Architecture Resume Examples & Template for 2023

You're about to write a killer architecture resume. But before you do that...

Picture a stadium packed with 110,168 architects. Nice movable roof. Now imagine it's got only 112,600 seats. That's basically the architect job market in the U.S. I know, right? Tighter than L.A.'s building codes.

Worse, only the top row pays good money with attractive work environments. Is it any wonder your architecture resume must stand out like Burj Khalifa?

This guide will show you:

• An architect resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write an architecture resume that will land more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on an architecture resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for architecture jobs to get what you want.

Here's a sample resume for an architect made using our resume builder.  

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Use this resume template

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

To get more samples of resumes for related professions, see one of our dedicated guides:

• Civil Engineering Resume
• Construction Resume
• Construction Manager Resume
• Construction Project Manager Resume
• Construction Superintendent Resume
• Landscaping Resume
• HVAC Resume
• Interior Design Resume
• Landscape Architecture Resume
• Systems Engineer Resume
• Maintenance Resume
• Maintenance Technician Resume
• Real Estate Resume
• Material Handler Resume
• Welder Resume
• Solution Architect Resume
• Graphic Designer Resume
• More Example Resumes for 500+ Jobs

That's how to create a job-winning resume for architecture:

1

Choose the Best Format for an Architecture Resume

Meet the hiring manager at the biggest, best architecture firm on the planet. Her name's Jan. Please, no, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha" jokes. She's buried beneath enough architectural resumes to wallpaper One World Trade Center. If you could meet her – if she only knew what you can do, she'd hire you in a millisecond.

The trouble is, your architectural resume format hides your talents like underground parking. 

Let me show you what I mean.

First, the two-page resume screams TL/DR (Too Long, Didn't Read).

Next, don't resort to over-the-top gimmicky resumes. Creative resume designs on ceiling tiles or building models aren't up to code.

Use a trusted resume design like reverse-chronological. It's the best architecture resume format because it puts your biggest wins up front.

That's key, since recruiters spend just six seconds with each resume, according to our HR statistics report. So stick to the classic US resume format.

Use clean fonts, big headings, one inch resume margins, and negative space.

Finally, save your architecture resume as a PDF. Architect resume PDFs preserve their formatting in transit. MS Word or .doc resumes can fall into disrepair between machines.

Pro Tip: Does the firm accept resumes for architects as PDFs? Some don't. Check the job offer.

Don't want your resume design set in stone just yet? Check out other formats for your best architectural resume: "3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]"

Remember, the hiring manager will spend just six seconds with your architecture resume. That's just enough to keep her reading. Do that with a resume summary or a resume objective.

A resume summary convinces by showing your experience. Use it if you've got skyscrapers-full.

A resume objective shares your passion. It's a snapshot of your laser-leveled goal.

Take a look at what I mean. Check out these two very different design architect resume samples.

What's wrong with that? Nothing, on its own. But, like one McMansion in a massive development, it's too much like all the rest. Now what if we add some measurable achievements?

Architect Resume Summary Example

Wow. Now you look like Mike Brady with a Pritzker Prize.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

But what if you're writing an architect resume for an internship?

How to Write The Best Resume Objective for an Architecture Student Resume

Don't have experience? Think your intern architecture resume will look like a new AutoCAD document Write an objective statement. They're for architecture student resumes or internships.

That's not awful, but it'll ultimately fail to please, like that Elephant Building in Bangkok. But watch what happens if we add accomplishments:

Objective for an Architect Student Resume

Nice. You might be the next Frank Gehry. But how did an architecture student get that kind of experience for a resume?

She did it by digging into her past, and taking a couple proactive steps. I'll show you how in a minute.

Pro Tip: If you're licensed, you took 7 exams and 1,200 internship hours. That's impressive, so show it in your architect resume objective statement. And for experienced candidates, a statement of qualifications is a good alternative type of personal profile.

