Annual Build Your Career Workshop

It's that time of year again: time for soon-to-be-graduates and young professionals to start thinking about their careers. And Build Out Alliance is just the resource to help you catapult forward. This year, we are partnering with NOMAS to bring together panelists from design firms and industry recruiters who will share their tips and tricks for success.

The day will begin with a presentation and discussion on crafting the perfect resume, preparing and effective portfolio, and preparing for the best interview. We'll share examples of some of the best resumes and materials to emulate for success and some common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. Then we'll break for lunch and the opportunity to network with fellow students, industry professionals, and recruiters after which we'll break into small groups for the opportunity to review your resume and portfolio and conduct mock interviews. Please bring four copies of your current resume and portfolio, and select one project do discuss during a mock interview. If your portfolio is digital, please bring your own tablet.

The Day's Agenda

Our Build Your Career Workshop is a robust day to help students and young professionals grow. The day's agenda includes:

• 10:00am-10:30am » Arrival, check-in, and getting ready for the day
• 10:30am-12:00pm » Panel Presentation & Discussion, sharing tips and tricks, and dos and don'ts for resume writing and portfolio design
• 12:00pm-1:00pm » Lunch & Networking with other students, industry professionals, and recruiters
• 1:00pm-3:30pm » Break-out groups for resume reviews and mock-interviews between students and professionals
• 3:30pm-4:00pm » Closing remarks, and additional questions and answers

Our Panelists

Alastair Wallace, Managing Director at Bespoke Careers

Alastair leads Bespoke Careers New York team, a global recruiting firm that focuses on the building design and construction industry. After studying architecture at the University of Manchester and the University of Hong Kong, he spent 10 years working for award-winning architecture firms based in the United Kingdom. Now, in his role at Bespoke Careers, Alastair recruits talent for such firms as SOM, FXCollaborative, and Grimshaw, to name a few.

Dara Osur, Senior Associate and Recruiting Manager at Gensler

Dara is a recruiting manager within the Talent Acquisition team at Gensler where she oversees recruitment activity for the firm's Northeast Region, which includes its largest office, New York City. Since 2004, Dara has been a core resource, working on such things as new hire orientation and onboarding, benefits, immigration, recruitment, and much more. Dara graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a Bachelor of Art in Communications Arts.

Shalini Abeyaratne, Senior Associate and Senior Project Manager at Ennead

Shalini has a personal mission to make the architecture profession more diverse and equitable. She is a member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) where she mentors young architects and engages in outreach efforts at schools and colleges. She also co-founded employee resource groups focused on increasing cultural, racial, and ethnic inclusion, awareness, and literacy. A registered architect with more than 20 years of experience, Shalini has an extensive background in public architecture.

Shannon Rodriguez, Human Resources Manager at FXCollaborative

Shannon is the Human Resource Director at FXCollaborative where she is responsible for recruiting, mentoring and training programs, employee relations, staffing, performance management, and staffing. In her role, she focuses on providing opportunities to students and employees with diverse backgrounds, and has been instrumental in helping to establish FXCollaborative's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Shannon holds a Legal Studies degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Thank you to our event partner and our host

Build Out Alliance is excited to partner with the City College of New York chapter of NOMAS on this event, and thankful for our gracious hosts at Ennead who are providing both the space for this event as well as food and drink to welcome everyone for the day.