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.

Redlined Resumes: graphic and sharp

Our last Redlined Resume in this series comes from TM, who surely has come up with the most innovative resume format I've seen in a long time.  Borrowing some from a magazine layout, TM's resume sets off his/her skills from the rest of his/her background and experience so that potential firms can see at a super-quick glance if s/he has what they need.  The fonts read well, and including contact info at the top as well as the bottom makes sure that no one misses how to get in touch with TM.  Looking at TM's resume again since I first redlined it, I would recommend removing some of the "Graduate Studies" info under "Education", which would then allow TM the room to move "Involvement" to just above the "Skills" sidebar.  This would in turn give TM the room needed to get a little air into and tidy up his/her chunks on "Experience", which is by far the largest portion of his/her resume.

And holy mackerel at the experience.  Both architectural and construction experience are represented here, similar to SE's resume from a couple of weeks ago.  Some additional definition is required here as well: TM uses the "project manager" title in one of his/her job descriptions, so it's important to list what his/her actual jobs were in this role. Some elaboration on some jobs and tasks are needed, but there's also room to tidy up (such as where I marked out several words and replaced them with the words "Engaged in...").  Overall, TM has a great resume that really pops but also includes some great info.  TM, I'm impressed!

...and now it's time for a station break.

As I write this, I'm preparing to go on a cross-country train trip across Canada with my husband for our birthday.  (Yes, we have the same birthday but different years.  And we're both architects.  Kinda sick, isn't it?)  Despite the fact that work has been relentless and my deadline have been almost-brutal, we decided back in the spring to take a week off around our birthday to celebrate and be together.  I won't be checking email, and everyone's going to have to survive without me for a week.  Wah.

An intern at my firm once said, "There's never a good time to take a vacation, so you might as well take one whenever you can."  That's good advice.  There will almost always be a deadline, a problem, a crisis looming that will deep-six even the best-laid plans.  Follow those plans anyway.  Leave the office.  Don't cancel the trip--go.  If you can't afford to leave town, tell everyone you're going camping in a remote area.  Then don't check your phone or email.  I've actually not checked my phone or email for a week, and it was immensely restorative.  My husband and I went to Yellowstone last year for an early birthday trip (the first week of September instead of the last week), and we watched no TV and checked no email.  It was some of the best sleep and rest I'd ever gotten in my life, and we're looking forward to unplugging on this trip as well.

I encourage all of you to take your vacation time, and really take it--unplug and don't be available. Everyone will miss you and be glad to have you back, but they won't die while you're gone. The work will be there when you get back.

Lulu's Mailbag: I'm doing everything I can to get a job but nothing works--what now?!

I got a letter from M in Boston who has a dilemma that's likely familiar to many of you:

I am writing to you today because I feel very frustrated, demotivated and anxious about how my career path lately. A quick run down of my background :

Bachelor of Architecture, 2005 - Virginia Tech

Master of Architecture , 2007 - Virginia Tech

2007-2009 Architectural Designer job in a firm

2009-2010 Visiting Lecturer Position in Architecture at an international university for a year long contract.

2010 - 2011 : Hard time finding full time positions , upon returning from my international contract, so got back in to school.

2011: Associate in Construction Management - local community college.

2012 : Move to Boston and seeking full time position again, not only as Architectural Designer, but also as entry level construction manger, project coordinator or anything that will help  pursue my recent diversification towards construction management.

I am very interested in finishing my IDP and taking my AREs as soon possible. However, I am finding it very difficult to land a position in Boston as an Architectural Designer with my experience level. I have taken Revit classes and I know AutoCAD very well. I am great with Adobe CS - Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Sometimes, most job postings make it seem like knowing Revit is the only prerequisite of getting a job as an entry level and it feels as if my education is not worth anything, even as a starter.

I have been very frustrated lately because of the lack of response I have been receiving from the firms around here. I doubt NYC will be any better for me because of the fierce competition and relocation issues. Friends and family know of my financial situation with colege loans piling up and now high costs of Boston living and they suggest branching out to "something else that will pay your bills for now". I get scared of moving away from architecture since I am already falling behind my regular Intern path towards registration. Is it going to be harder for me obtain positions because of the gaps I will have in my resume?

Please suggest how I may change things for myself so that I can still use my degrees and pursue my passion for architecture. I use Archinect, Indeed and Boston Society of Architect's job boards for my job search and am willing to relocate to NYC, Washington DC for positions as well. I have started studying for my AREs even if my IDP hours are not done because Massachusetts allows taking the exams before finishing hours.

Good question, M. I shared your email with a few colleagues that are professors/instructors and architects to get some additional input.  The sum total of my advice to you is this:

1. Welcome to the club--you're in good company.
2. Be willing to move to more than just Boston, New York, or DC.
3. Whatever you decide will be okay.

Regarding item #1: Architecture is still taking a pounding in the economic recovery.  As a field in general, we haven't recovered as much as many other fields (insert any other profession here).  There are a lot of qualified, solid graduates and young professionals that can't find work in their field.  That's especially true of architects, who are waiting for developers and owners to release the capital to start designing and building; and of teachers and professors, who are seeing their positions and benefits and salaries get cut due to a lack of local, state, and federal revenue.  But some places are indeed growing and seeing some action, which leads me to Item #2. 


Item #2 is in your favor.  The fact that you've been willing to teach outside the U.S. tells me that you're not particularly having to live at home with your parents or other family members in order to get by, which is good.  You clearly have the guts to go out, see new places, and make things happen for yourself.  But I'll tell you that the two coasts--East and West--are mighty crowded right now with people trying to find jobs in areas with high costs of living.  If you're willing to live somewhere other than the three very large, very East Coast places you listed, you might find some great opportunities in your field.  NYC has a lot of competition, but what if a firm in Des Moines, Iowa, or Houston, Texas, or Casper, Wyoming suddenly had a need for an intern with both an architecture degree and experience and an understanding of construction management?  No, those might not be super-urbane places, but there's a lot of potential in between the coasts.  These smaller, un-Coast-ish markets might be excited to have someone as well-traveled as you.  Plus, your cost of living will most likely be less than it would be in Boston/NYC/DC. 


