Application Suggestions:

Over the previous years, we've compiled the following list of recommendations for potential applicants to Future Firm (or any other firm). These recommendations help you bring the things that are important, your experience, interests, and goals, into the spotlight, by avoiding common issues we've seen in applications from recent graduates who haven't yet had significant professional experience.

1. Design your resume.
   1. Your resume shouldn't look like your colleagues that apply to jobs in other industries, or typical Microsoft Word templates.
   2. Follow standard reverse chronological formatting with the most recent items first. Education should be first, followed by experience. Skills and awards can follow in an order you choose.
   3. Do not include an “objective.” If you are applying to a design firm, it is understood that your objective is to get a job and practice architecture. The nuance of how you might practice is best kept for the interview or cover letter (see below).
   4. In almost all cases, your resume should be no more than 1 page.
   5. Do not send an academic CV for a job application.
2. Provide a cover letter.
   1. This should also be well formatted and no more than a page. You do not have to design your own letterhead but it also should not look like you wrote it in Google docs and hit “PDF.”
   2. Do not address a cover letter to a “hiring manager” or “to whom it may concern.” Find out who receives resumes or, if that information is not available, address it to the firm's leadership.
   3. The cover letter should be specific to the firm you're applying to, and reflect your interest in the firm's work, approach, or any other reasons you want to work there.
   4. The letter is also a good place to expand on your career goals and the nuances of how you would want to practice.
3. Design your portfolio.
   1. Start with your best project. Projects do not need to be in chronological order.
   2. Limit yourself to one or two drawings/images per page.
   3. Be concise with text and select drawings that speak for themselves. Similar to how drawings are read by clients and contractors, your portfolio will be reviewed quickly and your intention should be to demonstrate breadth, clarity, and craft.
   4. Focus on legibility and simplicity in graphic design. Look at books by/about architects you like, to get a sense of conventions around typesetting, whitespace, and layout that allow the work to speak for itself.