Most surveying interviews follow a familiar pattern: a conversation about your experience, some technical questions about your discipline, and a few questions about how you work with clients, colleagues and contractors. What changes with each level is what the panel is really trying to find out. This guide covers the questions you are likely to be asked at each stage, and how to answer them well.
Before the interview
- Know the employer's work. Look at their recent projects, clients and disciplines. A contractor, a consultancy and a housing association will each want to hear different things.
- Re-read your CV and APC diary. Most questions will start from something you have written. If you have listed it, be ready to talk about it in detail. Our guide to writing a surveyor CV covers what to include.
- Prepare three or four project examples. Pick work you were genuinely involved in, where you can explain what you did, what went wrong and what you learned. These examples will answer most competency questions.
- Brush up on the basics of your discipline. Technical questions are usually about the fundamentals, not obscure detail.
A simple way to answer competency questions
Many employers ask "tell me about a time when" questions. A clear structure helps: describe the situation, what you were asked to do, the action you took, and the result. Keep the focus on your own part, not the team's, and finish with what you would do differently next time. APC assessors look for the same thing: "I", not "we".
Graduate and trainee surveyor interviews
At this level the panel is looking for interest, attitude and the ability to learn. Nobody expects you to know everything. Typical questions:
- Why surveying, and why this discipline? Be specific. A placement, a project at university or a conversation with a surveyor is more convincing than a general interest in property.
- What do you know about the APC? Show you understand that it involves recording structured experience against competencies, with a supervisor and counsellor, and a final assessment. Our guide to the RICS APC covers it.
- What are the main defects you would expect in a Victorian terraced house? (building surveying) or What is the difference between a bill of quantities and a schedule of works? (quantity surveying). Expect one or two simple technical questions.
- Tell me about a time you worked to a tight deadline. University projects and part-time jobs are fine examples.
Typical pay at this level: £25,000 to £35,000. Graduate and trainee surveyor jobs.
Surveyor interviews (often during or just after the APC)
Now the panel wants evidence that you can run your own jobs. Expect more depth on the work you have actually done.
- Talk me through a project you ran from instruction to completion. Cover the client's brief, your fee or programme, the problems you hit and how you kept the client informed.
- Where are you with your APC? Be honest about timing and which competencies need more experience. Employers like candidates who know what they need.
- How would you deal with a client who disagrees with your advice? Show that you explain your reasoning, put advice in writing and know when to involve a senior colleague.
- Technical questions linked to your pathway. For example, the process for a party wall notice, how you would value a vacant shop unit, or how you would assess a variation on a JCT contract.
- Ethics questions. Conflicts of interest, gifts and what you would do if asked to change a figure. RICS ethics questions come up at every level.
Typical pay: £31,000 to £46,000. Surveyor jobs.
Senior and principal surveyor interviews
At this level you are expected to be chartered or close to it, and to work largely on your own. The questions turn to judgement, clients and other people.
- Tell me about the most difficult project you have managed. Pick one where something genuinely went wrong and you put it right.
- How do you check the work of junior staff? Talk about reviewing reports, supporting APC candidates and giving feedback.
- How do you manage your workload when several clients want things at once? Give a real example of prioritising and of telling a client honestly when something would take longer.
- Where do you see risk in this kind of work? Professional indemnity, scope creep and safety on site are good areas to cover.
- Have you won any work yourself? In private practice this question arrives earlier than many people expect.
Typical pay: £40,000 to £64,000 for a Senior Surveyor and £48,000 to £75,000 for a Principal. Senior surveyor jobs and principal surveyor jobs.
Team leader and manager interviews
Public sector and housing association interviews for these roles often include a presentation and sometimes a written exercise. Expect questions about:
- How you would manage a team's workload and performance, including someone who is struggling.
- Budgets, procurement and working with contractors on frameworks.
- Compliance and safety: for example stock condition data, building safety duties or statutory deadlines.
- How you would report to a board, committee or senior leadership team.
Typical pay: £50,000 to £75,000 for a Team Leader and £50,000 to £79,000 for a Surveying or Estates Manager. Team leader jobs and surveying manager jobs.
Associate and director interviews
At this level the conversation is as much about the business as the surveying.
- Which clients would follow you, and what work could you bring? Be realistic. Overstating a client following is easy to check later.
- How would you grow this team or office? Have a view on the local market, the gaps in the employer's services and the people you would need.
- How do you price work and protect the fee? Talk about fee proposals, scope, variations and chasing payment.
- What kind of leader are you? Give examples of people you have developed and difficult conversations you have handled.
Typical pay: £56,000 to £86,000 for an Associate, £65,000 to £105,000 for an Associate Director and £75,000 to £154,000 for a Director. See our surveying salary guide for more.
Questions to ask them
- How is APC support organised, and how many candidates passed recently?
- What does a typical week look like, and how much time is spent on site?
- How is performance measured: chargeable hours, fee income or something else?
- What are the plans for the team over the next two years?
After the interview
Send a short thank-you email. If you are not successful, ask for feedback: most employers will give it, and it is the quickest way to do better next time.
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