Redlined Resumes: international flavor

Today's Redlined Resume is from GS, who is not from the U.S. but has offered up his/her resume (or CV, curriculum vitae, as they say almost everywhere except for the U.S.) for our review.  While GS might not ever come to the U.S., my comments on this resume will be aimed as tuning it for an American audience.



GS has, like some other recent resumes we've seen, a nice cleanliness to it.  The text is a good size and very clean, and s/he includes information that implies that s/he has a website that showcases his/her work.  (If this is the case, then that website should be included at the bottom of the resume/CV, much like YH did last week.)  GS's website is clean and clear and shows that s/he has a range of job experience in design-related jobs, like the graphic design and screen-printing firms.

But what kind of experience?  That's what's lacking in GS's CV--just as it was in YH's resume last week, I'm missing the details to know if GS was just a lackey at these firms or if s/he did some real, meaty design work.  What did GS do at the screenprinting shop?  What kind of designs did s/he work on as a freelance graphic and architectural designer?  With a few details on what kind of projects s/he worked on, a firm would be intrigued to go to GS's website and see more.  The work and types of tasks that GS did will tell a firm more about whether s/he is a good fit for them.  In that vein, GS might need to jettison a few other details here, namely the information about his/her high school and possibly the scholarships.  That will free up space to give a potential firm some great details on how excellent a fit GS might be.

Comments? Questions? Resumes? Armageddon?  Let me know if the comments or via email in the sidebar.  Thanks!

Redlined Resumes: tell me more, tell me more

Today's Redlined Resume comes from YH, who brings us a little international experience with his/her resume.

 

YH's resume is clean and easy to read, a definite plus.  I'm loving the note at the bottom regarding a physical portfolio as well as a website address to view his/her portfolio online.  (It seems like this is becoming more commonplace--is it easy to do? Making your own website was still kinda tough when I got out of grad school back in 2000, before the iPod and the Roomba.)  YH uses fonts (bold, italic, all caps, etc.) to an advantage, as a way of organizing information on the resume.

What YH's resume is lacking is details.  What kind of tower did s/he coordinate the engineering systems on? What exactly did s/he do at his/her various jobs listed under "Additional Experience"?  What does s/he mean by "working within the fabric of the city"?  While it might seem that all these things would be obvious to a potential firm, that's not necessarily so.  Phrases like "working within the fabric of the city" might mean different things to an architect versus an urban planner versus a construction manager (if that's the kind of firm you happen to be applying at) versus a regular ol' HR director.  Yes, sometimes the person who looks at resumes--if it's a person at all--isn't an architect, and that person (or computer program) needs to see certain words to know if you have the skills and experiences to possibly do the job for which the firm is advertising.  YH needs to add a few more details so that it's clear what s/he can do for a firm, which will make the firm call YH in for an interview.

Comments? Questions?  Gripes? Want to submit a resume for Redlined Resumes?  Feel free to let me know in the comments or via email in the sidebar.  Thanks!

Redlined Resumes: room to breathe

First of all, thank you all so much for sending a new spate of resumes for redlining.  I'll be posting a few more over the next few weeks and then take another break to post on various work-related issues, but for now...on with the resumes.  As usual, the same rules apply: this is one architect's opinion, and you're free to agree or disagree, use or ignore any of the comments I make on any resume.

Today's resume is from KS, who has a lot of good info and content that's a little overwhelming due to the size of his/her text.  It's an honest mistake, so take heart and take note: while I warn against making a resume that looks muddy when printed or faxed as a black and white document, bear in mind that not everyone will print your resume out, at least the first time they see it.  Your font can be at a 10-point or 11-point most of the time (unless it's a font that tends to be really big or small).  Another distraction on KS's resume are the various horizontal and vertical lines.  I can tell that KS is trying to divide up certain types of information, but if a couple of these lines are deleted (or extended), it can make the resume a little more legible.

