A Talk with Tim Säuberlich - RICS Candidate Newsletter Interview

Have there been moments along the route when the support of others – such as colleagues, your counsellor or the Candidate & Early Years Engagement team – has made all the difference? Can you describe a situation?

My counsellor helped me tremendously in finding the best writing style. Sometimes we re-structured complete paragraphs, to fit the requirements even better. This is only possible with a counsellor who understands the assessment process really well – either because they have recently completed their APC themselves, have already been a counsellor before, or because they are an assessor.

During the whole process, the RICS team was extremely helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask them if you have any questions. They are really happy to help and make the process easier for you!

In what ways has the MRICS status changed your daily professional practice?

The RICS gives me a clear framework for decision making when I’m not sure about the correct approach to a problem. It makes life much easier sometimes, because I can base my decisions on the rules and guidelines defined by RICS.

Apart from that, the way people approach me has changed a lot. Especially in the weeks after my assessment, many people asked me about the process to become MRICS and my personal reasons take this path. It really shows that the MRICS status is a quality seal in the real estate industry and beyond.

What advice would you give to future candidates who are on their journey to MRICS - professionally, organizationally and personally?

I recommend starting your writing process for the Summary of Experience early and scheduling regular check-ins with your counsellor. The monthly meetings and calls helped me to constantly stay on track, so we had at least one newly written chapter to discuss every month. This is much more comfortable and produces better results than writing everything at the last minute. Trust your counsellor when they propose changes – they have done this before and know how to improve your submission.

When studying for the final assessment, keep in mind that you don’t need to know everything. If you are not sure about an answer, don’t guess. Instead, tell the assessors where you could find the answer in a real-life situation. They are not looking for walking dictionaries, but for people with problem solving abilities, who can be trusted with complex tasks.

And most importantly: Don’t be afraid of the final interview. The assessors want to bring out the best in you and create an atmosphere that helps you answer the questions as stress-free as possible.