If you’re looking for work as a landscape architect, you can make a landscape architecture resume that highlights your qualifications for the position. Your experience, training, credentials, and any other information that is pertinent to landscape architecture may be included in this kind of landscape architecture resume. Understanding this kind of CV can be useful while writing your own. In this post, we go over five steps for creating a landscape architecture resume, offer a sample landscape architecture resume, and offer a template for creating your own.
How to format a landscape architecture resume
The following list of five steps will help you write a landscape architecture:
1. Compose an objective or summary.
You can create a summary that highlights your relevant work experience, credentials, education, and skills for a landscape architecture resume in the field of landscape architecture, or you can write an objective that outlines your career objectives in the field. This summary, which might be either one or two sentences long, should include all of your landscaping, architecture, gardening, and design experience in addition to any professional qualifications or degrees you may have in these fields. You may include one sentence in your aim that summarizes your prior employment or school background and how those things contributed to your aspirations in landscape architecture.
2. List any relevant experience you have
Next, you can list any professional experience you have that has a direct connection to landscape architecture or that demonstrates abilities applicable to such a role in your landscape architecture resume. For instance, you can list any prior employment as a gardener, gardener, architect, landscape architect, or employee of a garden center. You can also go into detail about your duties in those earlier positions, paying particular attention to those that demonstrate a high level of expertise in areas that might be related to landscape architecture. For example, you might list duties like planning architectural projects, collaborating with clients, gardening, and designing.
3. Explain your academic history.
You can list any academic credentials you have, like a bachelor’s or associate’s degree that might be relevant to landscape architecture in the landscape architecture resume in the following section. The following majors may be considered for this position: urban and regional planning, interior architecture, and landscape architecture. A list of individual courses in horticulture, decorative plants, architectural drawing, and other fields with a connection to landscape architecture is also acceptable.
4. List your qualifications and licenses
Next, you can add any abilities and credentials that might help you get considered for opportunities in landscape architecture in your landscape architecture resume. Your skills may have been acquired through previous employment, educational experiences, or certification pursuits. Positions in landscape architecture are related to several professional credentials, including the ISA Certified Arborist, the Green Industries Best Management Practices program, and the Certified Landscape Technician.
5. Provide references
Last but not least, you may provide a few credible references in your landscape architecture resume, like former employers, colleagues, professors, or mentors. Given that the role may call for highly developed design, drafting, and communication abilities, references may be crucial to employers of landscape architects. For example, a reference might confirm your capacity to develop distinctive and imaginative landscapes that many clients find appealing.
A landscape architecture resume template
You can use the following model to create your landscape architecture resume:
[Your name]
[Your telephone number]
Email: [Your Email]
Summary or objective
[1–2 words that sum up your general career objectives or relevant work experience in landscape architecture]
Professional experience
[Job title, company name]
[Employment dates]
Duties
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
[Job title, company name]
[Employment dates]
Duties
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
[Job title, company name]
[Employment dates]
Duties
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
- [Work responsibility]
Education
[Title of degree]
[Name of the school]
[Date of graduation]
Relevant academic work
- [Name of the course]
- [Name of the course]
- [Name of the course]
[Title of degree]
[Name of the school]
[Date of graduation]
Relevant academic work
- [Name of the course]
- [Name of the course]
- [Name of the course]
Skills
[Skill] [Skill] [Skill]
Certifications
- [Certification, awarding body]
- [Certification, awarding body]
- [Certification, awarding body]
References
- [Reference’s name, relationship, contact information, and email]
- [Reference’s name, relationship, contact information, and email]
- [Reference’s name, relationship, contact information, and email]
A sample landscape architecture resume
This is a sample of a landscape architecture resume following the format shown above:
William Hopewell
111-222-3344
William.hopewell@email.com
Summary
An accomplished landscape architect with education in contemporary and modern design. Has an American Society of Landscape Architects credential and earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture in 2016.
Professional experience
Landscape architect, Ultimate Landscape Architects Corp.
October 2016-July 2022
Duties
- Met customers to go through plans
- Planned the landscape architecture for more than 50 clients.
- Created cost projections for all projects.
- Materials chosen for landscaping projects
- Checked on construction projects to see how things were going
- Examined the surroundings of the homes.
Landscape designer, Top Landscapers in California Llc
April 2009-July 2015
Duties
- Fertilized and mowed yards
- Trimmed tree branches and shrubs
- Hydrated grass and plants
- Weeded out undesirable plants
- Monitored the condition of external spaces
- Used nontoxic insecticides on plants.
