Stephen Drew on Architecture Career Change

If you are thinking, I need a new job, pause before you apply everywhere. The useful question is not only whether you should leave. It is what problem the next move needs to solve.

This Diary of an Architect conversation with Stephen Drew is useful because it gets into architecture recruitment, career paths, portfolios and how candidates explain change without sounding reactive.

How to decide whether you need a new job

There is a difference between needing a holiday, needing a better conversation with your manager and needing a new job. Before you move, define the issue.

• Is the role too junior for what you can now do?
• Is the project exposure wrong for your next step?
• Is the salary below market for your level and location?
• Is the practice culture making good work difficult?
• Is the commute, hybrid pattern or workload no longer sustainable?
• Do you want a different sector, scale or responsibility level?

Turn frustration into a career brief

A good career move has a brief. If you cannot explain what you want, the market will decide for you. That usually means noisy applications, poor-fit interviews and offers that solve the wrong problem.

• Use current architecture jobs to test what the market is asking for.
• Use the CV guide to make your evidence clearer before applying.
• Use the portfolio guide to make sure your work supports the move you want.

Simple self-audit before applying

Before you send anything, write one line under each of these prompts.

• The work I want more of is...
• The work I want less of is...
• The evidence I can show now is...
• The gap I need to explain honestly is...
• The next practice needs to offer...

When a career change is not the answer

Sometimes the better move is not a new job. It may be a clearer conversation, a different project, a salary review, more responsibility or a better plan for the next six months. That is why the brief matters.

If the issue is temporary, moving too quickly can create a new problem. If the issue is structural, staying too long can make the CV harder to explain. The aim is to understand the difference before the market forces your hand.

How to explain career change in an interview

Do not lead with anger. Lead with direction. A practice does not need to hear every internal frustration from your current role. It needs to understand what you can do, why this move makes sense and whether you will be reliable.

A stronger answer sounds like this: I have learnt a lot in my current role, but I am now looking for more exposure to . My portfolio shows relevant evidence through , and I am looking for a practice where I can build on that properly.

Common mistakes

• Applying while angry and sending weak material.
• Confusing a bad project with a bad career direction.
• Changing roles without knowing what needs to improve.
• Making the interview about complaints rather than evidence.
• Ignoring portfolio gaps until the interview.

Architecture Social view

Stephen's recruiter view is that wanting a new job is not the problem. The problem is when candidates cannot explain the move. Direction, evidence and timing matter more than panic.

Next step

Write your career brief, then compare it with live architecture jobs. If the gap is your CV or portfolio, fix that before sending more applications.

For related career support, browse current architecture jobs or set up architecture job alerts.