Applicants may be unaware of how a curriculum vitae, or CV, differs from a resume. Regardless of whether a company asks specifically for a CV, sometimes this document can be more useful. Before sitting down to craft your own, it can be helpful to have an understanding of what is expected.
Our architect CV example shown here shows you the nuts and bolts of a well-written CV, so you know what to include in yours. We have also provided helpful guidelines and tips that can make your document really stand out above the rest.
123 Fake Street, City, State, Zip Code
E: email@email.com P: 000-000-0000
Award-winning architect with seven years of experience planning and designing commercial buildings. Worked as principal architect on a variety of projects to produce first-rate structures for public and private sectors. Projects include theaters, banks, and school buildings. Committed to ongoing training through membership in the American Institute of Architects.
- Recipient of Creative Vision Architecture Award
- Fluent in Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Adobe Illustrator, and Microsoft Project
- Thorough experience creating technical plans, blueprints, models, and drawings
- Comprehensive knowledge of environmental factors and safety codes
- Detail-oriented and driven to seeing projects through to completion
- Strong critical thinking skills to find solutions to obstacles
- Creative vision to create unique structures with mass appeal
- Active listening skills to ensure all members of the firm are heard
- Community-oriented, both within the firm and toward a positive impact in the neighborhood
- Direct activities of large design team to create unified innovators.
- Create scale drawings and graphical images of structures prior to construction.
- Participate in hiring process for new hires and interns.
- Attend industry events both locally and nationwide to keep up with current trends and information.
- Utilize personal vision to create competitive designs, increasing the firm’s business by 20%.
- Contributed design ideas to firm and participated in collaborations between staff.
- Implemented energy-efficient components into design without sacrificing aesthetics.
- Considered safety standards and regulations when drafting designs.
- Prepared contract documents for the building contractors.
- Proactively shared any concerns regarding potential issues with designs.
- Mentored interns to give them an understanding of the day-to-day duties in the office.
- Shadowed architects in the firm and acquired thorough knowledge of the expectations and requirements.
- Filed paperwork and prepared standard documents for clients.
- Sat in on company meetings and asked relevant questions.
- Learned digital design techniques for creating models.
- Accompanied architects to property sites
- Observed the overall design process, from drafting the sketches to working with the developer onsite.
Participate in fantasy football league with members of the community. Volunteer soccer coach for inner city youth each summer. Enjoy skiing, biking, and snowboarding.
Questions for Your Architect CV
A good architect CV begins with the type of action-oriented language demonstrated in our architect CV sample. This type of writing begins every sentence with engaging, vivid action verbs, turning a dry description of work history into a compelling read.
Once you’ve mastered this sort of language, the basics of CV writing are simple. Begin with your name and contact information, and progress to three succinct sentences describing your qualifications in a professional summary. Next, fill in a searchable bullet list of skill keywords. Progress from that point to describe the last 10-15 years of your work history in bullet-based format, and close with your education.
Your ability to combine technical skills with visual aesthetics is the backbone of your career, but should you include an extensive list of your technical skills or trust employers to assume your knowledge? Never leave anything to assumption.
Cherry pick a selection of technical skills based on the skills employers list in job advertisements, combined with your knowledge of skills highly desirable in your industry. Integrate these skills throughout your CV, including in your list of keyword skills. Describe them in context in your opening summary and work history.
Build on the principles of action-oriented writing mentioned above to develop the experience section of your CV. This section is the most critical when it comes to demonstrating your skills and accomplishments, particularly when you focus on how you positively impacted a particular employer. Write six to eight succinct bullets for your most recent job, using action-driven language and high-level summary statements to describe an even mix of duties and metrics-based accomplishments.
Reach back about 10-15 years at most, trimming off older experience. You can shorten anything before your most recent job to keep your CV tight and avoid redundant statements. If you’re looking for ideas, try our architect CV sample or cut the work down to nothing with our CV builder, which lets you build a bespoke CV with no writing needed.
To increase your chances on the job market, it’s critical that you tailor your CV to pass an ATS. An ATS is an applicant tracking system, which recruiters and hiring managers use to screen applicants based on skill matches. Yet how, you might ask, can a machine match your skills to a job?
The answer is in the skill keywords. That’s why you need a skills list like the one in our architect CV sample; use this list to selectively include key phrases harvested from target job applications to improve your match percentage in employer systems.
The optimal CV is one page long. One page is enough to cover the last 10-15 years of experience without overwhelming, while still giving you room to make a strong value statement. If you find yourself spilling onto two pages or needing to use minuscule fonts to stay on one page, it’s time to start trimming outdated, redundant, or unnecessary information. One page is all you need to capture and keep an employer’s attention with relevant details.
Architect CV Must-Haves
What Does an Architect Do?
Architects are responsible for coming up with designs for various structures, including private residences, factories, and office buildings. They often work on an architectural team made up of employees of different levels. Architects meet with developers to come up with a strong concept. They use their own creativity and the developers’ goals to design prototypes that are then built by contractors and a construction crew.
Architects need to be able to absorb someone else’s vision while also incorporating their own strong ideas. They also need to be able to work well on a team so that each person’s role positively aids the project. Your CV should include skills and qualifications that reflect these qualities. Our architect CV example demonstrates effective ways to list these qualities, and our tips and guidelines provide detailed advice about how to make your CV stand out.
Tips for Creating a Great Architect CV
The following tips can help you create a polished architect CV:
- Use your personal summary to draw the reader in through listing your most important qualities and skills. To eliminate extraneous words, use phrases instead of full sentences.
- Proofread your CV at least twice, preferably out loud. Reading aloud can help you catch errors you would otherwise miss.
- Double check your personal information, including your email address, home address, and phone number.
- Don’t list the same number for “home” and “cell.” If your number is the same, just list it once.
- It is fine to list just your city and state instead of your full home address.
- A CV can include more personal information than a resume, including your marital status, birth date, and nationality.
- Use bullet points throughout your CV to make it easier for the reader. Often, employers must read through application materials quickly.
- Use professional credentials after your name, such as RN, MD, and MSW; however, avoid using irrelevant credentials.
More resume examples for the next step in your architecture career
More CV examples for the next step in your architecture career
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