b'Resumes & Cover Letters\nfor Architectural Designers\n\nMarketing Your Work\n\nA resume is your first opportunity to \xe2\x80\x9csell\xe2\x80\x9d your work and\nexperience to an architecture or design firm. Most summer\ninternships and intern architect positions will require a\nresume and cover letter, as well as work sample pages. Your\nresume should highlight the key projects and experiences\nthat best represent the skills you will need for the desired\nposition.\n\nInclude your experience with computer hardware and\nsoftware applications such as AutoCAD, Adobe\nsoftware, Microsoft and others. You can include your\nbackground in sustainable design, green building,\nmuseum, art history and graphic arts.\nz\n\nBasic Resume Content\nAvoid making your resume too complicated or lengthy; it\nshould be easy to read and show off the style of your work.\nHeadings for Resume Sections:\nz Personal Contact Information\nList your name, address, phone number, and email.\nYour email address should be professional and\ninclude your name. You may also include your personal\nWeb site, if it professionally showcases your work.\nz\n\nz\n\nz\n\nEducation\nBegin with the most recent degree you are pursuing\nor have earned. Include the institution, degree you\nwill earn, your major(s) and minor(s), month and year\nof completion, and location with city and state. List\nadditional degrees in reverse chronological order.\nAdditional educational experiences may also be listed\nin this section, including study abroad and other\nacademic programs.\nProfessional Experience\nList any professional experience relating to your field,\nsuch as summer internships at architecture or\nconstruction firms. Discuss the kinds of projects\nyou\xe2\x80\x99ve worked on, such as education or healthcare.\nList presentations you gave or contributed to,\nclient meetings you attended as an intern, or the\nspecifics on your work in a design library.\nSkills\nWithin your resume, create a detailed skills section.\nBrainstorm and add skills such as design, hand\nsketching, rendering, schematics and model building.\nBe sure to highlight your soft skills like customer\nservice, communication, and teambuilding.\nConstruction and carpentry skills are often a plus.\n\nAwards & Honors\nYou can also create an Awards & Honors section that\ncould include awards/prizes from design competitions,\nGPA, and on-campus leadership activities and positions.\nDepending on your level of experience, you could list\nstudio projects in a separate Selected Accomplishments\nsection to add to the information you are presenting.\n\nCrafting a Creative Resume\nConsider the overall look of your resume. You may want to\nincorporate an artistic element to your resume that showcases your skills as a designer. Your resume can be more\ndesign-oriented than a typical business resume, but should\ninclude the same basic elements.\nz\n\nz\n\nz\n\nz\n\nz\n\nz\n\nUse a Sans Serif font such as Arial and be sure to\nmake it large enough to read easily.\nDesign your own "letterhead" to showcase your\ndesign skills. You don\xe2\x80\x99t need to create your own logo,\nbut do use your creative abilities to make your\npresentation unique.\nIn some cases, small images of your work can be\nused to make your resume stand out.\nYour "letterhead" should be used on all of your\nmarketing materials including your cover letter,\nresume, thank you letter, and sample work pages.\nYour entire application package may be 4-5 pages;\nyour letterhead will insure that your name and contact\ninformation is on every page.\nIn many cases, you may be submitting your application\nvia email or the Web. When designing your materials,\nincluding sample pages, make sure your files are small\nenough to pass through the email file size filter. These\nfilters are often set at 3 MB (3,000KB), at the most.\n\nShowcasing Your Work\nIn addition to your resume, you should also create a one or\ntwo-page work sample document to showcase your skills. A\nhuge benefit of using work sample pages is that they are a\ncost-effective way to showcase your work to many employ-\n\n157 Karl Umrath Hall z 204 Lopata Hall z Givens Hall z Phone: 314-935-5930 z Email: careers@wustl.edu z www.careers.wustl.edu\n\n\x0cers. This can include work from studios, internships, travel\nexperiences, and your own individual artwork. Your sample\npages are a "mini-portfolio" and should also be designed to\nmatch your resume and cover letter.\nPortfolios\nA portfolio is an additional way to showcase your past experience. The first step in creating your portfolio is to document your work. You should keep photos or copies of work\nyou\xe2\x80\x99ve done for studio, classes or summer internships. It is\nimportant that your portfolio give a brief, but consistent\nview of your work over time. If you are unsure of what to\ninclude in your portfolio, ask a faculty member for help.\nYou will most likely create one portfolio to use in interviews\nto showcase your work. You may decide to use a professional document portfolio or design your own binding system or\ncase to display your work. Just make sure the cover is\ndurable. The inside pages should include samples of your\nbest work, as well as your resume. Your portfolio should\nalso include artistic or design elements that reflect your style.\n\nWriting Your Cover Letter\n\nA cover letter is your introduction to a prospective employer.\nYour letter should demonstrate your ability to think clearly\nand write persuasively. An effective cover letter makes you\nstand out as a candidate. In fact, some employers consider it\neven more important than your resume.\nYour cover letter should create a link between the needs of\nthe organization and your skills and experience related to\nthose needs. Demonstrate your motivation, creativity and\nknowledge of the organization. Rather than restating what is\non your resume, enhance your qualifications by describing\nhow your past experience will benefit the employer.