Architecture Interview Questions
The tiny bridge between feasibility and innovations is where the job of an architect lies. Before you hire anyone, check out for their vision and how easily they can think outside of the box. But, you should also ensure that they are practical and down to earth.
Take a close look at portfolios. Can they predict innovative and special features? The best architects ensure that they have multiple concepts, materials, and different structures because they never stop learning.
How to Prepare for an Architecture Job Interview
The first thing to understand about the job interview procedure is that it provides an excellent opportunity for you to display and improve your critical thinking and skills to show your work as yourself in the best way possible.
However, there are things that you should know and prepare for before heading out for the interview, and they include:
Set Your Goal
Firstly, think about your future ambitions, skills, and professional experience. If your current position does not make you happy, then you should consider taking the right steps to get to where you deserve. You should consider improving your skills to achieve your long-term ambitions.
Conduct Research About Your Prospective Employer
You should make it a habit always to research your potential employers to understand how you will fit in nicely. Impress them with your understanding of the organization’s project and culture as well as dress codes. Keep yourself informed of the company’s code of conduct and values.
Study Your CV
Ensure that your portfolio contains lots of single projects that you worked on so that they can access your skills. Make sure that you include no editing jobs and ensure that all the information is the portfolio is true. An architect is excellent at presenting important information effectively, and you should prove that with how you organize your portfolio.
Prepare Questions
Before you leave your home, practice a few interview questions, and give appropriate replies about the organization. It is essential to appear confident and be clear with your assertions while answering the question. There are lots of questions that you can prepare yourself with, and you will find some of them in the next section.
Top 25 Common Architecture Job Interview Questions
You will also find some with excellent customer service skills can balance achievable wishes of clients. If you want to hire one of them, below are few must-ask interview questions:
Why Do You Want to Work Here?
Lots of employers take about us pages very seriously so many times when they ask you this particular question, it is because it is a better way to find out if you went through that page or not and to see your motivation level.
Because it is a regular and compassionate question, you must provide answers that clearly state your reasons, and your response should contain important information that you have about the company. You don’t have to memorize all of the details, just a few essential points.
Ensure that you do not say things that only benefit you but friendly things about the company. Words like “I like the company’s main objective, and I will commit myself to make the targets a reality” or “I like the company’s input into the architectural world.” Make sure that you give a valid response.
Are You LEED Accredited? If Not, What Are Your Plans?
It is a common question that every interviewer asks during an interview in recent times. It is essential to get the required accreditation if you are serious about getting the job. It is also an advantage over fellow candidates and puts you top of the list and potential candidates for the job in lots of companies.
Share a Little Detail About Yourself
It is an excellent way for the employer to know more information about the candidate. It is an important request because it appears simple, but interviewers might decide to overlook it. You can make mistakes while answering this request, like giving extensive details about your lives.
It is crucial to speak about the profession only and keep it brief. Include your accomplishments and skills in your self-description and ensure that you do not look desperate. Finish the response with hints on how your achievement helped you in the industry.
What Are Your AutoCAD, Sketch-Up, and Revit Skills?
Whenever an interviewer asks you this question, make sure that everything you say is the absolute truth. There have been lots of cases whereby candidates tell lots of lies about their skills during the interview process, which can lead to embarrassment and disrespect.
However, lots of companies perform different CAD tests candidate skills, and other intuitions tell candidates to provide a document where they can prove their skills on a related topic. So, whenever you go for an interview, you should prepare yourself for any of the scenarios.
What’s Your Ideal Job?
Whenever you face this question, ensure that you keep the response vague but with important details, and avoid being specific. A vague response will stop you from discussing a completely different or unnecessary role.
It is advisable to research the role before you get to the interview room so that you will have prior knowledge and compactible points with your skill. Ensure that you provide a response that is easy to find in any work surroundings such as team or pressure handlings in difficult situations.
What Do You Enjoy About Your Current Job?
Anytime an interviewer asks this question, they want to know your energy level, how committed you are, and want to know if they can provide the same comfort level. So, ensure that your response contains positive points that the company can relate with and can offer.
Keep the response short and admiring and say positive things about your current employers and the team because lots of good companies have this attribute.
Things You Dislike About Your Current Job?
While you reply to this question, you should talk about some bad encounters with your job. Every employer knows that there are always bad encounters in workplaces, so it is important that you answer this question correctly. The most advisable thing to say is an attribute that the new company lacks.
For example, if you are moving from a small institution to a bigger one, you can talk about the excessive work duties or one person performing the task of two people, make them understand that the workload is much and impossible to do. Ensure that you give a valid response for leaving the job.
What Are Your Thoughts About Relocation?
By showing up on the interview date, employers already assume that you are ready for relocation. So whenever you face such questions, the company wants reassurance and know what your thoughts are about moving to a different location or city.
Before you make your decision, you should ask if the company offers telecommuting during the relocation process, although it is not a common thing in the world of architecture.
What Is Your Current Salary Scale?
It is one of the questions that ring quick discomfort quickly, but you should remain calm and understand that it is not a personal one but only a professional question. Always tell the truth because they will contact your previous employer, and it just might be one of the required details in the conversation.
Do not talk about personal things while replying to this question, don’t talk about how you are managing to keep up with your current salary or your struggle with bills payment. You should keep this information because the company does not need it.
Are You Licensed, If Not, What Are Your Plans?
It is a very similar question to the LEED accreditation, and you are more likely to encounter it during your interviews. Lots of employers like to hire a licensed candidate because it provides assurance and proof that you are good at what you do.
However, it is also important that you attach the license to your resume because it can be the sole reason why the company hires you. But if you do not have a license, you must get one. When you reply to that question, do not talk about how long it takes to get a license because it displays a lack of determination.
