Why did I leave the architecture office that I really loved working at?
"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." John F. Kennedy
Hello there!
You may have noticed that lately, I haven't been as active as a content creator for The Creative Insider. So, I have decided to tell you why. It is a story that might be valuable to you too.
In the last two years, alongside working on The Creative Insider, I have been working full-time as an architect at Holger Meyer Architektur here in Frankfurt am Main, Germany until April 30th, which was officially my last day working for this company.
Since January 2020, this is the third office I am leaving for a new job, but this time it was a totally different experience. Every time in the past three years that I have left an office, it was a sort of relief. The feeling was always like “Finally, I am out of here!” This time it was completely different. After having a couple of bad experiences, I literally found a place that I loved! I loved the project I was working on (despite it being very stressful), I loved the setup and the location of the office, and moreover, I had found great people in my team, many of whom I now call friends. If you are a regular follower of TCI Podcast, you might have even listened or watched to the interview I recorded with Holger Meyer, the founder, and owner of the company, which speaks for itself about my relationship to this company. But if I was in such great synch with the office, why did I leave?
First Reason: the crisis is coming!
HMA it is a great office but the projects we were working on, were traditional real-estate projects with purely speculative scope. As you might know since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine the perfect economics storm was unleashed.
First the zero covid policy of China has created disruptance of the supply chains around the world. You might not know this but the building materials used for hour constructions are often imported from China, or at least some of the raw materials like aluminium and Steel. This scarcity of materials together with the high domand that never decreased created a big spike in the constrction materials cost. The Central European Bank and the FED in the USA, during the pandemic has approved aid packages for the people by injecting great amount of money in the economic system. By keeping the buying power of the people high and decreasing the productivity but not the domand of goods, this packages were like injecting oxigen in a fire. It just increase further more the inflation rates. As response to the inflation rates going over 10%, the central european bank and the FED, have risen the interests rates,which consequently made the financing of new construction projects harder and more cost intensive. As if that wasn't enough since March 2023, with the collapse of the SVB in the US, the stability of the entire global banking system has been called into question.
Furthermore since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to an incredible spike of the energy costs in Europe and around the world. This costs play a very important role in the all-over construction cost of a building.
Due to all of these factors, the flow of assignments for new projects, which were purely speculative, was called into question. Given this situation, I felt compelled to take preventive action for my carreer, despite my love for my job. Further confirming my fears were the many rumors in town of other architecture firms that had laid off many of their employees after loosing many of their projects. Waiting for things to get better, would have made it even more difficult to find a new job in a few months' time, as there would have been even greater competition among job applicants.
Second reason: a fitting oportunity appeared
Due to this situation, I knew I had to start looking for a new job - one that required my skills but not for the same purposes. I began checking on a regular basis popular websites for architecture jobs in Germany, such as baunetz.de, competitionsonline.com, and wettbewerbe-aktuell.de, among others. I also intensified my presence on LinkedIn and its German version, xing.com (which is pronounced corssing).
Besides checking job openings, I used my spare time to update my portfolio and CV. I maintained consistency in this routine until one day an opportunity on LinkedIn caught my attention: Carpus und Partner was looking for an architect!
I was familiar with Carpus and Partner because one of my former colleagues works there as well. The company is based in Aachen, with several locations across Germany, including Frankfurt am Main. The company was founded 30 years ago and has since grown into a large corporation with around 300 employees across all branches. C&P specializes in planning and building pharmaceutical production buildings and research centers. The company's motto, "We develop buildings that multiply knowledge - for a hopeful future." speaks for itself in highlighting the difference in purpose of these projects - they are not built for speculation, but for real needs.
Third reason: it was a match!
Excited by this opportunity and with the experience I had gained through my past unfortunate experiences in changing jobs, I had to determine if this position was a good fit for me.
The first step was to contact the acquaintance I had at the office and ask her about the company. I asked questions such as:
What is the working atmosphere like?
What are the workloads?
What software does the company use?
What is the salary range for the job opening?
After receiving only positive responses, this person kindly referred my application directly to the bosses at the company in Frankfurt. Upon seeing my application, they were enthusiastic to invite me for an interview.
The interview was a very pleasant meeting, during which I remembered that the goal is not just to get the job, but to try to understand if you and the employer are a good match. I liked what I saw, but I did not solely rely on my perception to make my decision. Once I learned who my potential future bosses would be, I realized that I knew other people who had worked with them in the past. So, I contacted them for further information about their work attitude, and the positive feedback was confirmed. It was time to embark on this new adventure.
Leaving: who you meet while going upstairs will meet when going downstairs.
The hardest moment was ahead of me: I had to communicate my decision to leave the company to HMA.
From my past experience in Germany (I am not sure about the culture in your country), it is best to inform your employer of your decision before signing the contract with your new company, so they have the chance to try to retain you. I spoke with the HR department, who then communicated with the leadership, and I was called in for a final conversation. They were happy with my work and appreciated me greatly, and made a counter offer which I will not disclose. However, my decision was not tactical (short-term) but strategic (long-term). Given the current economic and geopolitical climate, I believe it is best for my future to move to a different kind of construction projects.
The people at HMA were extremely nice and even after my final decision to leave, they remained professional, treating me kindly and respectfully as usual. I will always hold this architecture office in my heart, and it will be a pleasure to return to their office if our paths cross again in the future.
I will always be grateful to HMA, but now it is time for me to focus on C&P and new content for TCI!
Conclusion
I hope my story will help you better evaluate your career strategy and provide some helpful tips on how to maintain good relationships with the people you meet along your professional journey! I wish you a great start to the week.
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Georgi