The CIOB professional review is the final part of becoming a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Building. The purpose of the review is to determine your competency, ethics and experience against the standards set out by the CIOB. To pass this, you need to give careful thought to your preparation.

Know what you have to do before you start writing

Make sure that you read through all the relevant CIOB guidelines and fully understand the competencies required and the word limit. Do not begin writing anything at all until you know exactly what is required of you from the assessors.

The tasks that you must complete for your CIOB professional review could be divided into "portions This allows you to feel less nervous. You can use a checklist format for each competency which would allow you to work your way through the document.

Have a strict schedule for preparation

You must be clear on a deadline on when your submission must be sent to CIOB. You can then work backwards from the date you are going to send it. The amount of work should then be split into weekly stages.

You could include time for collecting relevant documentation early so that they don't have to be gathered at the very last moment. Ensure time is allocated to writing and also to the editing process to refine your writing.

Use examples from real experience

Your CIOB professional review should contain details of actual incidents from your career rather than general statements. Include names of specific projects and the relevant achievements.

By describing how you managed projects or leadership teams, the assessor will witness your ability. By describing how you identified or dealt with a problem related to safety or risk, it would clearly convey your professionalism. Providing real examples within the CIOB professional review will be highly convincing.

Write as clearly and concisely as possible

Keep sentences short and write in the active voice "I was responsible for" "I was responsible for" or "I was responsible for the improvement of". You must use easily understandable language and avoid unnecessary or complex words and phrases.

The assessors will be able to quickly understand the nature of your responsibilities as a result of the detailed writing. It may be used as a demonstration of your professionalism. There is always CIOB professional review help if you feel unsure on this matter.