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
High-profit design firms invest in in-house training
Forty-three percent of high-profit architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms have in-house training staff, according to a study by ZweigWhite. The 2008-2009 Successful Firm Survey reports that only 36% of firms overall have in-house training staff. In addition, 52% of high-profit firms use an online training system or service.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction cost trend remains negative despite August increases, according to AGC
Despite increases in construction costs in August, new figures released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that prices for the sector remain significantly down from a year ago, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America said today in analyzing the data.
| Aug 11, 2010
Help Wanted: Architect for $100 million 'Discovery Park' in Union City, Tennessee
The Robert E. and Jenny D. Kirkland Foundation is identifying architects interested in designing a 50-acre, multi-million dollar complex in Union City, TN. Discovery Park of America will be a world-class, multi-faceted venue presenting exhibits and interactive experiences about history, nature, art, and science.
| Aug 11, 2010
Clark Group, Hensel Phelps among nation's largest federal government contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 40 Federal Government 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
Schmidt Associates and Johnson Melloh form new company, Energy Solutions by JMS
Schmidt Associates, a full-service architecture and engineering firm based in Indianapolis (and a 2008 BD+C Best Firms to Work For winner), and Johnson Melloh, a mechanical contractor, have formed a new company called Energy Solutions by JMS. The two will share resources through the new company to design and construct energy-efficient systems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Report: Fraud levels fall for construction industry, but companies still losing $6.4 million on average
The global construction, engineering and infrastructure industry saw a significant decline in fraud activity with companies losing an average of $6.4 million over the last three years, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, released today at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston. This new figure represents less than half of last year’s amount of $14.2 million.
| Aug 11, 2010
Davis Langdon, DEGW merge
Leading global construction consultancy Davis Langdon and strategic planning consultants DEGW have announced a merger
| Aug 11, 2010
Total construction in 2009 and 2010 will be down 14%, 5%, respectively
The outlook for the general economy is improving, but that doesn’t mean good news for construction yet, reports FMI’s Construction Outlook, a quarterly, construction-market forecast and supplement to the U.S. Markets Construction Overview FMI has produced since 1985. Total construction in 2009 and 2010 will be down 14% and 5% respectively.