Designing a CV - :scale studio

I'm sure most of you will know what a CV is so I won't go over those basics. Instead, I think it's vital that we understand the difference between any old CV that you may have used to get part-time jobs and volunteering and a CV that you will need in the architecture industry. There are some key areas of focus that we'll be talking about.

Using Job Descriptions to Outline Your Skills

In the IGTV below, I broke down the core elements of a typical job description. I'll walk you through the process below and you can use this as a base point to understand the content of your CV. Then, we will dissect the structure and layout.

Watch it on Instagram

When you typically think of content to include in your CV, I'm sure your mind goes to Education and Experience. Whilst these are vital, they aren't the only thing you can include.

The difference between a normal CV for other industries and one for Architecture or Design is the fact that your portfolio goes hand in hand with your CV. So many students forget this crucial point and it still amazes me.

Task 02

Find your ideal job description. Ones with a decent amount of detail is good, sometimes not all job descriptions will have a lot of detail so you might want to look around.

Copy and paste the job description into a Google Doc or a Word file, and highlight the skills you see. This will usually be in a bullet pointed list, but you're specifically looking for keywords such as 'organisation' or 'confident'.

Next, you're going to list out atleast 5 of the highlighted keywords and write a sentence each about how you may have demonstrated that skill.

Where to find Job Descriptions

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Now we've identified key skills, which can also include software, we have to think about how to incorporate it into your CV. You can do this in a brief personal description or bio or you can include a section that describes some external projects or achievements.

The purpose of this exercise is also to get familiar with what employers are typically looking for. Obviously, each practice is different and they will also have their unique skillsets or experience they are looking for in particular. This is why it's also important to get across a variety of skills - still highlighting your strong suits - but showing an interest.

Next, let's break down the structure.

Content & Layout

CV Breakdown

The content and structure does depend on your experiences. Since my journey in this industry is still quite new, I don't have much experience. I've still included part time jobs and volunteering experiences but I imagine that over the next decade or so, I can replace this with other types of experience.

It's not hugely important to include absolutely every single 'job' you've had since the age of 16 especially if it was a very long time ago. I'd make sure you include jobs that are relevant to the industy.

If you find yourself having to curate a second page, maybe you want to rethink the design elements because a 1 page PDF is easier to skim read, print and keep track of whereas a 2-page CV can often seem overbearing and most of the time people go into unneccessary detail which gets boring.

Notice how I have used an illustration behind my CV. The structure is split into two rectangles, one thinner than the other. This is just to give it some visual separation and the reader's eye will usually go from the left to the right, so you're almost curating the experience for them to make it easier.

You'll find many CV templates online so I'd suggest picking something that looks slightly different or out of the box and then re-create it. Don't use the template itself because I find that you end up changing all if not most of the elements anyway.

As you do this, your own creative direction will take over. We're visual thinkers and so I feel it's a no-brainer to include visual elements in your portfolio.

The illustration I've used as the background of my CV is actually part of my 3rd year project which is part of a triptych of illustrations.

Types of CVs to Create

All of this does make the file a little heavy, but if you find the right kind of PDF compressor, you can get it down to an easy 2MB. Keep these little logistics in the back of your mind too. In face, I would go so far as creating multiple versions of a CV:

Plain text CV. No colours, icons or diagrams, simply text. (There are some firms who ask for this or those who have crazy silly file size requirements).

Current Full CV. We'll talk later on about iteration and updating your CV over time, but this is going to be a CV you've saved as a PDF, JPG, PNG and meets minimum file size requirements whilst still being fun.

CV + Portfolio Combined. Making sure that you have a consistent and coherent colour palette, fonts and design elements is so so so important. Some firms do ask for a combined version. in which case you can simply merge PDFs or have 2 versions of your portfolio, one with a CV embedded in.

Below I've linked a really interesting video where Rasha from Surviving Architecture takes us through her CV and some of the advice she received about it. I will definitely be incorporating the LinkedIn profile QR Code she mentioned - this is actually something I do on my portfolio to link to videos and other media but this is a super easy way of including a link.

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