Traditionally at this time of the year, we would be preparing for the summer lull and all our clients going away on holiday. This year is obviously a little different and although things are still mightily tough, I'm pleased to say the last couple of weeks have seen a dramatic increase in interviews, job offers and people starting new roles (albeit working remotely).
The vast majority of activity has been with our smaller to medium-sized clients who tend to be working on high end residential and using Vectorworks. This is a great shift away from the recruitment we have witnessed during the last few years where Revit skilled architects were in constant demand from large scale offices. These practices sadly appear to be struggling the most to keep a good pipeline of new work coming in to sustain a large team when furlough comes to an end. This sector was, however, the busiest at the beginning of the year and I sense will return strongly once confidence returns. Unfortunately, I fear there will be a 3-6 month gap between the end of furlough and new work being given the go-ahead. A number of the larger practices I've spoken to have said they have managed to survive the initial part of the crisis surprisingly well and working from home for most has not been a problem. As current workloads come to completion though, it is now a number feel furlough would be the most useful.
Although a lot of the economic news has been bleak, large scale housing is still very much in demand and the practices who are winning some substantial schemes and therefore recruiting, have the potential to find staff who would have been snapped up at the beginning of the year. If you are an employer in this situation, do give us a call as we will be able to introduce you to a number of very talented architects who are currently on our books and seeking either contract or permanent roles.
The other group within the industry that is going to struggle over the next few months are recent Part 1 graduates. Recessions are always tough times to find jobs but for Part 1s who tend to require a lot of training, getting this whilst working from home is going to be particularly challenging. During times like this, it is even more important to get your CV right and to research the practices you are applying to. Take a look at our sample CV.
Thankfully some practices are starting to return to their studios and September appears to be a target for many others. I doubt, however, if we will ever see the traditional 9-6, five days/week again. Although architecture is such a collaborative industry where face to face tends to work best, the time saved not commuting or travelling to meetings has been appreciated by most over the last few months and employers appear to be far more open to a flexible ways of working going forward.
If your practice is looking to hire Part 1/year outs, 9B is currently offering free adverts so candidates can apply to you directly. Please email text to info@9bcareers.com and we'll add this straight on for you.