Fewer architecture firms may be hiring, but they still are competing for the best talent.
That’s because top graduates bring with them the latest knowledge of computer programs and fresh creativity, which could give firms an advantage in a tough market.
The new employees are found by word of mouth, college campus recruiting and from other firms’ rosters.
Young architects with specific skills—computer programs, engineering knowledge or a specialty—stand out among applicants and become hot commodities. Most of the recruits also have knowledge of environmentally friendly methods.
Most of the firms are looking for personalities that will fit with their work environments, whether it’s highly technical or one that strives to push creativity.
Architect M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc. looks for three basic qualities from new candidates: passion, spark and a “can do” entrepreneurial attitude.
These qualities give someone a better chance of fitting in with the firm, said David Loyola, a design director for the San Francisco-based firm’s Newport Beach office.
“You can teach some things, but others are in your personality,” he said.
Irvine-based LPA Inc. tries to boost its chances of finding good recruits by hiring word of mouth, said Dan Heinfeld, president of Irvine-based LPA Inc.
When it does recruit from schools, it gets most of its candidates from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, which is also the closest architecture school to the county.
“We make ourselves attractive with good designs, allowing for creativity,” he said.
LPA also looks for architects who will be able to interact well with the engineers it has on staff.
“The whole idea is to have these people sitting next to each other and talking,” Heinfeld said.
Lately it’s been hiring more engineers than architects as it builds the department, which it started in 2006. Engineers specializing in mechanical, electrical and civil disciplines are the most sought after.
Experience
Some firms, including Newport Beach-based Gkkworks, look for architects with a little more experience—generally two to three years—than those straight out of school.
“It’s not so much the knowledge gained in their first two years as it is an understanding of how the work is carried out,” said Naila Moloo, who is in charge of leadership and organizational development for the firm.
Architects at Gkkworks usually focus on a single aspect of design across a number of projects rather than playing a part in the design of single projects, something many young architects aren’t used to, she said.
Skills for operating the design software Revet, which allows for 3D modeling, is one of the newer demands for architects and also a screening factor for new hires at Gkkworks.
“Younger architects tend to be better users of it,” Moloo said. “We’re using it more and more.”
One of the firm’s most recently completed projects was the Biszantz Family Tennis Center at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont.
Gkkworks also has a construction and construction management unit, which opens up different job opportunities.
But its most recent hires have been salespeople who will bring in more business, Moloo said.
Firms are also constantly educating their architects to keep them up to date on skills.
Mentoring is a big part of Gkkworks’ education of its architects.
Gensler hosts various in-house educational programs to keep itself up to speed.
Green Know-How
As for being environmentally friendly, “it’s a given” that new candidates hired by Gensler will already have that knowledge, said Gensler’s office director Kim Graham.
The firm has also pushed to have its architects become accredited with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a program sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council.
More than 80% of Gensler’s architects have already achieved this status, which requires an exam that draws on environmentally friendly building techniques.
The exam covers practical experiences as well as baseline knowledge, giving candidates just out of school just as good a chance to pass the exam as veteran architects, Graham said.
The accreditation helps firms look attractive for future work, said Heinfeld, whose firm also claims more than 80% of its architects to have obtained it.
