Architect CV example and writing guide for 2026

Use a simple, reverse-chronological format and aim for no more than two pages. Start with your contact details and portfolio link, then arrange your personal statement, employment history, skills, education and relevant additional information in that order. Clear headings, consistent dates and restrained formatting make the document easier to scan.

Tailor each architect CV to the job description, since the advert tells you what that employer wants. Review suitable architect vacancies for recurring terms, then include those terms only where they truthfully match your experience. A junior architect CV can use studio work, placements and transferable employment; an experienced candidate should give more space to project scale, coordination and decisions.

Keep the design restrained. Use spacing and typographic hierarchy, but avoid a photograph and decorative graphics that compete with the content. Select a few relevant projects and link to the full portfolio instead of squeezing it into the CV.

An architect CV is more persuasive when each bullet records a specific contribution and what happened because of it. Begin with a precise verb, identify the drawing package, design task or coordination activity, then add a figure you can substantiate. Useful measures may include drawing quantities, floor area, review time, issue counts, approval rounds or time saved. A number should clarify the scale of your work, not merely make the bullet sound impressive.

The revised bullets define ownership and scope. "Produced and checked" explains the candidate's action, while the drawing count and closed comments show workload and completion. The client example records what was presented, how often and how the work affected the programme. When you did not own the final result, choose accurate verbs such as supported, contributed, prepared or assisted.

Useful verbs include designed, developed, produced, modelled, coordinated, reviewed, resolved, presented, analysed, revised and documented. Repetition is acceptable when the activity genuinely recurred. A precise verb is better than an unusual synonym that blurs your responsibility.

Keep the project context short. Usually, the reader needs the project type, your contribution and the result rather than a description of the whole commission. If confidentiality prevents you from naming a client, use a generic label such as "mixed-use redevelopment" and give only figures you are permitted to disclose.

Architects can remain involved during construction, adjusting plans in response to budgets, environmental factors and client needs while coordinating with civil engineers and resolving problems on site. When that reflects your experience, identify the constraint, describe your response and state the result. Never invent a missing number, appropriate a team result or imply decision-making authority you did not hold.

List education in reverse-chronological order, giving the qualification, institution and completion year. Recent graduates can add two or three concise details beneath their newest course, perhaps a relevant studio brief, dissertation topic, technical investigation or assessed group project. Experienced applicants generally need less academic detail because recent project evidence deserves more room.

For UK training routes, a RIBA part 1 approved degree is a place to start training to become an Architect. Present the name exactly as it appears in your own qualification information. This is a description of one starting route, not a claim that the qualification is universally required for every vacancy or that it proves later professional status.

If you are still studying, show the expected completion year. Candidates who followed another route can state the course title, provider, dates and relevant work without trying to present it as an equivalent credential. Include modules only when they help the reader understand your suitability for the advertised work.

Put relevant short courses or workplace learning under a compact "Additional training" heading. Give the course name and provider where you know them, and avoid letting minor training displace substantial project evidence.

Adjust the balance to your career stage. A graduate architect CV or junior architect CV may rely on academic projects to demonstrate design reasoning, drawing production and presentation. A senior application should devote more space to responsibility, coordination, project scale and results. This keeps the education section factual while allowing the experience section to show how the candidate works in practice.