Item #3 is about ultimate reality.  You might prefer to live in NYC and wait tables rather than be an intern and construction estimator in Omaha, Nebraska.  That is your choice.  And whatever that choice is, you'll be okay.  The truth about architecture is that your education is the cover charge that gets you into the nightclub that is our profession, and knowing Revit gets you a seat at the bar or on one of the nice cushioned benches.  Revit and rendering skills, or even Revit and construction management skills, gets you a spot in the center of the dance floor or even up in the DJ booth.  The real value of your education is that you've learned how to think like an architect, which is a skill that few people in proportion to the overall U.S. population posess.  You can look at a problem and think of five ways to solve it, whereas most people only can see one or maybe two.  Your education and experience so far has equipped you in a weird way to do well no matter what you decide, as hard as that is to see right now.  You might end up as a clerk at a department store...and with a little time and initiative you're doing the store windows for a three-state area because you have amazing ideas about space and color and design and adviertising.  You may become a vendor for a lighting company, and you eventually parlay that into something involving lighting for commercials and theater.  You may move to Cheboygan, Wisconsin to work with a 20-person firm to do cost estimating, and you turn it into your own estimation consulting firm once you get your license.
 
Whatever you do, your initiatives and effort won't be wasted.  Take a deep breath, consider your options, and flip off the naysayers.


All the best,
Lulu

How to make your emails more effective

I would wager that most if not all interns are accustomed to using email as a primary form of communication.  I remember getting my very first email account in 1994 when I started college.  (Yes, in a time before the iPod, cue the dramatic music....)  Many of you have likely had your own email accounts since you were preteens or even had a single-digit age.  However, being comfortable with a medium of communication does not necessarily equate to effective use.  Email in the business world--and the architectural world--can be a powerful tool if used effectively.


As always, the first rule is to remember that your work email is for just that: work.  Any and every email you send out of and receive into your work email address belongs to your employer, and any of those emails can be evidence in a court of law.  Less drastic but just as important is that your emails, when well-written, can resolve disputes and clear up misunderstandings quickly during a project.  A clear, respectful email can be used to settle he-said-she-said-we-said problems in short order...or even prevent them in the first place.


The second rule of email is a corollary to the first: use email appropriately. Never write anything in an email that you wouldn't want read out at an office-wide meeting or printed on a billboard. If you even remotely think there could be an issue (or a possible ugly interaction) with what you're about to email out, make a phone call first, then use the email to recap the phone conversation as a confirmation of next steps.


The third rule of email is lesser-known but still very important: construct your emails precisely and appropriately.  Let's say you need to email the structural engineer about column locations in the main lobby of the Westview Hospital project.  You're going to ask the engineer if it's possible to offset a section of structure along a gridline, and you're including a PDF of a plan showing what you want to do.  


Here's what not to do:


To: Alex T. Engineer
From: Amy F. Intern
Subject: Westview Hospital
Attachment: WestviewPlan.pdf
Hay Alex, 
we want to move a section of grid line G so we can get more room in the lobby and get those columns away from the front door? take a look at this and let me know.
Thanks,
Amy


First of all, the subject line needs to be more precise than just the project name.  Why? Because this engineer probably gets a dozen or more emails from you per day and then a couple dozen per day from other consultants about the Westview Hospital project.  When they need to search their inbox or their email files to find the one about moving a column in the lobby, how can they do so effectively when they have literally over 100 emails titled "Westview Hospital"?  


The same goes for the attachment name.  When you or they save this PDF somewhere, it needs to be easily searchable and identifiable.  Naming it more precisely and putting a date on it (the date it was emailed out or created for review) allows you or them to find it easily in a month when they need to refer to it again.


Finally, the email reads like a run on question from a teenager, with no sense of capitalization.  The fact that you're asking an engineer if you can move his/her columns make it clear that you need a response, so you can delete the "let me know" part of the email. You have a college degree--write like it!  


Here's a better email:

To: Alex T. Engineer
From: Amy F. Intern
Subject: Westview Hospital - Move gridline G in lobby?
Attachment: Westview Lobby Plan w_gridline G - 2012-05-23.pdf
Hi Alex, 
In order to comply with some egress code issues, we need more clearance at the front door in the lobby.  What is the best way to move a section of grid line G in order to get the columns at G/3 and G/4 away from the front door? I've attached a PDF showing how we would ideally relocate those columns.
Thanks,
Amy

Why time doesn't equal promotion

I was recently given a promotion at my firm.  While it came with a boost in pay, I was just as excited about my new job responsibilities: I'm now doing the things in architecture that I always liked to do: programming, planning, and helping a client assess their space needs compared to their budget.  It's a long way from what I was doing 11 or so years ago fresh out of grad school--redlines, stamping drawings for a partner to sign,  more redlines, digging through old paper files for drawings from 1971, and did I mention redlines?  When I was given my promotion, one of my bosses commented that there were people in the office that had more years of experience and.or had spent more time at my firm than I had, yet they didn't get this same promotion.  


I have my own reasons for believing why I got a promotion that others didn't.  (I'm sure the owners of the firm have their reasons for promoting me as well.)  I have noticed in the past when, all things being equal, I would be given an opportunity over my colleagues.  If you read the results from various sociological and management studies over the past several years, it wouldn't seem possible: I'm short (when tall people are supposed to be favored in the white-collar world) and I'm female (when men should be favored in a field like construction). Up until the past couple of years, I looked younger than my age (a fact I bring up due to the nature of architecture, where age and experience are what confer respect more so than even gender).  For whatever reasons, I was given opportunities to succeed by my managers, and I seized and made something of those opportunities.  Doing this enough times gave me a variety of small promotions until I finally got this big promotion.


To be sure, not everyone wants to climb the ranks at a company or in their profession, and that's okay. However, it gets a little uncomfortable when people at a firm see someone being promoted and being given more perks, better projects, more leeway, etc. when that someone has less experience at a firm or in that profession.  Of course, there are instances of injustice--a member of the design staff becomes privileged because they get along with just the right person, or they're protected because their dad or uncle is part-owner in the company.  I've said before on this blog that experience in architecture is important; it takes a long time to know all the stuff we need to know, and part of that knowing is knowing what you don't know.  However, time spent in the profession isn't the be-all end-all.  Time spent working isn't enough on its own to earn a promotion.


