Architecture Resume Examples—Template + Tips for 2024

Most architecture resumes blend in like tract housing. They focus on what the applicant has done rather than the positive effect they've had.

A well-arranged architecture resume is aligned with key content architecture rules. Employ them in your application, and you'll stand out like the Guggenheim in a trailer park.

This guide will show you:

• An architecture resume template better than most.
• How to write an architect resume that gets interviews.
• Expert architect resume examples to incorporate in your resume.
• An architecture resume sample that makes all the difference.

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder for free. Start by choosing a resume template.

Create your resume now

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

What users say about ResumeLab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.”
Patrick

I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan 

My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George

Create your resume now

Need help with a different kind of resume? Explore our other guides such as:

• Interior Design Resume
• Landscape Architect Resume
• Graphic Designer Resume
• Landscaping Resume
• Tech Resume
• 3d Artist Resume
• Project Manager Resume
• Carpenter Resume
• Student Resume
• Graduate School Resume

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our Resume Samples.

Free Architecture Resume Template

Now here’s how to write an architecture resume:

1. Start With the Best Architecture Resume Format

As a designer and an advisor in construction, you're expected to know how to set up a solid structure.

What's more, your resume format must prove you know “arcade” isn’t a video game room. Here's how to make your architecture resume impressive:

• Pick a visually appealing resume template, a free Google Docs resume template or a free MS Word Resume Template.
• Pick the reverse-chronological resume format. It puts your best architecture achievements in the lobby.
• Use the best resume fonts in 10–14pt with 1-inch margins and big headings. Add plenty of negative space.
• Write a one-page resume unless you’ve got pages of unique projects and achievements.
• Break ground with a resume header. Include your name, phone, email, and architecture portfolio address. No photo—no street address.
• List your license next. Then add an architecture resume objective, work experience, and education.
• Install resume extras like conferences, publications, and additional activities. They’ll add materiality to your architectural resume.

Expert Hint: Save your resumes as PDFs. They don't depreciate in transit. Plus they’re machine-readable.

2. Write a Dynamic Architecture Resume Summary or Objective

Most architecture resumes and architect student resumes are boilerplate. Hiring managers skim them, hunting one that’s structurally sound. If you want to stop the skimming and sink deep into their memory, start with a resume summary. Here's how to do this step by step.

Include:

1. Job title and License (Oregon State Licensed Architect)
2. Years of experience (2+, 9+)
3. How you’ll help (deliver design excellence)
4. Flashiest 2–3 achievements (designed 18 projects with budgets over $10M, Delivered jobs at 20% lower cost than competition)

These senior architecture resume examples show how:

Architecture Resume Summary—Example

Oregon State Licensed Architect with 9+ years of experience. Seeking to deliver design excellence for Gensler. Designed 18 projects with budgets over $10M for LHP at 20% lower cost than the competition. Commended 12 times by management for design excellence and budget adherence.

Highly creative and experienced architect with high-level skills in design and production. Adept at budgeting, CAD, Revit, estimating, and project management. Registered with AIA and have worked at 3 different architecture firms for over 9 years.

The first of those architect resume samples will make employers read your resume with care. It lists accomplishments that prove your building and design skills.

What if You’ve Got No Architecture Experience?

How to write a resume with no experience? In an architecture student resume, use achievements. Get them from:

• Freelance Projects
• Competitions
• Volunteer Work
• Consulting Work
• Non-Architecture Jobs

This entry-level architecture experience resume example nails it:

Architecture Resume Objective—Example

Enthusiastic architect and certified PMP with proven skills in CAD, Revit, and project management. Seeking to enhance production and design excellence for PD&A. Received second-place prize at Aarhus Drawing of the Year Competition. President, Portland State University Architecture Club. Designed two commercial buildings with CAD and Revit, including a 2,500 sq/ft children’s play center.

That buries “I’m still looking for an architecture internship.” Even with no experience, that’s a professional architecture student resume.

Shouldn’t you talk about your goals in an architecture student resume objective? Not in 2024. You’ll get more interviews by focusing on company objectives.

Expert Hint: Don’t write your resume summary first. Write it last so you’ll have lots of raw materials to do it right.

3. Build Your Best Architecture Resume Job Description

Architecture resumes only need a handful of achievements. You don't have to elaborate on your abilities. This time, be a minimalist. In fact, the best architect resumes pick the right accomplishments for the job description section. That's how they perfectly match requirements.

To this end:

1. Pay close attention to the job ad.
2. Underline the architecture duties and responsibilities in it.
3. Write resume bullets with achievements that pin you to the job.

See these bad/good architecture resume examples:

Architecture Resume Job Description—Sample

Job ad wants these architecture skills: (1) leadership (2) design (3) budget adherence.

Experience

Registered Architect (Design & Production)
Locklin, Horowitz & Phair
2014–2019

• Lead architect in a top 300 architecture firm. Designed and produced 18 $10M+ jobs from requirements-gathering through completion.
• Developed designs that won bids at 20% less cost than the competition.
• Consistently delivered projects to client specs and 12% below budget.
• Received 12 commendations from clients for design excellence.

