Architects have a lot riding on their skills. If your architecture plans are even slightly off, you could end up building an apartment complex that isn’t safe to live in. That means any architecture firm that’s interested in hiring you needs to be certain that you know what you’re doing. This is why an architect cover letter is an important part of getting an architecture job in many situations. If you’re looking to apply for a specific job posting, here’s how you can use an architecture cover letter sample to do it.
To start, you need to use an architect cover letter example to create your cover letter format. Here’s a short example you can use to start applying for architect jobs.
Dear Mr. Smith,
Since I was a young child, I knew I loved architecture and design. When I first picked up AutoCAD, it was to try and recreate my favorite architectural design in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, and I realized in messing around with the tool that it made me incredibly happy. That was the start of my architecture journey, and now, as a junior architect with two AIA awards under my belt, I want to lend my skills to your architecture firm.
I am extremely skilled in project management, and I really enjoy working on team projects, which is why I typically don’t take on freelance architecture projects. Instead, I prefer to look toward teamwork, including in management positions, and I have never been afraid to tag out and let someone else take control of a project if they feel as though they would be able to do a better job. My main talents are in AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, and SketchUp, and I have project experience with all of them.
I believe that my skills can help Company Name significantly, and I want to be part of pushing your organization to even higher places in an architect position. Let me know when we can connect and talk about the talents that I’ve curated to help your architectural design firm.
Sincerely,
Cathy Deyoung
Although this is a generally short cover letter template, it’s still an effective starting point. You can use this information to begin writing your own.
The first important part of a cover letter is the salutation. Note that the applicant addresses the cover letter with the hiring manager’s name, not a generic phrase like “Dear hiring manager.” This is a crucial component of writing a professional cover letter because it tells a recruiter that this isn’t a form letter you’ve sent out to dozens or hundreds of hiring managers. From here, you can move on to writing the rest of the cover letter.
In your first paragraph, you need a hook. This is something that can convince the hiring manager to keep reading your cover letter. In this case, the applicant references the fact that when she was a child, she was interested in architecture and that she picked up AutoCAD when she was in high school. This is a unique element of her life, and to make the story even better, it also indicates that she has years of experience using this software. The idea is to make a cover letter introduction that’s so convincing that any hiring manager would want to keep reading.
In the second paragraph, you should load up with as many soft skills, technical skills and work experience as you can. The applicant in this letter mentions specific software she’s good at and also brings up her abilities to work with a team. These are the two main elements she’s trying to showcase, which means it’s likely the crux of her job application as a whole.
In the final paragraph, you need a call to action. This is where you convince the hiring manager to call you and follow up for a job interview. It’s the only place, throughout your architecture resume and cover letter, where you get to actually ask for the interview, which is why it’s so important. Assumptive language often works best, which is what this applicant uses by saying, “Let me know when we can connect.”
Yes. An architecture job requires a cover letter because a cover letter is an effective way to showcase who you are and why your skills would be helpful to an architecture company. Additionally, some job applicants still don’t send cover letters so sending a letter can make you stand out among other candidates. Even if the job description doesn’t specifically request a cover letter, it’s a good idea to submit one anyway. Use the ResumeNerd cover letter builder to create your cover letter.
Ideally, you should be looking at half a page to 3/4 of a page, or about 250-350 words, for all cover letters. This is the ideal length because it’s long enough to talk about everything you want to cover and include the necessary keywords. You don’t want to make it so long that a hiring manager decides to skip over it.
An architectural position typically needs some amount of experience, but it’s important to remember that you don’t always need paid experience as a full-time worker. If you don’t have job experience, lean on your skills more heavily and mention experience that you’ve accomplished in internships, volunteer work and academic positions.