So what does increase your chances of promotion?  There are as many factors, I suppose, as there are firms at which to get promoted.  Here are a few that I've found common to several firms (culled from discussions with friends at other firms as well as discussions with the people at my own firm):

1. Not all experience is equal.  Five years working on strip malls isn't the same as five years working on prisons.  Three years working for fly-by-night developers isn't the same as three years working on government contracts.
2. Do it right.  I'm not going to give you more complicated or interesting tasks if you can't or won't do the more basic tasks correctly more than once.  Skimming through your tasks and making mistakes shows me that you're not ready for bigger tasks.  And never let the following words pass your lips: "It doesn't matter."  If I'm paying you to do it, it matters.  And if it matters, it has to be done right.
3. Don't just succeed, exceed.  You get a C for doing the job I asked you to do; you get an A for doing it really well, maybe even providing some extra that I didn't think I'd need but I do need.  The best way to succeed and exceed it to ask questions: who is this for? how will this be used? what will be done with this when it's complete? will we be changing this again after a meeting?
4. Look the part.  Wear a shirt with a collar. Save the low-cut shirts and short skirts for the weekends.  Ditto for cargo shorts and flip-flops.  People who consistently look professional are people that can be sent to a meeting in a pinch or an emergency.
5. Act the part. Be a professional and I can put you in professional situations. Even if you dress well, I'm hesitant to send you to a meeting alone or even to bring you with me to a meeting if you can't act professional.  Answer the phone like an adult ("Hi, this is Karen" instead of "Yeah?"), don't chew gum or suck on candy, don't sigh or roll your eyes when someone says something that means you're going to have to redo something or do some extra work....you get the picture.
6. Attitude is everything. Not every day will be magic, but please don't let that drag you down. Someone who can do even the most soul-draining of grunt work with a positive attitude, or at least an attitude of "well, at least it's something to do, and this too shall pass", can make all the difference. 

New Year's resolutions for yourselves and the profession

I hope everyone's holidays have been going well so far and that you're able to take time to enjoy the season.  As we have just passed the winter solstice, with its least amount of daylight all year, it's a good time to reflect and think about what we want to do with our lives, especially in the coming year.


On the professional front, I will gather all the necessary info and documentation needed to apply for my ACHA accreditation.  I've finally gotten the years of healthcare architecture experience needed to apply, so it's time to add that hard-won honor to my roster of professional achievements. (Since I've confessed this here to all of you, you're my witnesses.  If I don't get this done by 12/31/12, Armageddon notwithstanding, then you all get to heckle me soundly.)  Personally, I also want to start working on a book for interns based on this blog.  I've been asked about it a time or two, and I'm starting to wonder if it might be useful. 


On the personal front, I have to start rationing my energy better.  I'm getting older, and I'm running out of steam faster with my new management responsibilities at my firm, so Shorty needs to find a way to get things done without doing everything herself.  This was also my goal for 2011, by the way--I think I mastered it sometimes and failed miserably other times.


I also would like to see our profession have a goal or resolution of its own: be a Profession.  So often lately, it seems like my beloved profession is more like a cult than a Profession.  It seems sometimes like architecture fails to value itself and its services the way other professions (medicine, law, dentistry, etc.) has done, and it forces its members to live in noble poverty.  It tells its members that we all have to sacrifice to survive and just be grateful that you have a job, and when pressed for specifics on why things are being run the way they are the questioner is thumped (or even smacked) for daring to ask.  Those running the profession seem to lean more and more in the past few years on secrecy and avoidance: secrecy with regard to what it takes to achieve or with what's going on with the firm or profession, and avoidance of big issues like poor performance or why every job seems to be losing money.


I don't imagine that running a business is easy--far from it.  There's a lot to do every day, and it seems like most of it has little to do with Design.  But more and more it seems that our profession is losing its viability and its relevance, from not really valuing and defining the importance of licensure to not really explaining to the public why the world needs architects and why HGTV and Ty Pennington are not the answer (and aren't reality). 


I hope that even if this profession won't embrace this resolution, you will.  I want us all to pull through this dark economic time and bring back our profession in all its relevant, awesome glory.  I want us to show the world that design, codes, and profitability aren't mutually exclusive.  That, my friends, would be an even better gift than a few more letters and credentials after my name.


So what are your goals or resolutions in the coming year?  And what do you hope for architecture?

Thoughts on working from home (or while you're away)

As the holidays crash down upon us (or maybe it's just me), it seems sometimes like both the pace and volume at work is increasing along with the pace and volume of holiday and family activities that are required of us.  Deadlines, projects, travel, parties, family gatherings, and volunteer activities might leave us wondering how we're supposed to get everything done this month?  Something has to give, doesn't it?  Maybe if we were able to work from home or on one of our days of vacation...maybe that would help.  Or would it?


The first thing to know about working from home is that any work you do on a project belongs to the company and is therefore subject to examination if a legal claim were to arise on that project.  This means that if you get CAD or Illustrator installed on your computer at home and work on a project for work while your family is in town, your home computer may have to be turned over to a legal team if a lawsuit arises regarding that project.  Think of it like this: if you're working on a project on any computer in the world, your company "owns" that computer while you're working on that project.


The solution then would be to borrow a company-owned laptop with the necessary software and connections to your company's server while you're away.  Just be sure that, before you take that machine out of the office, you understand how to protect it and what your responsibilities are if someone hacks the machine while you're using a public wifi system to connect back to the office.  Another caveat: be cautious with using the laptop for non-work reasons.  It's one thing to watch a few funny videos on icanhascheezburger.com or buy your parents a fruit bouquet from 1-800-Flowers.com or something, but it's another to shop or surf racy or questionable sites.  If your company's IT staff doesn't clean these laptops after someone returns them (and even if they do), someone else can see what you've been doing on this laptop, whether or not you erase the browser history.