• Responsible for all architect duties and responsibilities in a high-level architecture firm.
• Designed and produced several high-end projects from requirements-gathering through completion.
• Consistently delivered projects to client specs while working with cross-functional teams to complete jobs.

The second of those architecture resume examples is slipshod. The first is Gensler-level. And numbers like $ and % show your skills are Burj-Khalifa-sized.

Entry-Level Architecture Resume Example—No Experience

No architecture experience? That’s not structurally unsound. Your entry-level architect resume can still get rave reviews. List accomplishments, like this architectural resume for internships example:

Freelance Architect
2018–2019

• Used Revit to redesign restaurant interior for renovation.
• Used CAD to design interior for a 2,500 sq/ft children’s play center.
• Took second place in Aarhus Drawing of the Year Competition.
• President, Portland State University Architecture Club.
• Attended TechHome Builder Summit, 2018. Spoke on panel about project management.

Skills for Architecture Resumes

What are hard and soft skills for an architecture resume?

Below, you'll find a complete resume skills list. But, don’t copy-paste it to your resume for architecture jobs. Employers see through that like Low-E coated glass.

Architecture Resume Skills

Soft Skills	Hard Skills	Technical Skills
Creativity	Math	CAD
Communication	Engineering	AutoCAD
Problem Solving	Computer Skills	Revit
Critical Thinking	Design	Drafting
Detail Oriented	Business Knowledge	Legal
Listening	Building Codes	Estimating
Interpersonal Skills	Model Making	Project Management
Decision Making	Specifications	New Construction
Collaboration	Finance	Scheduling
Perceptiveness	Budgeting	Renovation

Expert Hint: Architecture resumes and portfolios go great together. Put a portfolio link in your resume to show you’re more than just a piece of paper.

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

4. Turn Boring Education to a Reason to Hire You

The education section on an architecture resume must show achievements, too. Without them, it’s dead space. It's vital that you make use of each and every nook of your resume. These architecture resume examples show how:

Architecture Resume Education—Example

Education

Master of Architecture, Portland State University
2008–2010

• Excelled in project management classes.
• Master's thesis on CAD innovation published in "Architectural Review."

Bachelor of Architecture, Portland State University
2004–2008

• Pursued a passion for drafting coursework.
• President, student architecture club. Increased membership 25%.

Education

Portland State University
Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture
2004–2010

• Graduated in May of 2010
• GPA 3.4
• Excelled in Computer Science classes.

So different! The first of those architectural resume samples is in the Norman Foster zone. It shows your passion for design wasn’t slapped together yesterday.

Expert Hint: Is your solution architecture resume experience just breaking ground? Partition your education section. List positions and projects, with achievements in each.

5. Reinforce Your Architecture Resume With These

To stand out like the Lotus Temple, use resume additional sections. They’ll make your architecture resume complete and unique. It's not just a resume template that will take credits.

These architecture resume examples give the blueprint:

Additional Sections for Architecture Resume—Example 

Competitions

• 2nd Place, Workplace of the Future 2018.
• 3rd Place, Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards, 2016.

Publications

• "Zero Waste Architecture and You," ArchDaily.com , 2017.
• "Estimating for the Future," ArchPaper, 2016.

Conferences

• 2018—AIA Conference. Spoke on panel about budgeting.
• 2017—AEI Conference.

Professional Association

• Member, AIA.

Additional Activities

• Running.
• Collecting vinyls.

Those first architecture resume samples would get you in at Huckabee.

Expert Hint: Send an architecture cover letter. Make it passionate and weld it to the employer’s needs. Learn how to write a cover letter so good, she’ll actually read your resume for architect jobs.

6. List Your License on a Resume for Architecture

What about licenses on architectural resumes? Put your state license in a special Licenses section near the top. Add 1–2 other key licenses if you’ve got them. This architect resume example shows how:

Licenses

• Oregon State Architecture License
• Certified Professional Building Designer, NCBDC

See the architecture resume template up top for placement tips. Also put your license in your resume objective, and near your name. That way busy architecture hiring managers won’t miss it.

That’s vital, because architect jobs will only grow at 4% over the next 10 years.

Expert Hint: Got lots of certifications? Put extras in a Certifications section. Place it lower on your architect or architecture student resume.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

For an architecture resume that soars:

• Use the architecture resume template up top, and follow the good architect resume examples.
• Put your resume design in context with accomplishments. Fit them to the job offer like mullions.
• Add numbers to your architect resume achievements and qualifications summary. Dollars, percents, hours saved, and other numbers add scale.
• Send an architecture cover letter. Arc weld it to the job by referencing the employer’s needs and your accomplishments.

Got questions on how to write an architecture resume? Not sure how to pick achievements for your architectural resume? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply.

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.