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Answer from abigail.lewis, Mon, 04/01/2010 - 10:39:

Hi Domi, The best thing you can do is to ask the employers you want to apply to. Before you apply, I suggest you phone or e-mail the recruiter and politely stress that you are very interested in working for them but because of such-and-such reason you wondered whether you could start earlier if offered the job. The employer profiles on targetjobs should provide contact details; if not phone reception and ask to be put through to a member of their graduate recruitment team. Also state on your covering letter/application form that you are available to start from June (this indicates flexibility, which will be to your advantage). They probably won’t be able to start your graduate training early, but it's feasible that they'll let you start early as a kind of work experience student, and this will give you a boost when you start the scheme. Even if they say no, you have nothing to lose by asking. Remember that it is usually only the larger firms that have rigid start dates. If you apply to a small or medium-sized chartered surveyors, for example, they are much more likely to want you to start as soon as possible. Whomever you accept a job offer from, though, make sure that they can offer you the breadth of work to enable you to pass your APC – otherwise you’ll be limiting yourself later on. See http://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/quantity-surveying-and-building-surveying/applications-and-interviews/ for advice on making a successful application to a building surveying employer. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck! Abi@TARGETjobs Quantity Surveying & Building Surveying