The final thing to remember is that your vacation/personal time off is just that: personal.  Yes, sometimes duty calls, but do your best to get a clean break from work and rest.  You'll be much more productive when January rolls around.

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.

What makes it "worth it"?

I recently got a comment on the very first post I ever did on Intern 101 that asked a good question.  I noted at the end of that post that I myself nearly left architecture but am glad I stayed and that staying in the profession is worth it.  Reader DRob26 asked:


I really appreciate your insight as I am a new intern. It seems to be a difficult transition from school to practice. I have only been here 4 months, and I have often wanted to quit. You say staying is worth it. What made it worth staying?




First of all, I really feel your pain, DRob26--the shock of going from school to work can make a person curl up in a ball in the bathroom floor sometimes, and even today I have moments where I think Good Lord, did I really spend all that time in school for this?!  (Apparently, yes.)  But the question still stands: why did I say it was worth it even if I find myself now and again wishing I'd gotten a degree in psychology or mortuary science instead of architecture?  (Those who know me personally know that I'd make a great embalmer and funeral home director.  I'm not particularly goth, I just find the whole process of dealing with death interesting.  Every vacation I take eventually involves touring a graveyard.  But I digress....)


One of the reasons I'm glad I stayed in is that I gave myself enough time to experience a wide range of the architectural profession's ups and downs.  No offense to DRob26's four months in a firm, but anything less than two or three years isn't much to base a career (or career change) on. Projects in a firm last too long to make a quick decision about what's good, bad, exciting, or craptastic about the profession you've chosen and for which you've spent volumes of time in school.  In a way, joining a firm is where the rubber really meets the road--it's where things get exciting, and you find out if you really can handle all that's being asked of you.   Furthermore, time spent at one firm also may not be enough experience on which to base a career.  I've spoken with interns whose first firms out of school were everything from bland to Stephen King-esque nightmares; interns either did the same types of plan details over and over for two months straight at the blah firms, while other interns were forced to work 20 hours of unpaid overtime a week or sexually harassed by the firm owner.  All of the interns in these firms I just described have since left those firms and are now much happier and fulfilled at other firms.


I considered leaving architecture while working for a frustrating jerk back in the early 2000s.  He was arrogant and would behave either passive-aggressively or as if he were bipolar--laughing and joking one moment, then fifteen minutes later he was cursing loudly and throwing code books.  Other people at my firm were talking about how great my firm was and how much better it was that where they used to work, and all I could think was Jesus, really?  If it's so great, and I'm so miserable, then clearly I shouldn't be in architecture at all.  However, a few months after I had this feeling/realization, he told his project team that he was leaving our firm and moving out of state to start his own firm closer to his family out east.  It was only after he left and I was able to work with another manager in the office, one that many people refused to work for because he was "strict and overly-serious", that I found out that the problem wasn't the firm or the profession but rather the manager.  I was finally working with someone who was more interested in teaching me how to be a good architect than in eating a whole bowl of crazy every morning before coming to work.  Once I was able to experience that difference, I could settle down and enjoy the profession for real.


The other reason I'm glad I've stayed is that after working my butt off, I'm now reaping some of the fruits of my labors.  I spent years slogging through details and drawings and code books and project after project, and I've finally developed the expertise to know if I can or can't locate a soiled utility room in a certain part of a department or how a room has to be built differently if it has one kind of equipment versus another.  I've developed the ability to look at a corridor in a floor plan and know almost instantly if it meets code (IBC, ADA, or various state and national healthcare guidelines).  By learning constantly and producing good work and retaining knowledge and managing my projects well, I've earned the right to run some of my own projects and have interns help me draw and detail and do code research on those projects.  And because I'm in charge, I finally get to do it my way.  While adjusting to the changes in my workdays and workweeks hasn't always been easy, at least I'm not doing the same thing over and over for eleven years.  And because I learned what I needed to learn and am still learning more and more, architecture is, in some ways, becoming easier.


Architecture can be an addictive profession.  You work so hard for so long for that brief, strange payoff of walking into a building you drew that has been built and indeed has come to life.  For me, it's the payoff of having the users--the people without whose input I couldn't have done the work--run up to me in the new building and proclaim how great it looks, and how well it works, and how wonderful it is.  Those moments are rare and few indeed.  I've done a lot of remodeling jobs lately, one of which was in a very busy clinic in a metropolitan area.  The clinic's project manager, the contractor, and I were all standing in the newly-renovated lobby recently, discussing the open items from the punchlist and wondering how to phase the next part of construction because there had been so many complaints about the temporary walls we'd had to put up for the first phase...and a little old lady came out of nowhere and put her hand on my arm.  She looked up at me and said, "I want you to know that this lobby  looks so nice...it's just so pretty in here, and I just love it!"


That, my friends, was worth it.

workworkworkworkworksleepworkworkwork

I have a deadline next Tuesday, but my firm's servers are going to be shut down for replacing, revamping, and reawesoming this weekend, so my team and I are working hellbent for leather before we lose two days to IT concerns.  There's plenty to blog about, but I'm going to need a nap and some time away from a computer before I can sit down at the old laptop and come up with something even remotely useful or interesting.

If it weren't for the last minute, I'd get nothing done.

Apologies for the lack of posts, all.  I'm getting ready to present a seminar on intern training and mentoring at the National AIA Convention in New Orleans in six days, and I'm having to tie up loose ends at work so that I don't leave my colleagues hanging while I'm gone for four days.  When I get back and have a moment to collect my thoughts, I'll post on the results of my interns and architects survey, which turned out to be quite eye-opening.  

Lulu's Mailbag: I'm still unemployed; time to quit architecture?

I received a timely email from "K", and I bet a lot of you are wondering the same thing s/he is asking here.  

I graduated last May with my Masters degree from an accredited university, and at the top of my class. Since then I have applied for over 100 jobs in many different areas, had few interviews, and am having zero-luck in the field of architecture. It is approaching the one year mark of unemployment, and I am highly discouraged. 