As for content, I'll give KS the same advice I give everyone: take out personal activities or interests, unless they directly relate to the kind of firm to which you're applying.  Further, KS's relevant activities (not life experiences) tell a firm indirectly what his/her interests are, and it does this in a way that makes his/her interests relevant to a firm.  KS uses sentences instead of bullet points to talk about his/her work experience, which is unusual but if well-written can work in your favor.  I've tweaked a few of KS's sentences, and I've clouded some items to ask what s/he means by the words.  For example, what does "working...with everyday challenges and  opportunities, accomplishing goals while working with a team" mean to KS?  This is where a firm will need more specific information about what these challenges and opportunities are, and goals were be accomplished, and what exactly does teamwork entail at this particular job.  There's a lot to be learned (and a lot of skills to be gained) from working retail, and I want to make sure KS conveys how much s/he knows from having done this job.  It's respectable work, especially in a bad economy when architecture jobs were hard to find, and KS should get credit where credit is due.

More Redlined Resumes to come, but please send more questions and resumes along, and feel free to ask questions in the comments or via email in the sidebar.  Thanks!

Work versus school: Working long hours doubles depression risk

A recent study in the journal PLoS One indicated that people who work 11 or more hours a day are 2.4 times more likely to suffer from depression than those who work seven or eight hours a day.  (The survey is summarized here, and the original quote is here.)  One of the links takes readers to a Health.com article on ten careers with high rates of depression. The closest the article gets to architects is "artists, entertainers, and writers," but our profession didn't specifically make the list.  There is an urban legend that architects have the fifth highest suicide rate in the U.S., but there's no proof of that that I've been able to find.  (Although in a research project by Business Insider, urban planners supposedly had a higher-than-average suicide risk.)


What I took away from the PLoS One article is that the effect of long workdays wasn't as hard on people further up the food chain in a company. The inelegant but concise saying "shit flows downhill" explains this phenomenon, and it won't surprise interns who have been working long hours for an extended period of weeks or months. The researchers theorized that upper-level managers that work 11+ hour-long days have more control over their schedules, workloads, and tasksl.  Mid-level and lower-ranking workers have to do the work and tasks that their bosses hand them (i.e., shit flows downhill), so they work long hours on tasks over which they have no control.  


Lots of work + little to no control over your daily activities = depression.


Interns might greet the news of long workdays at a firm with a shrug: "What's the big deal? I'm already working a ton of hours in grad school," they might say.  But working 12-hour days in Studio is a different matter than spending 12-hour days in an office, doing plan details and cleaning up door and equipment schedules on a project that you might not get to see built.  The work you do in Studio is very directly yours and affects you instantly in every desk crit and review, but the work you do in an office can feel very divorced from you--it's for someone else, and you're no longer doing big sweeping design gestures but rather small weird details. Half the things you do in a firm will feel like the farthest thing from architecture.


In addition, your schedule sometimes isn't your own.  The client changes their mind right before a deadline, or your boss delays getting some information to the project team, or the contractor completes the SD pricing at the last minute and needs you to revise the entire exterior material to save money.  Guess who picks up the slack and fixes the drawing and stays late at night and on weekends?  The intern, natch.  Now and again, staying late and working overtime to save the day isn't so bad, and as the person who best knows how to use the drafting/modeling software, it's the intern's job to do this.  But if saving-the-day becomes the standard method of operation, a firm risks burning out its interns.  It will be up to the interns to set those boundaries early on in a firm (or as soon as they realize there's a problem) so that they won't be abused.


I got a letter from someone recently on this, and it will be the subject of an upcoming Lulu's Mailbag.  I also have some more fantastic Redlined Resumes coming, including one from a few interns with lots of experience.  In the meantime, keep your comments and questions coming.  This blog only works with your questions and input!

Lulu's Mailbag: Can I leave a firm when my options seem limited?

From S, who wrote a while back, but I just haven't had a chance to compose a coherent response until now:

As of today I was told they are cutting back on my hours because as a intern I don't have the same skill set as the other designer and architect; they have 5 or more years of experience. And because I don't have a car to run and get things. I am so frustrated. I was tops in my school when it came to technology and cad. I never got to use it and I know Revit. Is there something wrong with me?

From Lulu: 
Wow, sounds like your firm might be kinda schmucky.  How are you supposed to get more experience if they cut your hours? [facepalm]  What are your options for going to a new firm?


