Testing the market before one firm type wins out
Picture an intern architect a few months from graduation, sending applications to a five-person residential studio and a two-hundred-person commercial practice in the same week, or a licensed architect a few years in who wants out of institutional work and into hospitality but hasn't found the right posting yet. Neither has a document to paste in.
A general session doesn't ask which direction the search ends up going. It opens with the kind of question either interviewer would likely start with, why architecture as a field, and what a candidate actually wants their day to look like.
What the session actually asks
Expect a design-philosophy question early, something asking a candidate to describe their approach in their own words rather than defend one specific project. A teamwork or disagreement story usually follows, since working alongside engineers and other architects on a shared drawing set is common to a studio of five and a practice of two hundred alike.
A question about where a candidate stands in the licensure process shows up directly, since it shapes what a firm can eventually have them stamp regardless of firm type. A closing question about what kind of projects and firm size a candidate actually wants rounds out most sessions, since that fit question matters before either side commits to a specific posting.
Scoring
How the five dimensions read before a firm type is settled
Communication carries real weight on the design-philosophy answer, since explaining an approach in plain terms without a specific project to lean on is a distinct skill from defending one decision under questioning. Behavioral picks up the teamwork story, and the penalty system checks whether that answer actually resolves the disagreement instead of trailing off before a result.
Cultural Fit reads on the closing question about firm size and project type, since an answer that only makes sense at a large commercial practice signals something different than one built for a small studio. Calibration floors and caps sit under every number, so a fluent answer that says little can't outscore a plainer one that actually holds together.
Frequently asked questions
Does a general architect interview favor commercial experience over residential?
No. The questions are written to work regardless of firm type, a design-philosophy question, a teamwork story, a licensure check, none of which assume a residential or commercial background specifically.
Do I need a portfolio ready to do a general session?
No. General runs without a resume or job posting. A portfolio-specific conversation is what the resume-based interview type is built for once one is ready to bring in.
Can I practice with a stricter interviewer personality?
Yes. Three interview styles and twelve interviewer personalities are available before each session starts, useful for testing a design-philosophy answer under a more challenging tone.
Once I've picked a firm type and found a posting, what should I switch to?
A job-description session builds its questions from that specific posting's own language once an actual opening is the target rather than a broad search.
Related pages
Practice before you've picked a firm type
Run a general AI interview to work through design-philosophy, teamwork, and licensure questions that hold up whether the next offer comes from a small studio or a large commercial practice.