A portfolio checklist for architecture job applications

Your portfolio is usually the first thing a firm opens — often on a phone, between other work. It needs to make its point in the first few pages.

Before you start

• Know who it’s for. A practice that does interiors wants to see interiors early. Reorder projects for each application if you can.
• Choose fewer, stronger projects. Four or five well-presented projects say more than twelve thin ones.

The first pages

1. Your name, contact details and a one-line description (“Architect, 2 years in residential practice, Kochi”).
2. The project you most want to be asked about. Put your strongest, most relevant work first.

For each project

• One clear image that shows the idea.
• A short paragraph: the brief, the site, your role, the stage you worked on.
• Drawings at a scale that can be read — plans, sections, a detail if you produced it.
• If it was a team project, say exactly what you did. Firms check.

Show how you work, not just the result

Include a page or two of process: sketches, models, iterations, site photos. For working-drawing roles, a well-annotated drawing set extract is often more persuasive than renders.

File and format

• Send a PDF under 10 MB, or a link that opens without a login.
• Name the file clearly: Firstname-Lastname-Portfolio-2026.pdf.
• Check that it reads well on a phone screen: text large enough, pages in landscape or portrait consistently.

Before you send

• Proofread names, places and software.
• Remove projects you can’t talk about confidently in an interview.
• Mention where you saw the job — on ArchCareers, firms can see that their listing is working.