What are the top skills to highlight in an urban planning interview?
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If you are passionate about creating livable, sustainable, and equitable communities, urban planning might be your dream career. But how do you ace an urban planning interview and showcase your skills and knowledge to potential employers? In this article, we will share some tips on what are the top skills to highlight in an urban planning interview and how to prepare for common questions and scenarios.
Urban planners need to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders, such as clients, colleagues, public officials, community members, and media. You need to be able to present your ideas clearly, listen actively, negotiate diplomatically, and write persuasively. In an interview, you can demonstrate your communication skills by preparing a portfolio of your previous projects, using relevant examples and stories to illustrate your points, and asking insightful questions to the interviewer.
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Matthew Bennett
Partner at NBLC - N. Barry Lyon Consultants Limited
In our business, report writing is a major asset in addition to clear and effective verbal communication. Demonstrate how you are able to synthesize complex analyses within a concise and well presented report.
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Sarwar Badhan
Manager - Business Development and Planning (Bangladesh) at EPTISA
In our sector Communication is the ultimate key factor to shine. Along with proper communication skills, report writing, data analysis, and mapping skills are also necessary.
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Urban planners need to collect, analyze, and interpret data from various sources, such as census, surveys, GIS, and modeling tools. You need to be able to identify trends, patterns, and issues, and use evidence-based reasoning to support your decisions and recommendations. In an interview, you can demonstrate your analytical skills by explaining how you approach a problem, what methods and tools you use, and how you evaluate the outcomes and impacts of your solutions.
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Mohammad Ali Ashouri Dahnesari
Urban and Regional Planner | | Planning specialist experienced in coordinating, supervising, and designing development plans | Skilled at integrating urban and transport systems | Urban Researcher
The rapid urbanization of the world poses significant challenges for urban planning and design. As more and more people are living in urban agglomerations, fixed plans cannot accommodate the changing needs and preferences of the urban population. Urban planners need to adopt dynamic models that can provide multidimensional analysis and generate multiple scenarios for the future of the cities. Geographic information systems (GIS), spatial analysis, network analysis, along with machine learning and modeling tools, can help current planners to make informed and reliable decisions for their cities.
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Daniel P. Sivret, urb. / MCIP
Pre-Development Coordinator at Rosefellow
Analytical skills are vital in urban planning as they enable professionals to collect, interpret, and apply data for informed decision-making. From assessing demographics and land use to conducting cost-benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments, these skills underpin effective planning, leading to more sustainable, efficient, and inclusive urban development.
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Urban planners need to be creative and innovative in designing and implementing plans that address complex and dynamic challenges, such as climate change, social justice, and economic development. You need to be able to think outside the box, generate multiple alternatives, and adapt to changing circumstances and feedback. In an interview, you can demonstrate your creativity skills by showing examples of your original and visionary work, describing how you overcome obstacles and constraints, and expressing your passion and enthusiasm for urban planning.
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Paul Speirs
Applied Improvisation practitioner, Stand-Up Comedian, Transport Planner
Creativity needs room for ideas to breath and grow. Almost certainly they need collaboration and input from others. Be brave to share and even let go of your ideas for the greater cause. Also, be brave in accepting rejection of your ideas, so long as they’ve had that air to breath in the process. Being a seen part in the collective creativity earns respect and your contribution will be noticed.
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Daniel P. Sivret, urb. / MCIP
Pre-Development Coordinator at Rosefellow
Creative skills in urban planning are essential for envisioning innovative, aesthetically pleasing, and community-centric urban spaces. They help in designing distinctive and sustainable solutions, such as parks, public art, and pedestrian-friendly zones, enhancing the overall livability, attracting investment, and fostering a unique urban identity.
Urban planners need to collaborate with diverse and multidisciplinary teams, such as architects, engineers, environmentalists, sociologists, and economists. You need to be able to work cooperatively, respect different perspectives, and leverage the strengths and expertise of others. In an interview, you can demonstrate your collaboration skills by highlighting your teamwork experience, sharing your contributions and achievements, and acknowledging the roles and inputs of others.
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Peter Barnard, AICP
Planner Supervisor + Upper North District Planner
Communities are made up of people from every conceivable background, experience, and education level. Whether an internal team made up of different professionals or a partnership between government and the public, collaboration skills are key to successful projects and outcomes.
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Elizabeth Motupa (Pr.Pln)
Professional Planner
Having worked in the government sector for almost a decade, I can attest to ensuring that Urban Planners ought to have good interpersonal and collaboration skills. Planning is a social science, one can obtain such meaningful insight about a society they work with if they are warm and able to effectively communicate with people from all backgrounds. It really does go a long way in ensuring smooth engagements.
Urban planners need to adhere to ethical principles and standards in their profession, such as integrity, accountability, transparency, and public interest. You need to be able to recognize and address ethical dilemmas, balance competing interests and values, and justify your actions and choices. In an interview, you can demonstrate your ethical skills by discussing how you deal with ethical issues, what values and codes guide your practice, and how you handle criticism and controversy.
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Ar. Shardul Kanase
Ms in Business | Architect & Urban Planner | Business consultant | Analyst | Real Estate |
I believe it's essential to strike a balance between creativity and accountability. As architect and planner it's important not only to spark inspiration but also to place a strong emphasis on serving the public interest. This means that our work should resonate with the community's unique needs, dreams, and cultural fabric. By doing so, we ensure that our creative vision is in harmony with the greater good.
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Kenneth Bernard Hizon
Just Energy Transition | Licensed Environmental Planner | Climate Change and Energy Campaigns | Project Management
As planners it is important for us to balance every need and politics involved in planning, as planning as a process is political. It is important to make sure that proper plans are being laid out that would feed the needs of the stakeholders involved. In terms of ethics, it is also important to reflect values such as transparency and accountability, and also making sure that stakeholders' rights are being upheld especially in terms of data privacy - making sure that the communities that we work with won't be negatively affected by the work that we do - whether through data collection and or planning per se. These skills and values are important for urban planners.
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Samer Yamak
✨Smart Cognitive Cities Advisor and Storyteller | Digital Transformation | IOT | Big Data | AI | ML | Regional SME Speaker | MBA Tutor | 7 Global awards including 2 x President Club Awards | Philanthropist ✨
I think all points mentioned are excellent and I am not an HR expert to comment here. I will add the context from the end user perspective. Urban planner must be able to walk the talk not just apply experience. Every city is unique in its formation. This means that applying the same lessons learned to different context might be counter-intuitive. I suppose urban planner interview skills need to show deeper engagement by showing understanding of target citizens profiles and be able to define city livability parameters and quality of life drivers in order to show readiness to serve target city. Clearly every interview require separate efforts in that regards and that's not an easy job albeit necessary for the strategic benefit of the city.
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Mesbahul Alam
City Planner | Urban Planner | Visited 25 Countries | Explored 50 Cities
Diverse Knowledge Skills Urban Planning is not merely physical planning. The built environment is only an outcome of the process. The paramount goal of urban planning is to improve the quality of life in human settlements, with minimal impact to nature. Quality of life can be measured by people’s health, wealth and most importantly happiness. Ideally, the practice of urban planning requires integration of a broad range of characteristics affecting urban life such as political scenario, economic opportunities, climate and geographic conditions, social interactions, cultural promotions, environmental sustainability, and so on. Hence, an accomplished urban planner must have the skill of acquiring knowledge and awareness of diverse disciplines.
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