I have been trying to make myself more marketable, studying to be a LEED Green Associate, brushing up to stay current on software, even teaching myself new software.  Even if I could find an unpaid position, I am simply unable to work for free with all of my loans.

When is it time to abandon all that I have worked so hard for? My student loans are just accruing interest, becoming more impossible to pay. I have been forced to move back home because I cannot afford to pay rent. How should I proceed in this job market where I cannot acquire a position in architecture or a related field? How will this affect my chances in the future when employers see such a gap in work experience?

Good questions, all of them.  I've been getting so many of these kinds of emails over the past year-plus that it's nearly demoralizing (and sometimes, frankly, I feel like I'm repeating myself).  So in a fit of brilliance (?), I forwarded K's questions to my husband, Mr. Lulu (Hubby) Brown.  Hubby has worked at more than one firm in his lifetime, unlike me.  He also had some difficulty getting a job right out of college during the 1990s, so I thought he might have something useful to say here.  I've reprinted Hubby's responses to K below, with my commentary in a contrasting color afterwards (wherever I felt like I should add something).


It is a desperate time. There is no gap really, since you have not worked. You are in transition and it's ok.  I agree--if you're just getting out of school during 2008-2011, and you have little to no architectural experience on your resume, any employer with half a brain knows that you're a victim of the economy.  No harm, no foul.
 
1) Are you committed to staying in architecture? If not, start looking into good paying careers outside of architecture. If yes go to 2.
 
2) Get a part time or full time job to pay some bills. Apply in any state and for every job you can find and get a job. Live cheap and start paying you loans. Limit your exposure to loan deferment. It will cost you later. And you want to be able to defer later if needed. No firm is too small. Also, go to the local AIA for the directory and send resumes out to every other firm you did not apply to. 100 resumes sent in a year is not even close to what a serious job hunt would require. This is not the time to pick and choose; it's time to get work.  I concur with the get-a-job-in-general suggestion, especially in 2011 when the economy is picking up slowly across the board.  I recently met an engineering intern who got a job for the past year as a lighting fixture representative, but she's about to move to California to start working as an EIT with an electrical engineering firm.  That's another thing about getting hired right now: you need to be willing to relocate for work, which is how both Hubby and I found our jobs here in Colorado.  100 resumes in a year in a down economy is relative to where you live; if you're in the Northeast, then you're just scratching the surface with 100 resumes/year, but if you're in Wyoming, then you've probably sent one to everyone within 300 miles of you.  Either way, it's time to get a job in any field so that you can put off deferring your student loans (which Hubby has done before, with only mediocre results).
 
3) After a year minimum experience you can a) Then you can start looking where you really wanted to live and apply for jobs you really want. Hopefully the market will be better by then, or b) figure out that you like where you are and finish your licensing after 3+ years. 
 
FYI #1 - If money is your priority, jumping after one year is your best bet, even if you like where you're at. But jump too much and you gain no loyalty at a firm.  A little firm-jumping can increase your income, but a lot of firm jumping means that you don't stay anywhere long enough to have anyone really fight to keep you if things got tight at a firm and layoffs needed to happen.
 
FYI #2 - You should be ready for the LEED exam after two to four weeks of solid studying, so just get it done.
 
This is what I, Lulu's husband, did and it worked well for me. I did not start working until I was about 6 months out of school and it never hurt my career. I was able to start saving serious money after five years and am still paying the minimum on his student loans. When times were tough, I deferred for 12 months. Just depends on how nice you want to live. But that is the only debt I have.  How nice you want to live...this is a very good point.  I've had interns at my firm complain about how much they made, but then they drove off in a one-year-old Audi to a downtown Denver loft apartment.  It might be worth it to work with your parents (or whoever you've moved back in with) to get started saving for moving expenses, a down payment on an apartment, or some similar savings plan while you pay off student loans and credit card bills.  I realized that by moving one mile away from my office in 2000 (from downtown Denver to a more residential/mixed-use neighborhood), I saved $400 a month in rent and parking garage expenses.  Getting a roommate (who later became my husband, coincidentally) saved me an additional few hundred a month.  Put plainly, it really sucked that I couldn't make it on my own out of college, and I think that's the big bait-and-switch that a lot of college graduates are given, regardless of their major.  But we have to be realistic in those first few years about how well we "need" to live in order to get through this once-every-70-years recession.




If you have a topic you'd like to see discussed or a question to have answered here on Intern 101, feel free to ask in the comments or via email in the sidebar.  And don't forget to take the 2011 Intern 101 Survey for Interns and Architects!  The survey for interns is here, and the survey for architects is here.  Please take the survey and forward to your friends and colleagues, both licensed and unlicensed.  Thanks!

Lulu's Mailbag: Who's looking at my resume...anyone?

I got a great question recently from "S" about getting your foot in the door at a firm and the "auto-response" that some firms give:

I am a senior who will be graduating this May. I have been looking up firms in my area. They usually put "hr@firmA.com" or "employment@firmB.com" on their career page. It seems suspicious to me that they don't let us know who we're supposed to address our cover letter to.

 My question is, will our resume, cover letter and work samples get looked at? Big firms which require people to apply on their website have what is called ATS(Applicant Tracking System). My friend who majors in software engineering tell me that big firms usually have that to screen out potential employees and weed out the rest, without even bother to look at the work samples. It's one of those thing that automatically sends a reply after we finish applying no matter what time it is.

Back to the suspicious email address, I know how easy it is to make an email address on a server, since I have one. So, what do you think? Do firms which can't afford to pay for ATS, specifically make that so they don't have to look at the resume so they seem accepting, but are not? I know that they want the best bang for the buck and that Interns don't really have much to offer. So, I'm guessing it'd be nice for them if they could look at the resume and just pick the best.

A couple day later, I looked at job boards. The same firm which only gives out that suspicious email address, said that they are hiring a senior designer and they give out the name of the principal who I presume also acts as a hiring manager. I don't really know much about hiring, but it just seems weird to me that they said on their website that"they are always looking for qualified people", but don't give out the names of the hiring manager.

