One of the most important aspects of a company to most architectural professionals is office culture. As you work in different organizations you learn different parts of office culture that you value more than others. Office culture can have a major effect on your satisfaction level working there. But when you’re looking for a new job how can you start to get an idea of that particular office’s culture while in the interview process?
It is important to note that when you are interviewing at an office you are as much trying to learn about them as they are learning more about you. The employer tries to learn about you prior to you coming in through your resume, cover letter, portfolio, word of mouth, LinkedIn, and other forms of online resources. You can try to learn about the company ahead of time with the same type of resources at your fingertips. Most firms have a detailed website, company history, work examples, blog, social media, articles, and so on. These show bits and pieces of how the firm operates professionally and internally. This also gives you a start on what type of questions to ask the individuals in your interview. However, one of the best tools you may have is knowing someone that currently works or used to work for that office. It may help you to take a few minutes to reach out to them to get their feedback before going into an interview.
In school, most professors will suggest being able to ask questions about a particular project which can have its benefits to let the people in the interview know you have done your homework, but there is more to that research. I am more impressed when we get questions during an interview about how the office operates. Questions regarding how that person can learn and grow their career within our office setting. If there is an organization they are heavily involved in, and how their involvement works with the office’s expectations. For individuals coming straight from school or still new in their career, there are usually questions about architectural registration. How does the firm support individuals through the registration process? Some things to consider regarding how a firm supports registration: do they offer time off for exam day, do they pay for the exams, do they have study materials for your use, how long does it usually take someone to go through the AXP process, are there areas of the AXP hours that are hard for the office to get their emerging professional, are their study groups, and so on. Even questions about the office staff such as how many people are currently going through the registration process? These more detailed type of questions can help to understand not only the office culture but the office’s values of their employees.
Towards the end of the interview you should always ask if you can get a tour of the office, if they have not already offered to give you a tour. A tour of the office is a great way to get a glimpse into how the office operates as well as seeing the space itself. But what are some things to look for? If your interview is late in the day, is there still a lot of people in the office? (Please take consideration the day you go. I.e. right before a holiday weekend, or Friday afternoon in the summer.) How are the work stations organized? Do the desks feel more segregated or is it open? How are the staff organized? Is the office set up divided into studios, by experience level, or mixed together are some examples. Do they have any unique spaces in the office that really makes the firm stand out or be able to design projects in a different way? Last example is the tone set by those currently in the office. Is it more of a quiet office? Are there any team meetings going on? Do you see people collaborating or working solely individually? That is a way to try and read the expectations of the office and how teams work together. These are simple things that you can just see as you walk around the office.
Lastly, a way to get a true insight into an office’s culture is while you are still in school is by getting an internship with the company. Take the opportunity to intern at different places rather than the same office throughout the years. Yes, if you get invited back to an office it may be wise to go back to that firm if you truly enjoy it. However, it does not help you understand how different firms operate. I had the opportunity to internship at a very large international firm as well as a small 4-person firm. There are pluses and minuses with both offices but I was very thankful to get those drastically different experiences. It helped me to understand the size of a firm that I wanted to be a part of upon graduation.
These are little things but these are all part of getting an understanding of office culture. The more you know ahead of time can help you make a decision between offers or comparing this office to the office you are currently working in. There is no way of getting a full experience without working for the office and sometimes you simply have to trust your gut and take the leap. The last important aspect of firm culture that I wanted to discuss is that every firm is different and no firm is perfect. If you are striving to find the absolutely perfect firm is setting yourself up for disappointment. Identify what is the most important to you and your career goals. And even if you are part of a large international firm the office culture is not the exact some in every office location. The values, project types, and general expectations may be the same, but each of those offices have their own unique local office culture to consider.
Written by Katelyn Rossier