What Are the Things You Dislike Doing?
When they ask you this question, you should think about it for a minute before you give a reply. Think about the things you do not like doing, but a must in the organization. You should make your reply a short and precise one to avoid any form of misunderstanding which can make you look incompetent.
Think about the things you do not like because you have no understanding of it. But if that is the job of your dreams, you should perform lots of research on the company before you attend the interview.
Who Are You Supervising?
You are likely to come across this question, and you should give a direct response. If you are a supervisor, be brief about how you discharge your duties. Talk about a typical workday of your career.
However, if the question does not apply to you, you can talk about the major events in your workday. It will answer unasked questions that will work in your favor.
What Are Your Strengths?
It is a tricky question, one that can attract exaggeration, and you should be careful in answering this one. You should talk about your skill in full details and ensure that you remain composed and confident.
Let them know that you are prepared and ready to face the tasks ahead, and your response to this question will put you in a very good position.
What Are Your Achievements?
Anytime you face questions like this, do not talk about everything you achieved in life. You should talk about your accomplishments related to the required field.
You should prepare yourself beforehand and know the valid points that you should discuss. Be confident while you talk about your achievements because it leaves a good impression on the interviewer.
Do You Enjoy Your Career?
Here you have another tricky question, and the key to this one is a positive tone. Talk about how happy you are for completing your education and how hard you worked to get to your current position.
Talk about how determined you are to explore new opportunities and experiences within the world of architecture. Let your passion speak for you, and you will impress the interviewer.
How Well Do You Function Under Pressure?
When it comes to the world of architecture, you cannot do without pressure and stress, so you should always expect the question. There are lots of difficult clients in the game as well as urgent tasks that require quick completion, and your employers need to know that you can handle them perfectly.
You should always keep a positive tone while you give a response to this question because it tells a lot about how you can handle multiple tasks. Ensure that the interviewer understands that you can function properly under pressure and cannot wait to get your skin in the game.
Will You Travel, What’s Your Opinion About It?
If you are a natural traveler, it is important to know that this is not a vacation trip, it is going to be purely business. And if you are a family type, traveling can be a difficult option for you, but if you face this question, you should always look on the bright side.
Only top professionals or workers in upper department travel for business purposes in this line of work. You can also demand information’s about the travel locations so that you can check if the requirements work in your favor. It works for you, and then you should make the right decision.
Tell Us Something Not Inside Your Portfolio?
When you see questions like this, they just need more information about you. Make sure that you do not discuss your private life and stick to answers related to the topic and the world of architecture at large. For instance, talk about how well you can handle your desired documentaries.
When Can You Begin Work?
You need to be specific with your reply to this one. Whichever date you choose, ensure that you have no other schedule on that day because showing up late on the first day leaves a bad impression and can ruin your chances.
Select a date not far away, but you should prepare yourself so that you can start on a great note. If the company gives you a notice period, you should talk about it before you make a decision. And if they did not ask you directly, ensure that you ask for enough preparation time.
Why Should We Hire You?
It is one of the questions where you have to talk about your strengths and skills in the reply and explain how valuable you can become to the firm, how well you can manage clients and huge workloads.
Talk about how dedicated you are towards achieving a goal and how handy your skills can become for extensive projects. Be assured about how you can handle a project and talk about its outcome.
What Are Your Expectations as an Architect?
It is a question that you need to reply realistically. You should talk about your ambitions and how you intend to maintain a realistic goal. Do not say things out of the ordinary, do not go overboard and start saying irrelevant things or things that you cannot achieve in a short time.
Think and reflect on your potentials and what you can offer the world of architecture.
What Are the Challenges You Expect to Face in This Field?
Every employer and company know that there are several difficulties and challenges in every organization, and you should highlight the realistic challenges that you are aware of and speak with good confidence. It is not a tough question to answer if you understand the organization’s focus, and you can focus on it.
It the focus is on designs for banks, you should channel your response towards difficulties that occur in that field and ensure that you stay right on point. Your reply here can also determine if you get the job or not.
What Are the Important Trends in Architecture?
Your reply here will show your creative ideas, and you should provide a detailed explanation according to your experience without sounding over-confident. You should always remember that everyone has their distinctive ideas that can contribute to the growth of the industry.
Your reply should be a combination of creativity and knowledge that you possess, give a constructive reply, and talk about the things that feel right only. Do not share unnecessary information and always keep a positive tone to increase your chances of landing the job.
What Do You Know About This Organization?
The first thing to do before you apply for any job at any organization is to perform extensive research about it and get your facts right before getting yourself into the interview room because questions like this will test you. They want to know if you have done any research about the company and your role.
Your research will keep you informed and ready for the interviewer. Whenever you get on the official company website, the first page you should head to is the about us page because it contains lots of information about the company.
Who Do You Admire Most in the World of Architecture, and Why?
You will face this question for two reasons, and one is to examine your knowledge of the architectural world. And the other is to understand your style. If you do not admire any architect, take some time to think and select anyone whom you understand his or her work and has a good understanding of the job.
But if you do have a role model, you should give a detailed explanation and why you admire the person. Your reply gives a direct insight into your ideas and the path you are willing to follow, so you should be careful with your reply and always remain confident.
Watch the video explanations on passing architecture job interviews:
Frequently Asked Questions
There have been different types of questions about the job of an architect, and interviewers need to watch out for lots of things. Below are a few questions and answers about architecture job interview questions that will help with the preparation of a job interview:
Conclusion
You must remain smart and confident while you give replies to these questions. Still, more importantly, you should prepare and perform some research about the organization before you proceed to the interview room.
Also, remember to be honest with your replies and ensure that your answers match your actions, which will increase your chance of getting the job. I wish you the very best in getting the job of your dreams.
