An architect CV gets read by people who already know what a stage of work is, what a planning submission involves and how long a hospital scheme takes to reach site. That makes it easier to write well and very easy to write badly. The fix is to treat the CV as a structured project record, not as a smaller version of your portfolio.
What the CV does that the portfolio cannot
Most practices ask for both documents, and they do different jobs. The portfolio shows how you think and draw. The CV answers the questions a partner asks before opening the PDF: which projects, at what scale, at which stages, with what responsibility, using which tools, and whether you are registered.
If you have been wondering how much weight the CV still carries next to a strong portfolio, that question has its own piece: what the CV still has to prove when the portfolio decides. The short version for architects is that the CV is the index. A reviewer who likes page six of your portfolio will flip back to the CV to see whether that housing scheme was yours to run or something you modelled for three weeks.
So the CV should be easy to cross-reference. Use the same project names in both documents. If the portfolio calls it "Riverside Library", the CV should not call it "Civic Building, Leeds".
Build the experience section around projects
A generic job description ("produced drawings, attended meetings, liaised with consultants") tells a practice nothing it could not guess. Under each employer, list the projects you worked on, and for each one give the same five facts in the same order:
- Project name, type and location
- Scale: floor area, number of units, or construction value
- Stages you worked on
- Your role and what you were responsible for
- Outcome: planning granted, completed on site, competition shortlisted
Here is what that looks like for an invented mid-level architect, Clara Moreau, at an invented practice:
Hollins Yard, mixed-use, Bristol - 4,200 m2, 38 flats over ground-floor retail. Concept design through technical design. Led the planning drawing set and coordinated structure and services on a federated Revit model. Planning approved at first submission; now on site.
That is four lines and a reviewer knows almost everything they need. Repeat it for your three to six strongest projects. Smaller pieces of work, such as feasibility studies or interiors fit-outs, can sit in a short line each underneath.
If this project-first structure sounds familiar, it is close to how engineers are told to write theirs. The civil engineer CV built around a project list uses the same logic, and the two professions often read each other's CVs on multidisciplinary teams.
Stages of work and scale: say them plainly
Practices hire for gaps in their stage coverage. A studio heavy on concept designers needs someone who can carry a building through technical design and into construction. If your CV hides which stages you have actually delivered, you lose that match.
Use the stage framework the reader knows. In the UK that usually means the RIBA Plan of Work stages; in other countries it might be the local fee-scale phases or simply "schematic design, design development, construction documents, construction administration". Pick the vocabulary of the country you are applying in and stay consistent.
Scale matters just as much. "Residential project" could be a kitchen extension or a 300-unit tower. Give a number every time. If you cannot share the construction value because of client confidentiality, floor area or unit count is enough. A reader looking at a junior candidate wants to see a progression: assisting on one large scheme, then running a small one end to end.
Competitions and unbuilt work
Competition entries and unbuilt schemes belong on the CV if you played a real part. Say what happened: "Second place, invited competition, 2023" or "Stage 2 complete, project paused by client". Unbuilt work is normal in this profession, and nobody will mark you down for it if you are honest about where it stopped.
Software and technical skills
Architecture is one of the fields in which a software list genuinely helps, because a practice running Revit will not want to retrain someone from ArchiCAD in week one. Group the tools so they are readable at a glance:
- BIM and drawing: Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD
- Modelling and visualisation: Rhino, SketchUp, Enscape, Twinmotion
- Computational: Grasshopper, Dynamo
- Presentation: Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator
Then prove the important ones inside your project entries. "Revit" in a skills list is a claim. "Set up the Revit template and managed the central model for a 12-person team" is evidence. If you have worked to a BIM standard such as ISO 19650, mention it in the project where it applied.
Keep the technical knowledge that matters for the role: building regulations, fire strategy coordination, passive house principles, contract administration. Leave out generic soft skills unless you can tie them to a project.
Registration status, stated carefully
Registration rules differ a lot between countries, so this line needs care. In many countries the title "architect" is legally protected, and only people on the national register can use it. In the UK that is the ARB register; in France it is the Ordre des architectes; elsewhere it is a state board or a professional chamber. Check the rules where you plan to work before you choose a job title.
Put your status near the top, under your name or in a short line in the summary, and be exact:
- "Registered architect (ARB), since 2021"
- "Part 2 complete, working towards Part 3"
- "Architectural assistant, qualified in Spain, registration in progress"
If you are not yet registered, a title like "architectural designer" or "architectural assistant" is usually the safe choice. Overstating it is one of the few things on an architect CV that can create a real problem, so keep it plain.
Layout, length and the rest of the CV
Two pages is the normal length for an experienced architect; one page works for graduates. The CV itself should be quietly well set: one typeface, a clear grid, generous margins. Practices notice typography, but they notice overdesign more. Save the visual flair for the portfolio. For general structure choices, the guide to CV format and structure that works in 2026 covers the basics.
A workable order:
- Name, registration status, contact details, portfolio link
- Two-line summary: your stage strength and the building types you know
- Experience, organised by employer, then by project
- Education, including the school and any thesis project worth naming
- Software and technical skills
- Competitions, awards, teaching or publications, if any
If your LinkedIn profile already lists projects with descriptions, Postulit can turn it into a first CV draft that you then reshape into the project format above. That saves the retyping, but the scale figures and stage details still need your own pass.
Before you send it
Take your three best projects and check each entry against the five facts: name, scale, stages, role, outcome. Then open your portfolio and confirm that every project in it also appears on the CV under the same name. Finally, read your job title against your registration status and the rules of the country you are applying in. If all three checks pass, the CV is doing its job, and the portfolio can do the rest.