Thursday 15 May 2008

Here are the experiences of David who sat the BC Interview last Friday. Good luck DEP

Thanks to everyone who has given me advice based on their knowledge and experience and to those who have posted advice about competencies and how to handle the assessment. Explanations and guidance from the RICS is valuable but there is nothing like hearing from someone else’s experience.

In return and to give to others yet to go through their assessment here is my experience after Fridays assessment/ interview. First, the assessors I had were friendly and did put me at ease, I got a little more nervous again when the questions started but not as bad as I thought.

The assessors seemed to want me to pass but were definitely making sure I knew my stuff, a pass was not a given and had to be earned.

They thanked me for my presentation and complemented me on being good on my timing. Again making me feel at ease. This makes me glad I went over and over it in practice. I nearly went all the way through without looking at my notes but had them for reference just in case. I’d recommend you go over and over your presentation till you know it by heart and keep notes for just in case.

Questions can be about anything in your field. My being BCS I got two questions that seemed a little obscure but through plenty of swatting I think I was ok.

I misinterpreted on a couple of questions but the assessors being reasonable prompted me that I was off track and clarified the questions which I then answered.

If you get stuck or need clarification ask for it. I did on occasion but forgot to on two occasions hence having the assessors rephrasing questions when needed.

On about 4 or 5 occasions the assessors stopped me and said that they had enough information from my answer and that I was going too deep. To ensure they had what they wanted, the correct answer, I asked if I had provided the information required or if I had misinterpreted the question. I think this is best to do in case you’re off track and the assessors then might think you don’t know the subject under question.

If you get asked a question that you don’t know the full answer to then state you can’t say off the top of your head but that you know where to refer for the answer, and give the reference.

Thank the assessors at the end of your assessment/ interview, they have the rest of the day to work through, you can go home.

Something I didn’t know when I got to the assessment was the time slots and amount of APCers. I though I was the only 9.30am, and then there would be someone an hour or so later. Not so, there were 15 assessment rooms so plenty of colleagues in the same boat. Try and have a chat to them before you go in, it helps relax the nerves.

Also, my interview was in Leeds, I live in Wolvo so decided to go up the night before and avoid the hassle of traffic. Imagine the stress stuck in a jam getting wound up with time ticking by and you just want to get there with no hassle and time to spare? My advice, if you have any distance to travel, is to book into a hotel the night before. Spend some time on last minute presentation practice, last minute revision, get a good meal to treat yourself, then get a hot deep bath and bed early.

One last thing, when you get the assessment dates for the various centres pick the one that is the furtherest away in time terms as your first option. This allows you more time for study. In order to get the centre I wanted I got my submission in as early as possible – my theory being first come first served and that I’d get the centre I wanted. I don’t know if this is the case in practice but it seemed to work for me.

I hope there are one or two tips here for others that can help. To cover my self I had best say the above is based on my experience and can’t guarantee anything so no liabilities accepted.

Regards,

Dep

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