For more examples, see the architecture resume template at the top. Plus, check out our guides: How To Write A Resume Summary: 21 Best Examples You Will See AND +20 Resume Objective Examples - Use Them on Your Resume (Tips)

Does the way you show experience matter on an architecture resume? Only as much as structural supports. So, let me show you how to list experience that gets attention like Zaha Hadid.

List your most recent job first. Add 5-6 bullet points that mix duties and accomplishments.

Here's the magic: Fit those bullet points to the job description.

Picture a job that values design, big projects, high-quality, and cost-savings.

Architect Resume Responsibilities

There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with tract housing, either. But neither draws the eye.

Next, what if you're writing an architecture student CV?

How to Write an Architecture Student Resume with No Experience

Up your game on a junior architectural resume for interns by listing:

• Freelance projects
• Articles you've written
• Competitions or awards you've won
• Anything else at all that sounds like an achievement.

Look how that's done in these two entry-level architecture resume samples:

Just awful, right? Like a modular home, but without the charm. Now look what happens when we add details:

Architecture Student Resume for an Internship (Sample)

Wow, right? You might just be the next I.M. Pei or Norman Foster. But the secret is, it didn't take much time to do all this.

The point? With a little thinking, even an architecture student resume can turn some heads. Look online for freelance or volunteer architect jobs. Attend a conference or enter a competition. Anything that shows your dedication looks great on a resume for architects.

Pro Tip: Already did your internship? List it as experience, like any job. Check our great architect resume template up top for an example.

Need more tips to put your architecture resume in the Gensler category? See this guide: "How to Put Achievements on a Resume - Complete Guide (+30 Examples)"

Oh-oh.

Our hiring manager, Jan? She just stopped reading your great architecture resume. Why? Because your education confused her. The path to a career in architecture is incredibly complex.

Your architectural resume can't be.

Break ground with the basics:

• College Name(s) and Location(s).
• Years in School.
• Degree.

List your bachelor's degree, and master's degree if you have one.

Then tie your bullet points to the job offer, like this:

Imagine a job that values CAD design, modeling, and working with new materials.

That doesn't fit the job offer. In fact, it's a pretty bad resume example. It's like they asked for the Sydney Opera House and got a Walmart Supercenter. Now look at this next architecture resume sample:

Education on an Architect Resume Sample

Pow. Tongue-in-groove, right? Everything fits. It just takes attention to the job offer, and a little shopping in your past.

Pro Tip: Should you show your GPA or nix it? If it's a proud achievement, celebrate it. Otherwise, encase it in 500 feet of concrete.

Want to design resumes for architecture that pop out like the Guggenheim? See this guide: "How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]"

"Let's definitely interview this one."

Your architecture resume can make the hiring manager say the words above.

How?

By being different.

Here's what everybody does:

You earned those skills, so you want to show them off. But to a manager, it's as impressive as a trailer home.

So, list just the skills you see in the job offer, plus a few.

Then, prove them in your bullet points. Check out the next of our top architect resume examples.

Skills in the job offer: Adherence to Budgets, Rework Reduction, New Business Generation.

Skills in your architecture resume skills list: The above plus Communication and On-Time Delivery.

Paydirt. You list the right skills, then you prove them. The hiring manager just stopped fiddling with her scale model of Falling Water and reached for the phone.

List of Skills to Put on an Architect Resume

Here's a list of common architecture resume skills.

Add to them by trolling job offers online.

Architecture Resume Skills

Follow the plan above, and your architect resume will make you look like the next Santiago Calatrava.

Pro Tip: Show examples of your skills in the experience, education, and "other" sections of your architecture resume.

Want to elevate your skills section? Follow the professional architectural resume template up top. Also, see our guide: "+30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)"

You only had to pass seven ARE exams to get your architect's license.

So it doesn't matter how you show it on your architecture resume. Right?

Of course that isn't true.

You got your 5-7 year degree, completed a 2-4 year internship, and passed 7 rigorous tests. That alone should blow the modular-arches-patterned socks off any hiring manager.

So, put your license in a special "Licenses" section, like this:

Licenses

• Registered Architect, American Institute of Architects (AIA) 
• Certified Professional Building Designer, NCBDC

Also, put AIA after your name, and add it to your work experience. It'll show the manager you're qualified at a glance, from anywhere on your architect resume. Anything less would be like covering St. Paul's Cathedral with McDonald's logos.

