The 4 Step Process to Membership Upgrade

Upgrading your membership can be carried out at any time. Simply click on your “edit/upgrade” button at the top of the page, which takes you to your personal area and follow the 4 steps below:

1 Click on the green “Renew or Upgrade” button, tick Upgrade Account and select the membership level you wish to apply for. Select your method of payment and complete the on line declaration.

2 Going through your CV, consider each job or experience in the light of the sections listed in the POD and mark the CV with a note of the number, or numbers, of the POD sections, if any, which it seems to cover.

3 In your personal area, go to your POD and bring it up to date with your relevant learning records. If you don’t want to use the POD, annotate your own learning journal as you did for your CV and upload that in place of POD.

4 When your information is up to date and ready to review, click the “Upgrade info ready to check” button in your personal area.

How to apply for a level

What needs to be included in your application?

Please send a full Curriculum Vitae which should include points 1,2 and 3 below and a Continuing Professional Development Record (see point 4 below). Does not apply to Affiliate grade.

1. Your Current Job Role
• Your current position and your responsibilities within your organisation
• The key objectives of the position that you currently hold

2. Your Career History
• Give brief details of previous job titles, organisations, dates of employment, responsibilities and any other relevant information, including any notable achievements you consider should support your application
• Give details of your membership of any other professional bodies including the name, grade and post-nominal letters, date of election to the grade

3. Your Education and Training
• Describe university, college and school examinations taken including grades and dates awarded
• Full details of other professional qualifications (including name of the institution or awarding body and dates awarded).
• Briefly outline other courses and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) you have taken if not mentioned on your CPDR

4. Your Continuing Professional Development Record (CPDR) and Plan
• Applicants must include a learning record with their application which is annotated with the relevant POD section the learning relates to.
• It is recommended that a professional development plan is also included which might include meetings, training, reading and mentoring activities.
• IRO members are required to keep developing, either in new aspects of knowledge or experience or by broadening existing knowledge.
By planning your learning you will be focusing your activities and the record of your learning can be entered on to the plan as well, one document serves both purposes.