Architecture Social | What Employers and Hiring Managers Look for When Recruiting Architects

Stephen Drew explains what employers and hiring managers look for when recruiting architects, including how to stand out, what skills matter, and how to improve CVs, portfolios and application emails.

Show Notes

The best applications make it easy for a hiring manager to understand the person, the evidence and the fit quickly.

The conversation covers:

How to stand out in a competitive architecture job market
Which skills employers tend to look for first
How to make a CV easier to review
What a strong portfolio needs to communicate
How to write an application email that gets attention

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▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXwh8JDbuo

📝 Read the full write-up, with the key takeaways:
https://architecturesocial.com/podcast/what-hiring-managers-look-for-architects/

Architecture Social is where architects and designers find honest career advice, insight from practice, and live roles worth applying for:
https://architecturesocial.com/

The fastest way to get hired is to be better at the things practices actually ask for. Revit, Rhino, rendering, BIM, portfolio work. Our learning partner ArchAdemia is built by architects, for architects:
https://archademia.com/architecture-social/

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Chapters

00:00 What employers look for when recruiting architects
07:54 Standing out in a competitive market
23:23 Skills hiring managers look for
32:07 CV basics that make review easier
37:41 Portfolio structure and evidence
44:36 How to write an application email
47:18 Common mistakes candidates make
48:19 Following up and asking to meet in person
49:00 Practical application checklist
52:05 Final advice for candidates

Creators and Guests

Host

Stephen Drew

Hello! I’m Stephen Drew, Founder of the Architecture Social—an online community and resource hub dedicated to helping professionals in Architecture, Design, Development, and Real Estate advance their careers. I’m here to connect you with insights, tools, and opportunities that lead to meaningful growth, whether you’re just starting out or ready to take that next big step.

What is Architecture Social?

Architecture has always been social. Careers should be too.

Hosted by Stephen Drew, the Architecture Social podcast brings you honest conversations from across the UK built environment. Architects, practice leaders and the people shaping the profession talk openly about their careers, their work and how practice really runs.

Expect straight talk on salaries, portfolios, hiring, progression and running a practice, from Part 1 students looking for their first role to directors building their teams.

Architecture Social is more than jobs and hiring. It's a place to share work, discover opportunities, hear honest conversations and build connections across the industry.

This is Architecture Social. Come and be part of it.