My professor also said that architecture is a "you-know-who" kind of job. Is that really true? I go to Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The BFA is not accredited and the MArch is still waiting for accreditation (4+2 program). Do firms acknowledge architecture education from a pre-professional school? The people in my grade who gets hired usually have some sort of connection or just a good ass kisser (I really need to learn how to do that...)

Last but not least, what do you think of cold calling firms?

Good questions, S.  Let's start with some basic info about the hiring practices of firms right now.  While the economy is recovering slowly, there are still way more applicants than there are positions.  This means that firms that advertise for one or two positions can get as many as a hundred resumes in a week for those two spots.  There is someone (or a couple of someones) that are reviewing resumes and are responsible for hiring, but chances are good that those people are also architects working on billable work.  They're already way more-than-40-hours-a-week busy, and they're having a hard time getting back to all the emails and voicemails regarding their one or more projects.  That's why everyone is instructed to send their resumes to a generic address--so they don't fill up some poor schmuck's (or schmuckette's) inbox.  An official name isn't given out because the firm also doesn't want this person's voicemail full of calls (cold or otherwise) from the influx of job applicants.  It's nothing personal, it's just that the person in charge of hiring wouldn't be able to humanly return all of these calls and emails in a timely fashion.  And because they don't give out a name, they won't be offended if your cover letter starts, "To whom it may concern."


That being said, you'll see applicant tracking software especially at really big firms or firms with multiple offices.  This is because they, being a big firm, get even more applicants than a smaller or privately held firm with fewer than 50 people.  But that being said, every firm has some process of weeding out candidates.  The first round of weeding resumes is spelling and grammar problems as well as resumes that are hard to read.  The next round is about skills and experience--some firms may be looking for someone with only a couple of years, and some may be looking for someone with several years of experience.  This round might also involve factors as random as where an applicant went to school or what project types they've done or where they've worked before or....the list is endless.


Of course, knowing someone is always a big help, and not just in architecture.  The problem is that so many candidates are equally excellent--everyone's been to college and grad school and can use various types of software and has work experience here or there, so how do you choose?  If you know someone already in the business--whatever field that may be--it helps to include that on your resume.  Personal knowledge of a candidate allows a firm to know just a little more about you, whether you're going into law, medicine, architecture, marketing,  teaching, or whatever.


Cold calling at this point in the economy is a double-edged sword.  If you know a name to ask for when you call, that's in your favor.  If you're blindly calling just to speak to "someone involved in hiring interns", your cold call may be met with a cold shoulder.  Of course, you could call in the hopes that you catch a company's temp receptionist while the usual one is on vacation, in which case you might inadvertently get somewhere.


If you have a topic you'd like to see discussed here, let me know in the comments or via email in the sidebar.  And don't forget to take the intern quiz here, and have any friends or colleagues who are licensed take the architect survey here.  Thanks!

What's better than one deadline? Two deadlines, of course!

Apologies for the delay in posting, all. I just wrapped up one deadline today to discover that I have another (smaller but still important) deadline this Friday. Welcome to architecture, eh? After I've gotten these behind me and have had a chance to sleep in (and not work a weekend for the first time in a month), I'll get back to posting. I've had some great email questions and comments that are food for thought, and I'd love to get all of your comments on them as well.

Lulu's Mailbag: How do I make my engineers do their jobs?!

I got a great question from C, who writes:

When I started here (at my firm) I was told to start compiling Navisworks clash reports and models so we could coordinate the models on this project. Simple enough – combine the models – run the clash – sort through 30,000 clashes to find the legit clashes – export viewpoints – export report – email off. Rinse and repeat on a weekly basis and track the progress of the clash numbers.

This starts simple enough – any time I’ve done this in the past on other projects, that’s all we had to do – give the engineers a Navis model and let them work through their clashes on their own, help them with the difficult ones and assist them when they clash with architectural. Which is what I’ve done. Am I crazy to assume that they should be able to be grown professionals and work through their own clashes on their own (ie. Pipe hits duct, someone please move something)?

Well, fast forward to today – we're 2 weeks from the finish and clashes still exists – roughly 100 or so legit ones. I’ve gone as far in recent weeks as to take a set of drawings and literally highlight and redline where the clash is and who it involves. Scanned those in and sent those off to them, basically providing a roadmap to the clash. They don’t even need to open the Navis model for this – yet still they ignore the clashes. We hold bi-weekly BIM meetings where I walk through clashes with them – they’re in the same room together they can talk through the clash – and they always say “ok, I’ll move X to here and you move that to there and boom we're good” - next week come along and that same clash STILL EXISTS!

I’ve literally drawn them a picture and walked them through the fix. Short of going to their office and holding their hands and fixing it for them I’m not sure what to do. I shouldn’t have to be the one that fixes their clashes for them – considering MEP is all in the same office they should be able to walk to the other cubicle and talk it out like grown adults.

I’m at wits end dude. I’ve done everything I know to aid in the clash resolution process just to be ignored essentially for 5 months by the MEP guys.

C, the short answer is this: if your manager is aware of this constant struggle on your part, then you've done all you can. If you're at the point with a consultant that you're having to go over to their office, put your hand on their mouse hand, and do the clicking for them, then the problem is pretty much theirs. It's time to get the managers involved, or at least aware: email the engineers and copy your boss(es) and their boss(es) and ask what's going on: "I've sent you the Navis report on X/XX/2010 and I gave you a marked up plan locating the clashes on X/XX/2010, and I see in the latest model that over 100 clashes still have not been picked up. I'm concerned that we're about to issue a project that has unresolved clashes that could adversely affect this project's construction. We really need to get these clashes resolved--what do you need from me/us to make that happen?"

Working with consultants is usually an enjoyable and educational experience, but that experience goes sour fast when basic issues go unresolved. You can't make people do their jobs per se, but if all of your efforts to gain compliance and cooperation go ignored, then it's time to let managers know what's going on.

Burnout: the unspoken bane of emerging professionals

I haven’t been very good about posting regularly lately—I’ve struggled with keeping up with Intern 101, trying to come up with good topics to discuss and eagerly pouncing on a topic when someone emails me a question. Really, I’ve struggled with posting anything at all at least once a week. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m fighting some kind of burnout.

