All candidates for ICE’s Professional Reviews want to do well. This involves demonstrating the competence standards set out in the Membership documents and Membership Guidance Notes. Your initial application – particularly your Sponsors’ Questionnaires – is your first opportunity to do so. The second opportunity comes from your submission documents. Your goal is to demonstrate your competence before you get to the Review itself.
You will naturally be interested to see how recent candidates have prepared their submission documents, but do not assume that their documents are exemplars of what is required. While some individuality of style and presentation is welcome, it is helpful to the Reviewers (which is surely one of your primary goals?) when your submission documents are prepared in accordance with the published specifications. As a Professional Reviewer, I am regularly disappointed by submissions that leave me and my fellow Reviewers with more questions than answers. This is not a good basis for your Review.
A first step is to ensure that you (and your Sponsors) are confident about your competence in relation to each of the 9 Attributes. You (and your Lead Sponsor) should read very carefully the Routes to Membership documents and their associated Membership Guidance Notes. You can then highlight everything they tell you to do. This means, amongst other things:
• Your Project Report should demonstrate the Attributes (“your competence”) and must demonstrate Independent Engineering and Professional Judgement.
• Your Presentation should expand on the Project Report, not repeat what the Reviewers have already seen (slightly different instructions apply to TMICE).
• Your Experience Report should describe the journey through your Initial Professional Development using selected experience, i.e. you do not have to mention every project you’ve worked on.
• The one-page Foreword to the Experience Report should show your whole experience. It should be one page – and at the front (i.e. not a 4-page CV in an appendix at the back).
• The specific engineering principles involved in your work should be clearly stated, especially in relation to the area of Technical Expertise you have selected on your initial application form, see MGN47.
• Supporting evidence should be selected carefully, be relevant and supportive to the reports (and be cross-referenced in them) and should be your own work as far as possible.
• The CPD record should relate where appropriate to the Development Action Plan and should take into account the requirements of MGNs 20 and 24 and Attribute 9.
You have full control over your submission documents. So, read the instructions and, “Do what it says on the tin!”
Roger Chantrelle – Membership Development Officer and Professional Reviewer