write my posts), I haven't been able to rub two brain cells together to make a coherent post. However, I did want to pass on some good news from the mentoring front. I recently gave a guest lecture/seminar/discussion for the AIA East Tennessee chapter, and the roomfull of partners, firm VPs, and project managers showed me that there are some folks out there who are actually concerned with how well we train and mentor the future of our profession.

There were a lot of great comments and discussion during the seminar, due in no small part to the interns and college students who were also present. I wanted to share one comment here briefly as a helpful pointer in managing your boss:

At one point in the seminar, I asked the crowd how they would respond to an intern if it was 5pm and the manager still wasn't done with something they wanted the intern to plot for them. One of the firm partners in the crowd piped up, "You know, it's really all about communication. Interns should understand that it's okay for them to come up to us before that 5pm deadline and ask how it's going or say 'hey, it's 3 o'clock already, are you going to be ready soon' or whatever. And they can ask about the deadline, ask if it's okay to come in at 6am instead of wait around until I'm done at 6pm."

Essentially, this firm owner said that it was okay for interns to manage their bosses, to manage up. It's helpful for everyone in a firm--interns all the way up to partners-- to be reminded occasionally of a deadline or checked up on. The entire team has to be accountable to each other, in both directions, and knowing that you can check up on your boss to make sure that his/her work is on time and provides the information you need is pretty motivating...and probably a relief when you're at the bottom of the pecking order.

Lulu's Mailbag: What's in a name?

During my recent haphazard attempts to recuperate from a busy winter, spring, and summer, I got the following email from Julian:

My main question is what job title should recent graduates apply for. For example, what is the exact difference between an internship (non-summer) and a junior designer position?

Also, when firms list X amount of years of experience does this include summer internships? In my opinion, I believe summer internships really do not qualify as substantial work experience but then again I'm eager to hear your opinion.

There are two great questions in here, and I'm really glad Julian asked about the importance (or non-importance) of what your job position or experience is named. Let's address the first question about non-summer internship vs. junior designer. I suppose a firm might decide internally that there's a difference between the two, but it's unlikely. If a firm advertises for an "internship", that to me sounds like the position is for an unlicensed person and is available with a definite start and end date (6 months, 12 months, etc.). It would be worth applying for the position, and if you were to get an interview, I would definitely ask what this "internship" involves: is it a set amount of time for a specific project?

The word "junior" in "junior designer" implies (to me, anyway) that the position is for an unlicensed person with an architectural degree or experience. It's the word "designer" in the title that strikes me as interesting, though. Some firms don't like to use the word "intern" to describe an unlicensed person with an architecture degree who is actively working towards licensure. They will find other names for that position and that person, such as "coordinator" or "designer". On the one hand, using a name other than "intern" for that position feels like someone's blowing sunshine up my skirt. On the other hand, having lived through the Monica Lewinsky trials of 1999, being called an "intern" makes me feel like someone has other plans for my skirt, possibly involving more than sunshine. (Every few years, the AIA debates changing what we call "interns", and I really wish they would change the name. Every other profession uses the word "intern" to refer to someone working as a high school or partway-through-college employee who's working part time and just barely learning the ropes. The "interns" I know in architecture do a helluva lot more than that.)

Speaking of interns and summer/holiday internships, let's address the second half of Julian's email. Should you count your summer jobs in architecture as "experience"? My short answer is yes--you've seen a work environment and have been around architectish people while they were doing architecty things, which puts you ahead of where I was before June of 2000. The longer answer is this: whether you include your summer job at a firm in your experience is based on a) if you worked there after your junior year of undergrad and b) what you actually did there. Did you stamp big stacks of drawings, take drawings to the city, make copies of documents, and pick up bagels for the morning meeting? Then including this job as "architectural work experience" might be kind of a stretch. But what if you did redlines, took as-built measurements, walked a job site, and/or did a little product or code research? Then the job is worth mentioning, especially if you list with a couple of bullet points the kind of things you did during that time. The after-your-junior-year thing means that you had a couple of years in school to understand design issues and even take a couple of architectural history and means-and-methods classes. Having three years of design school under your belt before entering the workforce, even for only a couple of months at a time, implies (rightfully or not) that you kinda know something about the job before you start doing it for real.

Thanks again for the question, Julian. If any of you have a question or comment or would like to see something discussed here, let me know if the comments or email me at my email address in the sidebar.

Does architecture influence pop music's development?

David Byrne, musician, writer, and lead singer for the seminal rock/pop band Talking Heads, seems to think so. He puts forth a great argument for it here in his talk at a TED convention in Long Beach, CA.

I don't talk much about design and design philosophy here, as I know there are plenty of other blogs and websites that take up those discussions. However, I think it's good to remember occasionally that the spaces we make really do affect people and the ways they change our culture and lives in general. Remember that everything you do affects how people function and move and even think each day--it's why I decided to do what I do for a living.