I don’t usually post about what’s personally happening to me, but I feel like mentioning it might be worthwhile, as I imagine I can’t be the only one. If you’ve managed to stay employed through the recession, you might be feeling this way yourself. You come into work and sit down at your desk, and suddenly all the energy drains from your body. You can’t even pick up a pen, and you can’t bring yourself to answer the urgent emails filling your inbox or to complete the rather simple redlines sitting on your desk. All you want to do is surf the internet or go home and do laundry. It’s a different feeling from spring fever or holiday restlessness; it’s a feeling that is a sudden draining of energy and focus at best, and at worst it’s what one of my colleagues once described as “the day is ruined the moment you turn the key in the ignition to drive to work.”

After months—if not years—of trying to do more with less and watching your coworkers get laid off in waves and struggling to keep your job and do the jobs of those who were let go and accomplishing all of this with a brave face, it’s no surprise that you’d be feeling burnout by now. Or perhaps the work has come back with a vengeance, and you’re working like hell with a paycheck that reflects your 2008 skills while doing a 2011 job (yours and someone else’s because no one’s hired extra help just yet, just in case there’s a double dip recession). Myself, I’ve just spent the past few months working at a breakneck pace, leaping from deadline to deadline after nearly wearing myself out with projects plus preparing and giving a presentation at the national AIA convention. I spend my days frenetically jumping from phone call to department layout to email to QC of a set of drawings to—oh, wait, have I eaten lunch yet? And of course, because the economy has been so bad for so long, it seems like sacrilege to complain. But the weariness, the anger, the anxiety are all there, and the passion for what we do—for what I do—is gone. I come home from work, bone tired and drained, and I can barely even flip through a catalog or magazine, let alone put together coherent thoughts for a well-meaning blog providing so-called professional advice.

Burnout is a weird feeling for me, because I’m one of the most motivated people I know. Burnout is what other people deal with, what people who don’t really like architecture feel, I think to myself. But I’m finding that even the most committed amongst us, the most devoted to this art and craft and profession and obsession that we call architecture, even we the truly dedicated feel some annoyance with this field and wish for a break to do anything, anything other than this. I don’t yet have any answers for working through my burnout, but I do know that the only way out is through. I also know that I have to find a way to get some breaks in before Christmas, and I have to make sure that those breaks don’t get used up by holiday shopping or filling out greeting cards or the like. My goal is to post on Intern 101 at least once a week. Any questions, observations, comments, gripes, etc. are welcome, as they help me get ideas for post topics. In the meantime, I do hope that all of you got to enjoy your holiday and are finding better days coming at your firms (or in acquiring a job), and I beg your patience in the coming month or so while I work through this exhaustion.

The paradox of CA

Recently, an anonymous commenter said the following on a previous post:

A project I have been since it's inception is now under construction and my boss (licensed architect) has decided to make me project manager over construction administration. He talks about training me, but never makes time to do so, and I live in fear that one day the contractor will "find out" I don't know what I'm doing and "something bad will happen". (I know this sounds more paranoid than it needs to be, but I'm majorly anxious).
My boss makes me sign all the letters, transmittals, RFIs, Request for Change Orders, etc. The only thing I'm not signing are pay applications. I have repeatedly tried to talk to him about how I feel uncomfortable without being trained in this aspect of my job, even though I know the project, but his response is always "But you're doing well."

Maybe it's not the worst thing to have your boss trust you so much, but it makes me extremely stressed out and sick to my stomach to think I'm doing a job I have no idea how to do anymore, especially after he was so good at training me to do every other phase of architecture.

It's kismet that Anonymous is dealing with the anxiety-inducing construction administration (CA) process right now, as for the first time in almost three years, I'm finally getting to do CA again on a project for which I did the drawings. (Some of my projects since 2007 have been master planning, but the economy killed some of my other projects after DDs.) Even though I've been working in architecture for over ten years, and I've done CA at least a dozen times, it still gives me a twinge of anxiety. After all, CA is where the rubber meets the road; it's where the truth becomes clear about your drawings and even your abilities as an architect. Were your drawings and specs clear and thorough and well-coordinated? Are you able to make good decisions about RFIs? Are you really looking at an understanding the shop drawings and submittals? And are you able to do all of this in a timely and organized fashion? Even worse is that now your (and others') mistakes cost money and time. Ouchie.

The hardest truth about this process is what I call the paradox of CA: you only learn how to do it by doing it or having done it. When our anonymous commenter looks back on his/her CA on this project, s/he will have so much insight on how a building goes together and how to work with consultants and contractors and subs and so on. It's only after doing it that you know how to do it. And that's cold comfort for Anonymous and many others of you out there. Even though I can make a list here on the Intern 101 blog about what all the CA terms mean, there is no class in which I can teach you CA. You just have to do it.

Here's the thing about working with contractors on CA: if you're under the age of 30, your contractor probably already knows that you don't know everything and don't have much experience. But if s/he's any good, they won't rub it in your face and they won't abuse that fact. A good contractor won't insist that you give them an answer RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW because they know that you have to go back to the office and check the code and look at the drawings (maybe even open the CAD plans or Revit model) and make double-sure and triple-sure that your response is in line with the drawings and specs and isn't messing up something else down the line or going to cause yet another RFI/CCD/PR/OMGWTF down the line. And sometimes, checking on something and doing the research to get the contractor an answer means asking your boss if s/he has ever dealt with this question or problem before.

I completely understand Anonymous' concern, stated at the start of this post. S/He has been well trained and supervised on every other task, but now s/he feels adrift on this, the most important of tasks in which mistakes are magnified and the stakes are even higher. Here's what I wonder as I read Anon's comments: is the manager/boss at least looking these documents (RFIs, PRs, letters, shops, etc.) over before Anon issues them? If so, then the manager's confidence in Anon to get things done is appropriate, if unsettling. But if the manager is simply not dealing with CA at all and is letting Anon go loose, then I too would be nervous, even as a licensed architect. Doing CA in a vacuum is a good way to make mistakes. You're better off bouncing questions off of people on a regular basis and learning from them, and they might catch something on a drawing that you wouldn't see or know because you hadn't dealt with it before.