- Planted fresh plants and flowers
Local Nursery Employee, Beautiful Plants, and Flowers Plant Nursery
June 2005-April 2015
Duties
- Helped clients with their inquiries and purchases
- Restocked racks with plants, flowers, and garden supplies
- Maintained product inventory
- Watered plants inside the building
- Used harmless pesticides
Education
A bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture
Northern Kentucky University
June 2016
Relevant academic work
- Outdoor engineering and construction
- Natural resources
- Preserving landscape architecture
- Park layout
- Residential landscape architecture
- Cosmopolitan aesthetic
Applied Science Associate in Landscape Design
Northern Kentucky University
April 2013
Relevant academic work
- Identification of flowers and plants
- Soil productivity
- Designing a landscape digitally
- Plant illnesses and diseases
- Pest animals and insects
- Horticulture
Skills
- Making use of drafting software
- Planning an architectural project
- Talking out loud
- Making cost projections
- Identification of plants and pests
- Horticulture
Certifications
- Accredited Arborist, World Association of Arboriculture
- Accredited Drainage Designer, Drainage Association
References
- Harold Stephen, former manager, 111-222-3344, Harold@email.com
- Kenny Craig, former colleague, 111-222-3344, Kenny@email.com
- Professor Jack Kyle, 111-222-3344, Jack@email.com
Major distinctions between a landscape architect and a landscape designer
Pools, patios, gardens, and other outside projects can be designed by both landscape designers and architects. Prospective landscape professionals should, however, take into account a few significant distinctions between a landscape designer and an architect. Understanding these distinctions will help you choose which job path best suits your landscaping ambitions if you want to pursue a career in it.
How do you define a landscape architect?
A landscape architect is a professional in landscaping who normally holds a bachelor’s degree in the field. Architects frequently attend a university approved by the American Society of Landscape Artists (ASLA). To design public areas like parks, cemeteries, commercial buildings, or waterfront development projects, these specialists often research industrial and commercial architectural concepts. Architects must also successfully pass state tests to obtain a state license.
What does a landscape designer do?
A specialist that works on smaller domestic projects like house patios, gardens, or other outdoor areas is a landscape designer. Despite the possibility of an undergraduate degree, most landscape designers are self-taught or acquire their knowledge through practical experience. Landscapers frequently get the skills necessary to become landscape designers via practice rather than formal study.
Landscape designers and architects have different responsibilities.
Although the jobs of landscape designers and architects are similar, there are some significant variations between the two professional paths to take into account. They consist of:
Skills
Although architects and landscape designers share many talents, they may apply them differently depending on their job. Many of these abilities include:
Maintaining a lawn
People frequently start by looking for a landscaper to help them maintain their grass. This is why you need to be skilled at sod installation, fertilizing, and mowing. You might also require that you be knowledgeable about landscape design and grass aeration depending on where your client is located.
Knowledge of the terrain
Both landscape designers and architects are aware of their working environment’s topography and how it may impact the creation of buildings, walkways, monuments, or other environmental projects. Nonetheless, architects may pursue additional studies in terrain management and frequently possess greater expertise with challenging terrain, waterways, and biomes like marshlands or woodlands.
Management of irrigation and soil
Maintaining your grass job will be easier if you understand how to most effectively manage the soil in your location. When choosing which components of soil conservation and irrigation to emphasize, location is a crucial consideration. In places that experience all four seasons, you will need to be aware of fertilizing, mulching, modifying soil, and winterizing. In locations that undergo drought, you could need the following particular skills:
- Irrigation via drip
- Scheduling irrigation
- Rainfall collection
- Installation and administration of sprinklers
- Drought-tolerant vegetation
Knowledge of architectural design
With their extensive design abilities, landscape architects may frequently create more intricate structures with requirements that complement, eliminate, or add to the natural terrain. The ability to work with basic topography, apply design principles, and construct simple outside residential structures like gardens is a skill that most landscape designers have.
Bush and tree work
A landscaper who is proficient in both tree upkeep and removal is a vital team member. Similarly to this, having some experience with planning or trimming shrubs is helpful. Here are some abilities in working with trees and bushes:
- Pruning
- Pursuing trees
- Thinning of branches
- Operation of an area lift
Botany abilities
Both designers and architects are proficient in botany, however, architectural designers may be more knowledgeable about how specific species of plants interact with the soil and change specific terrains. Yet, a landscape designer may possess specialist knowledge of the aesthetic impact of specific plants and be able to recommend various species to suit the needs of clients.
Drafting expertise
It’s a good idea to check with your local library to see if they have any books on the subject. Designers may create their designs using simple software or using paper and pencil depending on the needs of their customers and projects, while landscape architects may employ sophisticated blueprints and 3D models.