\nA cover letter should always accompany your resume and\nshould match the overall design and feel of your resume.\n\nCover Letter Writing Tips\nz\n\nWrite a custom cover letter for each position and\nprint it out on the same paper as your resume.\n\nz\n\nAddress your letter to a specific person. If you do\nnot have a name, call the organization and ask for the\nname and title of the person who should receive your\nletter. As a last resort, you may use \xe2\x80\x9cDear Hiring\nManager.\xe2\x80\x9d\n\nz\n\nIn general, cover letters specifically state the position\nyou are seeking (do this in the first sentence), tell the\nreader why you think you should be considered and\nsuggest the next course of action (e.g., you will follow\nup with a phone call).\n\nz\n\nResearch the organization, study the position\ndescription, and tailor your letter accordingly.\nYour initiative and knowledge will make your letter\nstand out from others. Resist the temptation to use a\nstandard letter that only changes the company name.\n\nz\n\nFocus on the reader\xe2\x80\x99s needs, not yours. Make your\nqualifications clear and emphasize how you can help\nthe organization.\n\nz\n\nLimit the letter to one page. Business writing is\ndifferent from academic writing. Keep it simple,\nstraight-forward and to the point.\n\nz\n\nMake the most of referrals and connections.\nName the person who referred you in the opening\nsentence. The familiar name will grab the reader\xe2\x80\x99s\nattention.\n\nz\n\nCover letters serve as a method to help employers\nevaluate your writing ability. Spelling and\ngrammar must be perfect. Ask friends, mentors and\nadvisors to review your letter and provide feedback.\n\nCover Letter Format\nOpening Paragraph: In the first sentence, state why you\nare writing and/or the position or type of work for which\nyou are applying. State how you heard of the opening or\norganization. The last line should give a brief synopsis of\nwho you are and what you can contribute to the organization\nor position. A good way to do this is to indicate the top two\nor three skills that make you a great fit for the position. The\nfirst paragraph should be three to four sentences.\nMiddle Paragraph(s): Explain why you are interested in\nworking for the employer by demonstrating your knowledge\nof the organization, and tell the employer how you will perform in your desired position based on concrete references\nto your previous accomplishments. Enhance your resume by\nconnecting the dots between what the employer wants and\nhow your past experience will enable you to fill his/her\nneeds. When appropriate, talk about the results of your past\nresponsibilities. Write with concise, confident statements.\nIf this paragraph starts to get long, split it into two short\nparagraphs to make them easier to absorb.\nClosing Paragraph: Indicate that you would like to talk\nwith the employer in person to further discuss the opportunity. Give your phone number and email address in case\nthey would like to contact you for further information. State\nyour planned next steps, such as calling to ensure that your\napplication materials have been received. Close by thanking\nthe person for his/her time and consideration.\n\n\x0cResume Sample #1\n\n2\n\n\x0cResume Sample #2\n\none brookings drive\nsaint louis, missouri 63000\n+1.555.555.5555\nuser@domain.com\n\nJOHN ALEXANDER SMITH\n\nRELEVANT EXPERIENCE\n\nEDUCATION\n\nabc architects\n\nuniversity of illinois\n\ncity, state\narchitectural intern\nhistoric preservation design + speci\nhospitality + restaurant design\nsingle family residential sd + construction observation\nmay-august 2005\n\nyancy\n\nurbana-champaign\nschool of architecture\nbachelor of science in architectural studies\n[may 2005]\n\nstudy abroad\nbuenos aires, argentina\n\nof architecture\n\n[september 2003-december 2004]\n\ncity, state\narchitectural intern\nlarge scale industrial design, cd + mep\nsingle family residential design + cd\nmay-august 2004 + 2005\n\nPROFILE\namerican institute of architects [aia]\n\nhistoric ville alliance, cdc\n\nstudent director of aia illinois, elected, 2004-2005\ndesigning tomorrow\xe2\x80\x99s architect, internship conference; san antonio, tx\nessay competition selection + participant, september 2005\n\nsaint louis\nproposed master vision plan for ville neighborhood\nseptember-december 2005\n\namerican institute of architecture students [aias]\nmember 2001-present\n\nPROFICIENCY\n\n[national involvement]\nnational membership committee, appointed 2004-2005\ngrassroots national leadership conference, july 2002 + 2004\nattendant, FORUM 2002: chicago, il, december 2002\nchapter delegate, FORUM 2004: new orleans, la, december 2004\n\ncomputer aided design\nrhino/bongo animation, autoCAD, 3d studio\n\nmacromedia\ndreamweaver\n\nadobe\n\n[school involvement]\n\nillustrator, acrobat, photoshop, indesign, premiere\n\nchapter at washington university in saint louis\nwebmaster, 2005-2006 [http://sugroups.wustl.edu/~aias]\n\nprogramming\nworking knowledge of html + visual basic\n\nother\nmicrosoft of\n\nchapter at the university of illinois at urbana-champaign\ninternal vice-president, 2004-2005\ninternational chair, 2003-2004\nco-founder of chapter in versailles, france\nsecretary, 2002-2003\n\n, corel packages\n\nLANGUAGES\n\nwomen in architecture mentoring program, university of illinois\n\nenglish\n\nmentor, 2005-present\npairs female students with female alumni\n\nnative\n\nspanish\nintermediate- comprehension and oral\n\nelwood e. + adelaide schwenk scholarship\n\nfrench\n\nuniversity of illinois school of architecture, april 2004\n\nintermediate- comprehension and oral\n\neast st. louis action research project [eslarp]\nweekend outreach program volunteer, 2001-2004\n\n3'