There's much more to talk about regarding interns and CA. But in the meantime, if you have a question you'd like to ask or a topic you'd like to see discussed here on Intern 101, let me know in the comments or drop me a line via email in the sidebar. Thanks!

IDP: how fair or useful is the process?

Anonymous' comment on a recent blog post has given me much excellent food for thought. Two of his/her points from that comment must be considered together:

Second comment. I think the current IDP process is very unfair. An intern in the northeast can work at a firm that doesn't support its goals and the intern will not gain good experience. An intern in the south can work at a firm that supports the goals of the IDP and will gain a career advantage over the intern in the northeast.

Third comment. I think the AIA needs to provide firms with more incentives for helping interns finish the requirements of IDP. Right now, all of the IDP requirements are for the interns. The firms are not required to help interns complete the IDP.

We kind of have to discuss these points together, as they intertwine a bit. The reason that firms aren't required to support IDP is because IDP is a voluntary process that each state's architectural board either does or does not mandate as a requirement for attaining licensure in that state. For example, my state of Colorado does not specifically require that an intern follow IDP in order to be eligible for licensure in that state--as a matter of fact, with enough work experience and the right tests, you can be a licensed architect in the state of Colorado with just a high school diploma.

Furthermore, the AIA is a professional organization, not necessarily a governing body. Membership in AIA is voluntary, so if the AIA provides incentives to firms for supporting IDP, that only affects firms whose owners are members of AIA. If an intern works for a crappy, sweatshop-of-a-firm whose owners aren't members of AIA, than they give less than one-tenth of a hoot about those incentives. It would be more helpful if each state's architectural licensing authority provided some mandate for following IDP and then required that firms support that structure. However, bear in mind that having such a requirement would also mean that interns would all have to join NCARB, which means paying NCARB that $60 a year or $90 a year or whatever it is nowadays to maintain your NCARB record. And I know of a lot of interns who write that check to NCARB with gritted teeth every year, so that might be a hard concept to sell. At the same time, I like the idea of making reciprocity even easier--if everyone's following IDP, then there's no reason to give NCARB a wad of cash each year to maintain your license--you have the record already. (Hmm...this brings on more talk....)

As for the fairness of the IDP process, I'm not sure what an intern's locale has to do with the quality of their internship experience. Two architecture firms across town from each other can have differing levels of support for their interns, and therefore the interns at Firm ABC get a much better experience than the interns at firm XYZ, though they're both located in, say, San Antonio. What would make the IDP unfair is the state-by-state adoption of it, and then the lack of support for it in some states or even some firms. The process in and of itself is neutral--work this amount of time, get these credits, and then you're ready to sit for the exam. What has made IDP unfair in some sense here lately is the economy--interns get laid off and lose valuable time and precious credits while sitting on the sidelines of their profession. (And I've had people ask about whether NCARB gets it or not--I'm getting y'all an answer...) IDP is as fair as it can be on its own, but some other rules could stand to be put in to place to make sure all interns are getting a fair shot at success.

Next post: Venting and Complain-a-thon 2010! Bring it on!

Internship: you get out what you put into it, Part 1 of 2

My last post prompted a great response by reader JD, which deserves some response in its entirety. (And JD, you've asked some great questions lately for which I need to get answers--now that the Convention is over, I can finally get to them.) For now, I'll address the first part of his/her response, which was this:

I tend to agree that the "I'm just a monkey, nobody cares" crowd often wins the perceived "state of an interns life" battle. How many people really write/say they had a good experience? For many, it's just another series of hoops and they just want to move on. What I've found is that internship is what you make. Yes, there are bad firms. As you've noted, more often though I'm guessing the experience is good and if it's not, you might have to ask yourself "What is my role in this and who do I talk to make it better?".

JD: thank you. I'm glad you picked up on that part of the internship experience, because I'm not sure that we as a profession are doing a good job of conveying that to interns. IDP is a program that the intern and firm need to take seriously, but let me be clear about the dynamics of IDP from the firm and intern's points of view. An intern wants the IDP experience because it will (ideally and hopefully) provide them with a better understanding of the profession and more fully prepare them for not just the ARE but for that profession overall. Because IDP is designed to (again, ideally and hopefully) prepare an intern to be a better, more knowledgeable and experienced architect, it behooves the firm to make sure they acquire that well-rounded experience so that the intern can be more useful and productive in the firm.

But what happens quite often--and more often than we'd all like--is that an intern's development gets sacrificed to the bottom line, the fee. The business side of architecture can frequently push out the professional development side of architecture. Firm owners and project managers may reason, and rightfully so, that it's not a big deal: I know how to put together a proposal, what goes into a DD set, what the dynamics are of the upcoming client meeting...I just need these bright, young, capable people to execute my vision and knowledge. But the point we hoped to make at the Convention to the firm owners and project managers is that when you take the time up front to invest in an intern's development, you suddenly have a more fully-trained and more useful--and dare I say cheaper!--person who is capable of helping you more with your job.

Remember that no matter what you do for a living, it is your job to be your own PR person. What that means is that you will have to take some amount of responsibility for any IDP hours you lack. Managers and bosses don't know what hours you still need, so bring it to their attention: "Hey, Alex, I'm missing some Bidding & Negotiation hours, and that's all I need to wrap up IDP, so if you've got anything coming down the pike like that, I'd love to help with it!" The second thing you can do is something that JD touches on at the end of his/her quote above: How am I involved in this, and how do I make it better? You can make it better by actually trying to get more involved. Ask questions: why is there so much text on this slide? Why are we highlighting this part of the plan? What are you trying to convey to the client? What do you want this drawing to do for the contractor? If that's the case, can I show you better/faster/easier way to make that happen and get the same effect?

Next time, we'll talk about what happens when you're not getting the support and hours/experience you need. As ever, if you have a question you'd like asked or a topic you'd like to see discussed here, feel free to ask me in the comments or email me at the address in the sidebar. Thanks!