Embarking on your journey as a Junior Architect means crafting a CV that showcases your innovative design skills and technical knowledge.
To give you a solid foundation, we’ve assembled a guide that combines professional insights with a Junior Architect CV example.
Follow these tips to construct a CV that’s as impressive as your architectural visions, opening doors to exciting opportunities in the field.
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Junior Architect CV example
This CV example demonstrates the type of info you should be including within your Junior Architect CV, as well as how to format and layout the content in a way which looks professional and is easy for time-strapped recruiters to read.
This is the look and feel you should be aiming for, so remember to refer back to it throughout your CV writing process.
Junior Architect CV format and structure
In today’s fast-paced job market, recruiters and employers are often short on time. If they can’t locate the information they’re searching for within a few seconds, it could result in them overlooking your application.
To avoid this happening, it’s critical to structure and format your CV in a way that allows them to quickly identify your key skills and offerings, even when they’re pressed for time.
Tips for formatting your Junior Architect CV
- Length: Your CV should always be limited to two sides of A4, regardless of whether you have a year or three decades of experience. With recruiters juggling multiple responsibilities, they don’t have time to sift through lengthy applications.
- Readability: Make sure your CV is easy to read and looks professional by applying some simple formatting tricks. Bullet points are great for making large paragraphs more digestible, while formatting your headings with bold or coloured text will help the reader to find the information they need, with speed.
- Design & format: When it comes to CV design, it’s best to keep things simple and sleek. While elaborate designs certainly command attention, it’s not always for the right reasons! Readability is key, so whatever you choose to do, make sure you prioritise readability above everything.
- Photos: Recruiters can’t factor in appearance, gender or race into the recruitment process, so a profile photo is not usually needed. However, creative employers do like to see them, so you can choose to include one if you think it will add value to your CV .
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of our eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
To make it easy for busy recruiters and hiring managers to digest your CV, divide the content into several key sections when writing it:
- Contact details: Always list your contact details at the very top to avoid them being missed.
- Profile: Start with an introductory paragraph that catches recruiters’ attention and summarises your offerings.
- Work experience/career history: List your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your current position.
- Education: Provide a concise summary of your education and qualifications.
- Interests and hobbies: You can include an optional section to showcase any hobbies that demonstrate transferable skills.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Begin by sharing your contact details, so it’s easy for employers to give you a call.
Keep to the basics, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address – It should sound professional, with no slang or nicknames. Make a new one for your job applications if necessary.
- Location – Simply share your vague location, for example ‘Manchester’, rather than a full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Remember to update them before you send your application.
Junior Architect CV Profile
Make a strong first impression with recruiters by starting your CV with an impactful profile (or personal statement for junior applicants).
This short introduction paragraph should summarise your skills, experience, and knowledge, highlighting your suitability for the job.
It should be compelling enough to encourage recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: The best CV profiles are short, sharp and highly relevant to the target role. For this reason, it’s best to write 3-4 lines of high-level information, as anything over might be missed.
- Tailor it: No matter how much time you put into your CV profile, it won’t impress if it’s irrelevant to the role you’re applying for. Before you start writing, make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience your target employer is looking for. Then, make sure to mention them in your CV profile and throughout the rest of your application.
- Don’t add an objective: Avoid discussing your career goals in your CV profile – if you think they’re necessary, briefly mention them in your cover letter instead.
- Avoid generic phrases: Focus on fact, not fluff. Phrases like “Committed and enthusiastic thought-leader” and “Dynamic problem solver” might sound fancy, but they’ll do nothing for your application. Not only do they sound cheesy, but they have no substance – stick to real skills and facts
Example CV profile for Junior Architect
What to include in your Junior Architect CV profile?
- Experience overview: To give employers an idea of your capabilities, show them your track record by giving an overview of the types of companies you have worked for in the past and the roles you have carried out for previous employers – but keep it high level and save the details for your experience section.
- Targeted skills: Highlight your skills which are most relevant to Junior Architect jobs, to ensure that recruiters see your most in-demand skills as soon as they open your CV.
- Important qualifications: If the jobs you are applying to require candidates to have certain qualifications, then you must add them in your profile to ensure they are seen by hiring managers.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Create a core skills section underneath your profile to spotlight your most in-demand skills and grab the attention of readers.
This section should feature 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your applicable skills for your target jobs. Before constructing this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specialisms, or knowledge required.
Important skills for your Junior Architect CV
Architectural Design – Creating initial design concepts and developing detailed architectural plans using both hand-drawing techniques and computer-aided design (CAD) software.
3D Modelling – Crafting detailed 3D models of architectural designs using industry-standard software such as SketchUp or Revit to visualise and refine projects before construction.
Technical Drawing – Producing precise technical drawings and blueprints that serve as a guide for building contractors and ensure that designs comply with relevant building codes and regulations.
Sustainable Design Principles – Incorporating energy-efficient and environmentally-sensitive design elements into projects to create sustainable and cost-effective buildings.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) – Utilising BIM software to manage and document the entire building design and construction process, improving collaboration, and efficiency.
Planning Legislation Knowledge – Understanding the legal aspects of planning permission and building regulations in order to navigate the approval process for new constructions or renovations.
Project Management – Overseeing architectural projects from conception through to completion, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and to the desired quality standards.
Material Specification – Selecting appropriate construction materials based on structural requirements, sustainability, aesthetics, and budget constraints.
Construction Techniques – Familiarity with contemporary construction methods and technology to inform design decisions and collaborate effectively with construction professionals.
Architectural Rendering – Producing high-quality renderings and visualisations that effectively communicate design intent to clients, stakeholders, and team members.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
Next up is your work experience section, which is normally the longest part of your CV.
Start with your current (or most recent) job and work your way backwards through your experience.
Can’t fit all your roles? Allow more space for your recent career history and shorten down descriptions for your older roles.
Structuring each job
Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.
To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:
Outline
Firstly, give the reader some context by creating a punchy summary of the job as a whole.
You should mention what the purpose or goal of your role was, what team you were part of and who you reported to.
Key responsibilities
Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.
Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.
Key achievements
Finish off by showcasing 1-3 key achievements made within the role.
This could be anything that had a positive effect on your company, clients or customers, such as saving time or money, receiving exemplary feedback or receiving an award.
Sample job description for Junior Architect CV
Outline
Develop architectural concepts for a company that provides infrastructure and space exploration solutions aimed at creating a more connected and sustainable world.
Key Responsibilities
- Gain insights into relevant processes, principles, and methodologies by participating in project discussions.
- Conduct site visits to gather data for design considerations.
- Prepare elevations, details, and sections suitable for planning applications.
- Modify a wide range of drawings using specialised software tools.
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
In your education section, make any degrees, qualifications or training which are relevant to Junior Architect roles a focal point.
As well as mentioning the name of the organisation, qualification titles and dates of study, you should showcase any particularly relevant modules, assignments or projects.
Hobbies and interests
The hobbies and interests CV section isn’t mandatory, so don’t worry if you’re out of room by this point.
However, if you have an interesting hobby, or an interest that could make you seem more suitable for the role, then certainly think about adding.
Be careful what you include though… Only consider hobbies that exhibit skills that are required for roles as a Junior Architect, or transferable workplace skills.
There is never any need to tell employers that you like to watch TV and eat out.
A strong, compelling CV is essential to get noticed and land interviews with the best employers.
To ensure your CV stands out from the competition, make sure to tailor it to your target role and pack it with sector-specific skills and results.
Remember to triple-check for spelling and grammar errors before hitting send.
Good luck with the job search!