Architecture cover letter examples that will get you noticed

Cover letter samples are a great way to get started on your own cover letter. Here’s a short cover letter example:

Dear Mr. Smith,

I have always had a deep appreciation for architectural design, and when I decided to start playing around with AutoCAD in high school, I had no idea it would end up turning into my current desire to create architectural designs that people immediately love. I am now a junior architect with three AIA nominations and one AIA award, and I would be pleased to bring my skills to your firm as an architect.

Project management is a significant portion of what I do as an architect, and around 80% of my architecture jobs across my years of experience have been team jobs. I have always gotten high praise for my teamwork, allowing others to take the front seat when their skills are needed. Although I predominantly use AutoCAD, I also have mastery over Autodesk Revit and SketchUp and have worked architect jobs that use all three.

I pride myself on excelling at any architect position I have taken, and my work experience includes a variety of buildings that have been enjoyed by millions of people. I look forward to talking to you about how I can apply my work ethic to my position at [Company Name].

Sincerely,
Michael Mowry

Your first step needs to be to ensure you have a great header. Include your full name, contact information including phone number and social media handles including LinkedIn. Use the hiring manager’s name, avoiding generic phrases like “Dear hiring manager.” Once you’ve covered these important elements, you can move on to the rest of the cover letter format

First paragraph: Introduce yourself with a hook and list your best achievements.
In the example, the applicant immediately jumps into a unique hook, telling a short story about how he discovered his enjoyment of architectural design in high school. He then tells how he’s been nominated for three AIA awards and won one. These are all things that will immediately catch the eye of any hiring manager. Though many architecture cover letter samples will start with a phrase like, “I’m excited to apply to the position of junior architect,” this is an extremely generic start, and recruiters are going to be more interested in something that’s unique.

Second paragraph: Give more information about how you’re the best fit for the job.
Now that you have the recruiter’s attention, you can move on to listing other skills and achievements that make yours the best job application of the group. In the example, the applicant draws attention to his project management skills, his ability to work with a team and his ability to use three prominent architectural design programmes. Remember to cite skills that you see in the job posting; the posting may have requested knowledge of all three of these software programmes.

Third paragraph: Call to action
In the third paragraph, you need to actively request the job interview and state that you want to have a follow-up conversation. The applicant in this example states, “I look forward to talking to you,” essentially assuming the interview. This is a great way to suggest to the hiring manager that they should reach out for you to schedule the job interview, and it can help you shorten your job search.