Guidance for applicants

The online form includes applicant details, competency area selection, education record and employment/experience history.

In the Competency Overview section, address each criterion in turn to describe how you fulfil the requirements (maximum 3,000 characters for each). Please cross-reference to the Professional Report and Supporting Documents. To learn more about the competency requirements for both CGeol and CSci refer to the guidance notes and regulations.

We recommend you work offline whilst drafting these sections, before updating the online form.

The Professional Report should detail your professional development and focus on the relevant Chartership competency criteria being applied for. You should describe how and when you gained the necessary experience and skills to demonstrate you have the competencies needed to become Chartered. Think of this as an expanded CV which shows how you have developed the different competencies over time as you have gained professional experience.

You should cross-reference this against both the competency criteria, as well as the Supporting Documents in order to back up your evidence. Each part of the professional report should be signed off by the relevant person to confirm your statements. It is your responsibility to explain what is involved to those who are not familiar with the process.

Please note the Professional Report should not exceed 2,000 words. The Assessors will not review beyond this limit.

For those pursuing the 20+ years route to Chartership, you can submit a 'career account' instead of a professional report.

Professional reports for standard Chartership applicants and career accounts for 20+ years Chartership applicants can be found on the Chartership resources page under 'What to include in your application'.

You will need to upload your completed professional report or career account into the online application form.

A record of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) activities for at least the last three years must be included with your application in the CPD section of the application.

Please use the Society's definitions of the various CPD categories, which are illustrated on the CPD Mind Map available to download below. Your record must illustrate your aims and objectives for your professional development each year by using the Plan-Act-Reflect cycle.

The record may be produced using the Society's online system, although a company scheme record or your own spreadsheet is acceptable provided it meets the above criteria. Note that all CPD must demonstrate learning. It is not intended to capture routine day-to-day professional practice activity. Minimum hours and more details about CPD can be found on the CPD webpage.

Remember, all Geological Society Training Courses can be logged as formal learning towards Chartership. Members can access preferential rates of up to 50% off Training Courses. Check out the list of upcoming Training Courses. 

Please read the guidance notes and regulations before commencing your online application.

Further guidance about Supporting Documents, with suggestions from our experienced Chartership Assessors, is available by following the link below to the Chartership resources page.

For 20+ candidates please see the relevant guidance notes for details about Supporting Documentss.

Supporter Statement

Please provide your Supporter details in the application form (including their Chartership designation). Once you have completed your application online you will receive a copy of your application along with instructions for your Supporter to complete the online Supporter's statement form. Please send this to your Supporter so that they can submit their statement directly to the Society.

You are able to include details for more than one Supporter if needed.

Please make sure that the Supporter has read your completed application. They should support you throughout the application process and review each part of your application before it is submitted.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the Supporter statement is sent to the Society as close to the submission date as possible.

The deadline for the supporter statement submission is 14 days after the application submission deadline.

Having decided whether to apply for CGeol or CSci, selected the area of geoscience/science in which you are claiming competency, and found your Supporter, you can start preparing your application.

You can start your application online by completing the online Chartership application form.

Once you have completed your application, an email will be sent to you with a copy of your application, and a link for your Supporter to complete the online Supporter's statement form. It is your responsibility to ensure they have all the relevant details to do this and that they submit their statement promptly.

On receipt of your application and Supporter statement, an acknowledgement will be emailed to you. If your application is incomplete for any reason your interview may be postponed to a later date.

When your Assessors have reviewed your application we will let you know if your application is ready to progress to the validation interview. We will contact you to arrange the time and date of your interview, which is usually completed online. Please do not book time off until we have confirmed that your interview will go ahead.

The Society holds validation interviews four times a year via online interviews, usually in March, May/June, September and November. Interviews dates will be confirmed with you once the Assessors have reviewed your application.

Remaining available slots are indicated at the top of the online application form and are updated as the deadline approaches. Submissions will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If your application documents do not meet all the requirements as set out by the declarations made by you within your online form, we reserve the right to postpone your application to a later date.

Your completed application forms and all supporting documentation must be sent in full using our online Chartership application form on or before the corresponding application deadline date.

After your interview, you will be notified of the outcome by email, immediately after the Council meeting, which is the Election date.

Chartership Assessors will determine if you have the necessary geoscience/science knowledge and Chartership competencies for the area of expertise in which you work. They will look to see that you have demonstrated the use of these competencies in the design and execution of projects, including the collection of data and their use in the development of predictive models and problem solving.

When your Assessors have reviewed your application, we will let you know if your application is ready to progress to the validation interview. We will then contact you to arrange the time and date of your interview, which is usually completed online, and introduce you to your Assessors. Please do not book time off until we have confirmed that your interview will go ahead. If you think there might be a conflict of interest, contact the Chartership Officer promptly. The Chartership Officer will ensure that the conflict is resolved either by changing the interviewer(s) or through discussion.