Pest Prevention
It is common for people to experience problems with their health due to the effects of smoking. You can respond more effectively if you are aware of the common problems with landscaping brought on by tiny animals, bugs, and invasive plant species. See this list of abilities a landscaper should possess to effectively control pests:
- Weed control
- Recognizing invasive plant types and weeds
- Understanding of different pesticides
- Understanding of benevolent insects
- Detecting rodents where they are present
Hardscaping
Any hard surface utilized as a part of an outside design strategy is referred to as hardscaping. Hardscaping abilities typically involve constructing wooden structures, stone walls, or tiled floors. Hardscaping occasionally includes things like benches, a fire pit, and paths. Hardscaping experience is not common among landscapers, but most of them are skilled in soft scaping, which involves using natural features like plants and grass. Any squad would benefit from having you as a useful member if you have great hardscaping abilities.
Observation of details
Technical proficiency alone won’t make you a successful landscaper. Many other crucial and beneficial soft talents exist as well, like meticulousness. Precision is essential for gardening, maintaining lawns, and caring for flowers. It will be easier for you to prevent tiny concerns from growing into bigger ones if you can notice a single withered bloom or invading weed. To give options to customers that are trustworthy when presented with drawings and blueprints—which is essential for attracting and retaining clients—you need also to be capable of taking precise measurements.
Hazard recognition abilities
The capacity to recognize plant, terrain, or design dangers is often possessed by both designers and architects. A designer might notice, for instance, that some plants dry out more quickly in the summertime and pose a fire risk, while an architect would notice that particular designs are more vulnerable to flooding in wetland areas.
Ways to enhance your landscaping abilities on your landscape architecture resume
You might want to think about allotting some time to study something special if you have learned the fundamentals and want to increase your set of skills or broaden your landscape architecture resume. Here are some particular actions you may do to develop your abilities and promote your landscaping career:
1. Sign up for a course online
Numerous online courses could help you advance your career as a landscaper. To become certified in any of these fields, think about taking a class in plant recognition or pest management.
You can become a skilled landscaper by learning to identify different plant species as you gain experience. For instance, knowing which plants can be grown in shadow versus others that require prolonged exposure to sunshine will help you design a strategy more quickly. You and your landscaping crew can benefit from knowing how to recognize an invasive weed or pest before it obliterates any intended flora. Another thing you should put on your landscape architecture resume is a certificate from an online school.
2. Discuss your objectives with a mentor.
Inform your employer of your goal to develop your talents and request a mentorship. Try to become friends with someone who has a lot of experience or specific skills if you aren’t granted an official mentor. Ask whether you can observe or help out with something you are still learning from that person. For instance, they might instruct you on how to remove sod, erect stone paths, or remove undesirable stumps.
3. Ask for help with more difficult or skill-specific activities.
Your intention to develop your talents should now be known to your boss. Inform them of your progress and request that they train you to operate particular operating devices or computer modeling and CAD software.
4. Create a portfolio
As you work to improve your landscaping abilities, keep track of your achievements and retain any certificates you receive. Ask your mentor if they’d be interested in writing you a recommendation letter if you have one. You can utilize each of these to develop a credible portfolio. When working on a landscape, take before and after photos and put them in your portfolio. This kind of visual aid is quite beneficial when introducing yourself to prospective employers or clients.
5. Assist a rookie employee
Spend some time assisting a novice in the industry. Your network and confidence will likely increase as a result. Also, businesses always value workers who demonstrate initiative and excellent leadership qualities. You are showing leadership and collaboration abilities by supporting someone as they take on a new task and looking after the entire team.
Applying landscaping skills at work
It is just as crucial to be able to display your technical ability as it is to have them. Here are some pointers to assist you to demonstrate and employ your landscaping abilities:
- Choose the appropriate watering method for each grassy field. Be tenacious in your search for the ideal irrigation or drought management platform for a yard or outdoor area.
- Recognize the requirements for grass in its early phases of development. Before laying seed or sod, be sure to utilize the appropriate aeration procedures, if necessary.
- Don’t forget to consider the overall style of the image. Whether constructing flowerbeds or pruning trees and shrubs, pay particular attention to the little things. A consumer who is not satisfied could result from parallel bushes that are not symmetrical or complimenting.
- Take client pleasure into account. Before beginning the job, work directly with your customer to make sure that your external design blueprint fits their expected results.
- Create a network of specialists in your area. Try to build good connections with fellow workers by complimenting them or providing advice.