Writing a landscape architect resume?

Certification

• CLARB Certified Landscape Architect

Pro Tip: Got 40 floors of certifications? Use the few that really matter for this job offer. A resume for architecture is not a laundry list.

Now you know how to add certifications and licences to architecture resumes. Need more advice to help build out a resume for an architect? See this guide: “What To Put On A Resume To Make It Perfect [Tips & Examples]”

Picture a hiring manager's desk. On it, near her 2B or Not 2B coffee mug, sit two piles of architecture resumes. One is 250 deep. That's the rejects pile. The other has just 50 resumes. That's the "second look" stack. Your resume's in there.

The problem?

Everyone in pile #2 has similar experience and skills. How can you set yourself apart?

With dedicated "other" sections that show your passion and commitment.

Add anything that shows you as the Mackey Mitchell type.

Architect Resume Sample "Other" Sections

Competitions

• 2nd Place, Tomorrows Challenges in Today's Buildings Competition, 2016.
• 3rd Place, Open International Contest for Standard Housing, 2015.

Conferences

• AIA Conference 2017
• WIDA 2016

Publications

• "Function vs Kitsch," Dezeen.com, 2014.
• "How Tech is Changing Architecture," Domestic Space, 2016.

That gets attention like the Dancing House in Prague.

Awards, exhibitions, resume projects, conferences, language skills, publications, and professional association memberships all make excellent detail on an architecture resume.

Should You Have an Online Portfolio?

How can a single sheet of paper convey your talent?

It can't.

So, have a pro architect resume portfolio.

A portfolio resume for architecture shows the depth and color missing in a resume. Architecture resumes and portfolios go hand in hand.

If you're a design architect, fill it with designs and images of finished structures.

Are you a production architect? Use pictures of your work. Still a student? Concept drawings and pics of models will work great.

Pro Tip: This advice works just as well on a landscape architecture resume or an architectural designer resume. Read the offer, then customize.

Need more meat for great architect resume "other" sections? Use this guide: "+20 Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests To Put on a Resume (5 Tips)"

Here's the most common myth about cover letters: "Nobody reads architect cover letters." Said every architect who thinks they're hard to write.

The truth is, 40% of hiring managers consider them essential. Not sure which kind you're dealing with? Write a cover letter for your architecture resume.

Here's how:

Make it personal. Use the hiring manager's name. Include a fact or two about the company. Make it useful. Show metrics that fit the job requirements.

Example:

End it with a call to action like, "I'd welcome the opportunity to talk more with you about your needs." You can use this same strategy in an interior design resume.

Pro Tip: Don't forget to follow up. Maybe you got rejected or the manager forgot. Either way, a follow-up gives your architect cover letter and resume a second chance.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Want a concrete example for your good architecture CV? See this guide: Architecture Cover Letter: Sample & Complete Guide [20+ Examples]

You're probably making a mistake with contact info on your architecture resume.

Of course you'll add:

• Full Name
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like this:

Darcie Abimola, [email protected] - 213-698-9195

But what about LinkedIn? Twitter? Or a personal portfolio resume site?

If other candidates add those and you don't, they'll grab the manager's interest while you fade into the masonry.

Pro Tip: Not sure what to put in your LinkedIn profile to give your architect resume it's best chance? See our guide on how to make a great LinkedIn profile.

Want more tips to help you write a professional resume for architecture? See this guide: "How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide (+30 Examples)"

Even with good architect resume templates, drafting your own can be a challenge. Here's what you should do:

• Start with the job offer. Highlight skills and requirements. Then use them to customize your architect resume.
• Match the bullet points of your resume for architecture to the skills you highlighted.
• Add "other" sections to an architecture student resume. They'll prove you're stuffed to the rafters with passion and commitment.
• Don't forget to include a cover letter in your job application.

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for architecture? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements on your architect CV template? Give us a shout in the comments! We love to help!