You’re probably pretty content in your present position. But if your “dream job” opened up, would you be ready to go for it? Would your resume be up to today’s standard? In many cases, probably not.
Design Force can help. We have 12 years’ experience providing premium career development support to AEC professionals. We’d be glad to review your resume on a free, 100% confidential basis.
One item that can be very effective in any resume is your experience with mentoring. Many design and construction firms have formal mentorship programs that pair new professional staff with veteran members of the firm. How effective is your firm’s mentoring program? Don’t have one? Maybe you should help get one started.
There are different forms of mentorship. In many AEC firms, mentoring occurs almost by accident. The new staff member somehow latches on to a more established person in the firm to seek advice and counseling on the ins and outs of the firm.
This form of mentorship gives you choice—you’re not getting stuck with someone you don’t like. But there’s no guarantee that the mentor will do a good job, or even that he/she is really interested in mentoring you.
At some AEC firms, particularly the larger ones, you may be assigned a mentor by the HR department, the CEO, or your department head. This has the advantage of being sanctioned by your firm and presumably tested over time. You can reasonably expect that the mentorship has a structure and that you will benefit from it. On the other hand, due to personality differences, gender issues, age or generational differences, etc., you may not be entirely comfortable with your assigned mentor. This could prove awkward in the everyday work environment.
You may want to have more than one mentor: one for specific advice about the workings of the firm—its strategic direction, what kinds of project work is most valued, what management is looking for from you, what gaps exist that fit you can fill to enhance your career growth path; the other for more general advice about your profession—how to get placed on professional society committees, how to obtain speaking engagements, what pro bono work can help your career, community service, alumni affiliations, etc. This person may be completely outside your firm but well-established in your profession.
Mentorships should have clear guidelines. You and your mentor should establish how frequently you will meet—once a week? Once a month? Quarterly?—and under what circumstances—coffee outside the office? A formal sit-down in the office? Should the discussion be business only, or can personal matters enter into the conversation? How long a period should the mentorship last? Should it be reevaluated once a year? How would it be ended? Should there be a written report at some point? Who would have access to such a report?
Some AEC firms have come up with interesting innovations in their mentorship programs. One firm we know assigns two mentors to every new employee. This helps you get feedback and advice from different perspectives.
Other firms are using two-way mentorships. Senior staff members work with younger or junior staff on subjects like how to improve client relations, how to bring in business, and how to get things done most effectively within the firm’s structure.
The protégés then work with their senior counterparts on solving problems that they’re more comfortable with, such as how to implement new software, or how to use the latest AEC-industry apps.
An interesting approach we recently learned about through one of our clients is for you and your mentor to take responsibility for a specific task that contributes to the firm's betterment. It could be a better way to catalog standards in the firm’s library, or the development of a new presentation prep technique, or rethinking the marketing strategy for a studio.
What if you are asked to become a mentor? My advice: Think carefully before agreeing to do so. Mentorship is a serious responsibility. Your protégé’s career can and probably will be affected by the quality of the mentoring you provide.
But mentoring, done right, can give you visibility to climb in your career—and for your protégé as well. You’re both working hard for your individual improvement and the firm’s betterment.
Ahmed Kurtom is Managing Principal of Design Force, a Washington, D.C.–based firm specializing in career placement opportunities for AEC professionals.
For a FREE 100% CONFIDENTIAL resume review by an experienced Design Force hiring manager, email your resume to: careers@designforcesolutions.com - SUBJECT LINE: Free Resume Review/BDC090816A
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction employment shrinks in 319 of the nation's 336 largest metro areas in July, continuing months-long slide
Construction workers in communities across the country continued to suffer extreme job losses this July according to a new analysis of metropolitan area employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. That analysis found construction employment declined in 319 of the nation’s largest communities while only 11 areas saw increases and six saw no change in construction employment between July 2008 and July 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
Leggat McCall/Commodore Builders/O’Hagan “15 Days” earns LEED Platinum
The ambitious “15 Days” project that teamed up Leggat McCall Properties, Commodore Builders and Audrey O’Hagan Architects, LLC last September has just been certified LEED-platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) – the first and only commercial interior work in Boston to earn that distinction.
| Aug 11, 2010
Harvard Public Library
Harvard, Mass.
Five years ago, the town of Harvard, Mass., which lies about 30 miles west of Boston, faced two problems. First, its iconic public schoolhouse, known as Old Bromfield, which was built in 1877, had become outdated. So, too, had its public library, which had no room to grow on its site.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green consultant guarantees LEED certification or your money back
With cities mandating LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for public, and even private, buildings in growing numbers, an Atlanta-based sustainability consulting firm is hoping to ease anxieties over meeting those goals with the industry’s first Green Guaranteed.
| Aug 11, 2010
Skanska, Turner most active in U.S. hotel construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Hotel Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
An American perspective: skyscraper architecture goes modular in the UK
At 25 stories, Victoria Hall, a new modular high-rise in the city of Wolverhampton, England, is the world’s tallest building constructed principally off-site. The ground floor is site-built, but the other 24 stories are assembled from 383 individual modules shipped over from Cork, Ireland. The mixed-used complex, designed by O’Connell East Architects of Manchester and developed by Victoria Hall Ltd., will house students at the University of Wolverhampton.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index bounces back after substantial dip
Exhibiting a welcome rebound following a 5-point dip the month prior, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up almost 6 points in July. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI rating was 43.1, up noticeably from 37.7 the previous month.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Whiting-Turner among nation's largest university contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 University Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
| Aug 11, 2010
70% of Qualified Trade Association Members Attain “Green Brick Specialist” Designation in Comprehensive Training Program
The Brick Industry Association (BIA), the national trade group representing distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products and services, has announced that 70% of its eligible members have passed the industry’s first-ever online training program, “Sustainability/Green Building Design and Brick.”
