Design Portfolios

Chapter 4Give It Substance

Let's see … are you qualified for this position?

Picture this. You're the recruiter for a growing design firm. You've posted an ad for a “Creative entry‐level architect with a bachelor's degree in Architecture, with excellent communication skills and expertise with BIM. Please forward résumé and portfolio for consideration.” By the end of the week, your inbox is filled with eager applicants. You scan each portfolio, truly hoping you'll find the talented individual you pictured as you wrote the ad. Some candidates won't graduate until next year, others didn't bother to attach a portfolio. Then there are draftspeople looking for a career change and a host of other applicants without the required AutoCAD or BIM skills. Didn't anybody read the ad? All you want is to hear from a qualified candidate who has the education and skill set you're looking for.

This story plays out in design firms across the country every day. Of course, there are many qualified candidates who do submit outstanding submittals. But for every qualified candidate, there are many more who send untargeted submittals for every position they see advertised, whether they are qualified for it or not. This “shotgun” approach to applying for work might secure a job as a car wash attendant or a fast‐food cashier, but it is rarely successful in the search for a professional position. In the scenario I described above, we aren't looking for someone who can wash cars or push buttons on a cash ...