From S.:

Well, they are pretty limited.  Because everyone knows everyone in [large city redacted].  I have only been there a month.  the first two weeks I was basically cleaning and organizing areas.  Now I know that everyone has a different way of doing things.  They are as of right now a 3 person firm and more and more work is coming available.  they told me they shouldn't have to babysit me for certain things to be done.  I was shown how to do a red line once and wanted to make sure it got done correctly, and they kept making changes and making me add stuff to it.   I was shown their way of doing a purchase order and I did 4 perfectly and he told me to leave the other one alone he was going to do it.  Well he emailed it and it was wrong, but I got blamed for it.

There is a new architect that they both worked with when they had tons of interns and architects she has her license and everything.  She is very sweet, but she didn't know how to change from classic cad to 2010, I had to do it for her.  And on top of that they put me as contract, even though I don't have a business of my own.  Why do I keep getting firms like this?  they were so nice in the beginning.  

I am trying to get into a much larger firm... I am trying to make a go out of the $55,000 I spent on 2 degrees with everyone trying to make me feel not worthy enough to be in this field.  Even though I have proven myself time and time again.  Its really harder than I thought.  And if they didn't want me to learn from them, they should not have hired me for just cleaning and running errands.  I am trying to [do] some volunteer work at habitat for humanity and building my skills up.  Any advice?

Well, S., it still sounds like your firm is acting a little schmucky and it's time for you to make tracks out of there.  There are likely a few things at work here, based on your emails.  First, politics at work can be hell in even the best of situations, but they can be downright poisonous in a smaller firm. For whatever reason, your skills, personality, whatever aren't meshing at this firm, and it sounds like no one's being straight with you on this.  I presume you've attempted to defend yourself in performance reviews when you've been treated unfairly, and you're getting the "we don't have time to babysit you" line, which is a superficial way of saying "you're not doing things the way we want you to do them, but we don't have the time/don't want to spend the time to teach you how we want it".  (This is also a line that I feel is frankly bullshit coming from a smaller firm--if you're so busy that you need skilled help that doesn't need "babysitting", then don't hire a fresh intern.  If you don't want to spend time doing training, especially in a smaller firm where everyone has to be involved in training, then don't hire someone with less than two years' experience, end of story.)


To be clear, all firms are nice in the beginning, and it's a genuine niceness.  Everyone's hopeful that this arrangement will work out: you'll be a great employee, and they'll be a great employer.  Once expectations aren't met, things start to go sour.  Unfortunately, most companies (not just architectural ones) aren't very good at having tough conversations like "we really need you to step up your game, and here's what we need from you" or even tougher conversations like "we realize we weren't very clear with you when we told you what this job would entail" or even the toughest conversations like "we realize that we shoulda hired someone with more experience than you because we really don't have the time or patience to train you the way we need to and the way you deserve to be trained."  This leaves employees, especially the newest employees, in situations where they feel like they're not wanted at best and being mistreated at worst, but all they have are a vague feeling and a handful of anecdotes to go on.


This evaluation, compounded by the fact that there are so few folks in the office to help fill in the gaps for you, make it hard for you to bounce back from a less-than-awesome review and to improve your skills (or to at least understand what the hell they want).  A larger firm may be just the ticket for you, as there might be more people around upon which you can rely to fill in the blanks and show you how things need to be done at the firm.  Smaller firms, especially those that are getting busier and busier, truly may not be able to train and fill in the gaps for newer professionals--they need all hands on deck to be savvy ones (which again makes me question a  3-person operation for hiring you fresh or nearly-fresh out of college without thinking they might have to do some "babysitting", as they so ineloquently put it).


That being said, I'm betting your town isn't any smaller than Denver, where I've been living and working for the past 11+ years.  I wouldn't count out trying to work at a new firm at this point, especially a larger one.  People make the rounds in Denver, especially among larger firms as big jobs come and go and as firms lay off and staff up.  Ask the architect in your office whom you described as "sweet" if she would be comfortable being your reference if you decided to look elsewhere for employment.  (If she does ask why you'd leave your present firm, I would suggest saying that you feel like you need to be in a place where they have more capacity for training, and that your present firm really needs someone more experienced than you--you and the firm just aren't a good fit, given your present skill set.)  Go ahead and polish up your resume, get an okay from the gal you're working with now to use her as a reference, and start looking.  It's time for you to find a firm where you can get better guidance and training.


Got a question you'd like to ask or a topic you'd like to see covered here?  Feel free to ask me in the comments or via email in the sidebar.  Thanks!

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. 

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!