I would just like to say to any Health and Safety Graduate Members of IOSH who are either preparing or contemplating becoming Chartered - Then please do not worry as i have had experience only last week where i had my Peer Review Interview (Remote Call) and the panel was absolutley fantastic with regarding putting you at ease before the interview started.

There has been many horrible stories about the Peer Interview (which i have ignored) and this is not the case.

Plan - Ensure you have lot's of examples to hand and ensure you sell yourself and what you did - I conducted this, I ensured this, I implemented this, I chaired a meeting, I, I, I.

4 Pillars of IOSH - RESPECT, SERVICE, COMPETENCE, INTEGRITY - They will definatley ask you to give some examples.

Policies and Risk Assessement, Risk Control and Accident Investigation is a must to learn and put examples against those topics.

I went down the Open Book Assessment route - IPD - 48 Multiple Choice and then Two Assignments (700 words) which you had to complete in 5 days.

Once i had completed this i had my CPD Audit which usually takes a couple of days if everything is up to date on MyIOSH.

I have only been in Health and Safety 8 years, previously was in the Army for 25 years and so it has taken me this long to get to CMIOSH Status and the feeling after i passed was out of this world.  All i say is give it a go - You only live once - Even if you are unsuccessful then it's experience and you will get some good feedback with regarding areas where you need to concentrate.

Hmmm... H&S is reliant upon "I"?

I've booked my PRI for the 21st of september. The one thing I dread is the "I" part...spent most of my career trying to get people to change it to "we", it feels unnatural.

Oh well, when in Rome...

I have to disagree. If I interview a candidate - for whatever - I want to know about them and what they did. I want to unpick and see what parts they specifically contributed to.

If I hear too much 'we did this and we did that' I would question who exactly did what and how much of it was the candidate - or whether were they just along for the ride.

Taking intiative and being a team player are not mutally exclusive things. You are not a team unless everyone plays a part (if not it is not a team) - and I want to know what was your part, and how do you fit into that team dynamic.

Talking about better engagement with others and working more colaboratively can start with an 'I', surely?

WatsonD - perhaps we don't really disagree.

Surely if you were interviewing someone you would apply a similar strategy to probing someone who seemed to be taking all the credit for a team effort?

Originally Posted by: peter gotch

"I chaired a meeting"

A good meeting chair should contribute absolutely nothing to the overall outcome - they keep it on time, to agenda and try to ensure everyone participates in a civil manner.

Occassionally they hit the headlines for 15 minutes of fame.

I have to agree about the quality of the peer review panel (and the false horror story rumours).

It was quite a few years ago that I passed mine now, but I do remember hearing horror stories about it being likened to being in front of a tribunal or something similar, prior to attending.

It was nothing like that (mine was face to face pre-COVID) and the panel were great, easy going, relaxed and friendly. It is exactly what it says it is, a peer review, the panel are your peers (equals) and they want you to pass, so they assist you in doing so as best they can (within their permitted perameters).

I would imagine that the only thing preventing people from taking this next step is the 'stage fright worry'. I had that, but it leaves you within a couple of minutes or your review starting, because the panel instantly put you at ease.

Congratulations on your new CMIOSH status.