Many of us are looking forward to a well-earned rest over the Christmas break and during this time we often find ourselves reflecting on what we’ve achieved over the past year and thinking ahead to the next. If you have some time off over the festive period, or a quieter time at work then why not make the most of this time by looking again at professional registration or dusting off the unfinished application form sitting at the bottom of your in-tray?



Update or start over?

 

Whether you update an existing application form or start a new one depends on when it was that you last updated your form.  The IET has recently updated the application process so if it has been more than two years since you last downloaded an application form it’s a good idea to start afresh.  This doesn’t mean that you have to start your development again from scratch; you simply need to present your evidence in the new format.



Career Manager



Career Manager, the IET’s online professional development system, provides a step-by-step checklist of all the information required in your application and allows you to complete it a little bit at a time. You can access Career Manager from any internet-ready device so you can work on your application at home or the office and best of all your application form won’t get lost at the bottom of your in-tray ever again!

 

If you’re new to Career Manager you can still apply online, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been recording your competence development in the system previously. If you’re ready to prepare and submit your application now, then you don’t need to submit an Intent to Register – this is designed for those just starting working towards professional registration.

 

I previously wrote a blog post ‘How to build a Professional Registration application in Career Manager’ which guides you through the process with screen shots of the system. You can also register to attend one of our online training sessions.



Consider your options

 

Regardless of your original anticipated registration category, if you’re a technician aspiring to IEng, or a recent graduate aspiring to CEng, then you may want to consider whether you meet the competence requirement for an alternative category now.  Applying for the right registration category for your current career stage will allow you to consolidate your experience so far and does not preclude you from pursuing your desired professional registration category in the future.

 

Preparing an application

 

There are a few simple steps you can take in order to make the most of your down time over the festive period.



1- Set aside some time - Whilst it’s easy to let other things take priority, regularly setting aside some time to work on your application will ensure you progress towards your goal (and ensure your application isn’t still sitting in your in-tray when December 2014 rolls around).



2 - Gather your records – Any appraisal notes/mentor meeting notes/development action plans that you may have completed will remind you of what you’ve achieved.



3 - Read the guidance – Whether completing an application using Career Manager or downloading the paper application pack, the most important first step is to read the guidance.



4 - Make a start – The first parts of the application form ask for your personal details. Starting with parts that are easier to complete means that you won’t be faced with a blank page for long.



Spend the most time where it matters

 

The most important part of your professional registration application is your employment experience in your career history.  This will be used to assess how you have demonstrated the required competence in the work that you do or have previously done.

 

How much to write?

 

This is your individual application and the length of a completed employment history section varies from person to person depending on their number of years in service and the number of different roles performed.

 

You should aim to write the most detailed account for your current and most recent role(s), as this will demonstrate current levels of proficiency and competence.  You will need to include more detail than you would on a standard CV (which best practice says should be no more than 2 sides of A4).  It’s unlikely that an application with less than a page of career history will show sufficient detail for a registration application, so if you’ve only had one or two roles you may want to provide more detail on the projects you’ve been involved with.

 

Always avoid jargon and fully spell out any acronyms or technical terms which are very specific to the company or role that you work in. It’s obvious to you what they mean, but might not be understood by those reviewing your application.

 

Explain the level of responsibility you hold including numbers of staff reporting to you and the size and scope of projects you are involved in (including the size of any budgets that you hold) in order to explain this information in the context of UK-SPEC requirements.

 

Remember, you should use your application as an opportunity to sell your skills and experience to the assessors by highlighting your personal accomplishments and areas that you were responsible for.

 

Further help

 

If you have any questions about applying for professional registration you can contact us at: Profdev@theiet.org or share your own tips and see how others maintained their motivation on the path to professional registration.