What Architecture Firms Are Looking For in Young Employees

Millions of careers will start in the United States this summer. With one of the tightest labor markets in history though, it can be tough just to get a foot in the door with attractive companies.

The AEC industry is no different. With the economy doing well, opportunities are everywhere, but so is the competition.

“It’s a great time actually to come out of school. Everyone is still really, really busy. Finding a job isn’t as hard today as seven, eight, nine years ago,” Bob Borson, Principal Architect at Malone, Maxwell & Borson said. “The thing that makes me a little worried is it’s been really good for awhile now and the AEC industry as a whole goes through these cyclical kind of moments and we’re waiting for it to kind of turn down.”

Borson, who created the popular architecture-themed blog, Life of an Architect, has been in the architecture industry for decades now, but knows how important young architects’ first job is today.

“It’s important because it can dictate how your entire career might go,” he said.

This is not to say young architects should lock themselves into situations if they are not receiving the right opportunities though.

One way Borson advises those breaking into the industry to do is find a mentor in a role they envision themselves in one day.

“The thing that makes mentorship work, and this is important, is you have to reevaluate the decisions you’ve made. So, it suggests that that partnership has to be in place for a period of time,” he said.

Ultimately, sometimes landing that first job can come down to executing on the simplest of expectations, according to Borson.

“There are certain things we talk about that are kind of problem solving 101. If someone sends me a resume and they want a job and they address it to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, you already failed the very first test which is to find out who you should address this to” he said. “It’s not a hard problem to solve.

When beginning a career, Borson also advises to measure the nature of the company and the relationships with senior teammates and clients. This can be unnerving for young workers but at some point, employers will expect genuine opinion and contribution when the time is right.

“If you’re in the room, if your employers have brought you into the space and put you at the table, they probably want you to feel comfortable to at least opening your mouth and saying something. Or they wouldn’t bring you,” he said.

To watch Borson’s entire interview on MarketScale Mornings, click here! For the latest in AEC news, head to our industry page! You can also follow us on Twitter at @AECMKSL. Join the conversation in our Market Leaders LinkedIn group!

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Bitcoin
Alts Innovators: Joseph Kelly on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency
October 6, 2025

After a year that put digital assets back in the headlines, long-term Bitcoin adoption is quietly compounding beneath the noise. Unchained reports helping “many thousands” of clients secure roughly $12B in Bitcoin via collaborative custody, while on-chain “HODL waves” data shows that ~60% of all Bitcoin typically hasn’t moved in a year or more,…

Read More
startup accelerator
Why Culture, Conscious Capitalism, and Purpose Beyond Profit Are Essential to Startup Accelerator Scalability
October 6, 2025

As the startup ecosystem continues to evolve, pitch competitions and startup accelerators are shaping the way founders connect with investors and communities. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data, U.S. entrepreneurial activity climbed to a record 19% in 2024—the highest level ever reported—highlighting just how fertile the ground is for platforms like CodeLaunch. This…

Read More
accounting
Building Careers, Balancing Life: A CFO’s Journey from Public Accounting to Pipeline Construction
October 1, 2025

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of accountants and auditors will grow by about 5 percent between 2024 and 2034. That growth is fueled by a combination of factors: companies facing increasingly complex regulatory requirements, an expanding economy that requires financial oversight at every level, and ongoing retirements and career shifts that…

Read More
future of healthcare
Leading Through Change: Dr. Kevin Stevenson on Workforce, Innovation, and the Future of Healthcare
October 1, 2025

Healthcare is at a critical turning point, where staffing pressures, shrinking reimbursements, and rising patient expectations are reshaping the future of healthcare. According to the AACN Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet, the federal government projects more than 203,000 new registered nurse positions will be created annually from 2021 to 2031, reflecting high demand from an…

Read More