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An architectural designer is a highly specialized individual responsible for designing a variety of structures. The architectural designer is responsible to execute building designs that consider the functionality, aesthetics, safety, and cost of a building. Typically, architectural designers work for clients who provide an outline of their building plan. The designer must take the client's requests and use their expertise to execute a design that closely meets those needs.
If you want to become an architectural designer, you’ll need a few specific prerequisites. Most architectural designers have a bachelor’s degree in architecture or structural engineering. For this role, hiring managers may look for prior experience in architecture, construction, or structural engineering before becoming an architectural designer. In addition, hiring managers may prefer candidates with certain architectural certificates.
This certification can show employers you are highly knowledgeable in the subjects related to architectural design. This certification is especially wise to obtain if you’re someone who has an associate degree or no formal degree. By taking this course, you show hiring managers you are well-versed in the technical and theoretical concepts of building design.
While pursuing your education to become an architectural designer, or shortly thereafter, it’s important to gain hands-on experience that can translate to architectural design. For example, working in construction, or for a building materials manufacturer, can give you real-life knowledge about how some of the more theoretical architectural concepts play out in real life. Working in a related, transferrable field shows hiring managers you have knowledge of the industry and how the different parts come together.
We spoke with hiring managers at top architecture firms like Gensler, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who shared their insights on what makes a strong architectural designer resume. Based on their feedback and our analysis of successful resumes, we've compiled the following tips to help you craft a compelling resume that showcases your skills and experience.
Hiring managers want to see examples of your design work to assess your skills and style. Include a link to your online portfolio prominently on your resume, ideally in the header or summary section.
Make sure your portfolio is up-to-date, easy to navigate, and includes your best work. Provide context for each project, explaining your role and the design challenges you addressed.
A resume summary, also known as a professional summary or summary statement, is an optional section that appears at the top of your resume. It provides a brief overview of your professional background, skills, and career goals. While a summary is not required, it can be beneficial for architectural designers who want to highlight their most relevant qualifications and experiences upfront.
Keep in mind that a resume summary is different from an objective statement. Objective statements focus on your career goals and what you hope to achieve, while a summary emphasizes what you can offer to the employer. In most cases, it's best to avoid using an objective statement and opt for a summary instead.
The work experience section is the heart of your architectural designer resume. It's where you showcase your relevant skills, accomplishments, and impact through previous roles.
Architectural designers create and design structures, inside and out. Your work experience should reflect your technical design skills, as well as your ability to collaborate and bring designs to life.
Choose powerful action verbs that demonstrate your architectural design capabilities:
Spearheaded design development for a 200,000 sq ft mixed-use development, partnering closely with engineers and consultants to optimize building systems and ensure code compliance.
Avoid weak, vague verbs that downplay your contributions, like 'helped with' or 'assisted in designing'.
The education section of your architectural designer resume is key to showing hiring managers you have the right training and knowledge. It's also a chance to highlight impressive academic achievements. Here are some tips to make your education section shine.
Your skills section is one of the most important parts of your architectural designer resume. It's where you showcase your technical abilities, software proficiencies, and industry-specific knowledge. A well-crafted skills section can help you stand out from other candidates and demonstrate your value to potential employers.
In this section, we'll break down the key steps you need to follow when writing your skills section, along with examples of what to include and what to avoid.
Here are examples of popular skills from Architectural Designer job descriptions that you can include on your resume.
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Architectural Designer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more likely you should include it in your resume.
Use our free resume checker to get expert feedback on your resume. You will:
• Get a resume score compared to other Architectural Designer resumes in your industry.
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• Find the Architectural Designer skills your resume is missing.
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Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