Postponed applications

Having assessed your documentation, if the Assessors determine that it lacks sufficient evidence of your fulfilment of the Chartership competencies, they will request some additional information before agreeing to interview. In some cases, they may then formally Postpone the interview and provide more detailed feedback on what is needed to improve your application in future. This may be because the existing documents do not sufficiently demonstrate the Chartership competency criteria, or because they consider that you need to gain further professional experience before achieving all the competencies needed for Chartered status. Such requests are sent by the Chartership Officer on behalf of the Assessors, so a prompt response will avoid any delays in moving forward to interview.

The feedback will be in the form of an 'Assessor Feedback Response Summary Sheet' which you will fill out together with your Assessor.

If your application is delayed in progressing to interview stage, this is likely to delay your assessment and subsequent Chartership election date, which are aligned with the Council meetings. However, it is done to ensure that your best case for Chartership is made and all feedback aims to be helpful and constructive.

What to prepare for your interview

A short presentation

Prepare a short presentation (approximately 15 minutes) in which you showcase a project (or projects) or a piece of your work that demonstrates your fulfilment of the Chartership criteria. We recommend that you start preparing your presentation as soon as you have submitted your application, rather than waiting to be called forward for interview first. Although we aim to provide good notice of the interview date, this can sometimes be challenging to find a date that works for you as well as both Assessors.

The presentation could be a more in-depth aspect of one of your supporting documents, or a separate piece of work.

• Do focus your presentation on your best work as this will lead to a discussion around areas you are familiar.
• Do not simply repeat information that the Assessors have already read - such as your career history, or state the overview of the criteria.
• Do practice your presentation beforehand with your colleagues and get their opinions on how it might be improved.

The presentation will normally be done online using screen share. Please ensure that you are familiar with this feature on Teams or Zoom. It may be useful to do a trial run prior to the meeting to ensure your presentation runs smoothly.

Documents

Assessors may request that you bring to the interview a copy of any of your documents for proof or discussion.

For each document submitted, be sure you:

• have full and up-to-date knowledge of the information it contains
• can clearly state your role in the document production
• do not rely only on your memory of previous work

What the interview will look like

We are now predominantly conducting Chartership interviews online (usually Zoom or Microsoft Teams).

Remember you already have a Supporter who believes you are ready for Chartership, and the Assessors have agreed that your application is now ready for the validation interview.

The interview should be a pleasant and positive experience although you should be prepared for searching questions. Remember that the Assessors are looking to determine what you know and how you are using your geoscience/science knowledge in your work.

Be confident, and show your enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge of any work that you describe.

The interview is scheduled for a maximum of two hours, starting with a short (15-minute) presentation. The presentation provides you with an opportunity to showcase your geological or scientific competencies through an explanation of a particular piece (or pieces) of work.

For applicants with 20+ years' experience, the Society recommends that a longer presentation is made at the start of the interview (approx. 30 minutes) to showcase a range of activities undertaken during their career, and which demonstrates the full range of Chartership competencies.

It also demonstrates your oral communication skills and serves to give the interview an initial focus. The presentation may, however, be extended through discussions with, and questions from the Assessors. The format will be agreed at the start of the interview.

In all instances remember that you are applying for CGeol or CSci. Focus on demonstrating how you meet the geoscientific or scientific Chartership competencies rather than your competency to do your job, which might involve other things.

As well as your two Assessors, you may also have an observer present at your interview. This person is usually a fellow Assessor who is attending for training purposes and will stay off camera and on mute once your interview is underway. Interviews are recorded for training and quality purposes, following consent from all persons in attendance.

Following the interview the Assessors will complete a post-interview report.

The report provides comments on your performance with respect to each of the Chartership competency criteria. For details of the criteria see the relevant guidance notes and regulations. The Assessors will use their experience and training as Chartership assessors, including their professional judgement, to determine whether you have adequately fulfilled the Chartership criteria. In their report, they will provide feedback for your continued future professional development.

The recommendation

The report will have one of three recommendations: 'Accept', 'Defer'; or (exceptionally) 'Accept subject to' further information.

Accept

If your application is recommended for acceptance you will be elected to CGeol or CSci at the next Council meeting. 

You will be informed of the outcome immediately after the Council meeting by email letter attachment from the Society's President. This will include feedback from the Chartership Officer that contains the comments and advice from the Assessors.

Defer

If the recommendation is to defer your application you will be informed of this immediately following the Council meeting.

Your application and the Assessors' reports will then be sent to two other Assessors for review. Once the review is completed you will receive a letter from the Chair of the Professional and Chartership Committee with the final decision. If the decision is upheld, the application will be deemed to have been unsuccessful on this occasion. The decision letter will contain an explanation of the Assessors' reasons for their recommendation, and advice on how you might take things forward to a further application.

This review will be completed as soon as possible but may take several weeks to be completed thoroughly and following due process.

It is very important that unsuccessful applicants discuss with their Supporter and/or Mentor the advice provided by the Assessors in order to take on board the feedback and maximise their chances of success in a further application.

Accept subject to

The 'Accept subject to' recommendation is made if the Assessors believe your application is missing some information that you already have and which would justify your acceptance. You will be informed of what is required and will need to produce the information within a short period of time (maximum 4 weeks following the interview).

Please note that this may delay your election date.

In all instances the Chartership Officer will be happy to discuss your application and the advice provided by the Assessors.