Ways to showcase your landscaping abilities
You have a broad range of technical and soft talents as a landscaper. You might even have acquired some highly developed abilities in niche fields. Here are some tips to remember when attempting to demonstrate to a prospective employer your talents and abilities:
How to include landscaping skills in your landscape architecture resume
Your abilities as a landscaper will demonstrate to a prospective employer your capacity to strengthen their team. Make sure your landscape architecture resume has a skills section that concisely summarizes your expertise in a variety of fields. Provide information in that section if you have experience with invasive plant species identification, sprinkler installation, or stump removal. Provide any classes you may have taken in the education section, in addition to any certificates or awards you have obtained. Your CV should be organized, precise, and error-free overall.
How to include landscaping skills in your cover letter
Usually, a prospective employer will read your cover letter before reading the rest of your application. Try to speak to the employer’s particular demands in your cover letter. While describing your prior experience, briefly explain a few of your responsibilities and achievements. Take this opportunity, if you can, to talk about how your landscaping talents allowed you to go above and beyond the call of duty or how you improved the team. Provide specifics about your experience with specialized tools, such as an overhead lift or AutoCAD, in your cover letter as well.
Education
Both a landscape designer and a landscape architect must have different levels of schooling. Although many still pursue higher education like associate or bachelor’s degree courses in horticulture, for instance, landscape designers are not required to have any official schooling. These experts often have years of expertise, have honed their creativity, and have mastered the art of landscaping to produce home designs. Additionally, some landscape designers have college degrees in a variety of subjects. For instance, a director of a landscaping business might be educated in business management.
A landscape architect normally holds a bachelor’s degree or higher in architecture, landscape architecture, or a related field, and is certified by the state after passing examinations. These tests give architects an additional set of qualifications to boost their credibility and career chances as well as enable them to legally practice architecture in the state where they’re employed.
Training ideas
To understand how to put structures, use the terrain, and take other crucial landscaping aspects into account, architects and landscape designers frequently acquire various training topics. During their education, architects study the following important ideas:
- Drainage and power-saving measures
- Environmental effects
- Contemporary structural design
- Construction supplies
- Permitting
- Composing reports
- Drawing out plans
- Wetlands, public lands, or protected regions as examples of biomes
- Management of water
The following are some fundamental training ideas that landscape designers can learn:
- Garden upkeep
- Plant varieties and visual appeal
- Elementary structural design
- Regional rules
- Soil examination
- Elementary water management
- Simple drainage
- Hazard mitigation
The use of color, texture, and proportion in gardens and other outdoor spaces
Salary
A further distinction between a landscape designer and a landscape architect is the average yearly pay for each job. The typical yearly wage for a landscape architect is $67,914. The typical yearly wage for a landscape designer is $57,321. The state in which you work, your degree of experience, and your qualifications or education level may all affect your salary.
Further education is an option for both landscape designers and landscape architects to improve their qualifications, understanding, and employment chances. Designers who don’t already have an undergraduate degree can obtain one, while architects who already hold a bachelor’s degree often have the option to do so.
Environment of employment
Landscape designers and architects frequently operate in comparable settings. After completing their plans, landscape designers frequently engage in a project’s building phase and devote additional time outside. Nevertheless, certain designers exclusively work for customers and only work in an office environment. To research the terrain and develop their architectural layouts, landscape architects spend some time both inside and outside. An architect might, however, spend additional time indoors in a work environment, utilizing software to design blueprints and keeping track of clients, laws, and research initiatives.
Conclusion
The bulk of landscape architects is active individuals who appreciate the beauty and tranquility that nature has to offer. They frequently have a strong sense of creativity, outstanding drawing abilities, and an excellent feeling of depth perception.
Frequently Asked Questions about landscape architecture resume
- What does a landscape architect do?
Designing beautiful and useful city parks, greenhouses, playgrounds, residential communities, college campuses, and open spaces is the domain of landscape architects. They also map out where to put things like trees, flowers, shrubs, roads, and paths inside these ecosystems.
- What else do you call a landscape architect?
Landscape designer
When a new employee joins a company with a degree in landscape architecture but hasn’t registered yet, some organizations use this moniker to describe them.
- Are architects and landscape architects the same thing?
A landscape architect or a potential landscape architect is typically in charge of a project that is either commercial or public. Similar to an architect, a landscape architect is a certified professional who specializes in a separate set of design techniques.
- Do landscape architects require drawing skills?
The procedure for creating an outdoor area typically begins with sketching. Often, a landscape architect may do a few fast pencil sketches to capture his thoughts on paper. The majority of landscape architects also produce their designs using increasingly sophisticated computer programs, like CAD.
- Are landscape architects paid?
Even though ZipRecruiter reports salaries as high as $70,504 and as small as $32,804, a large percentage of entry-level landscape architect wages presently fall between $39,169 (25th percentile) and $50,430 (75th percentile), with the highest earners (90th percentile) in California earning $68,546 yearly.