Are you getting tired of entering every year but never bringing home an award? Here are Tiff's top tips:

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1. If you’re planning to enter, don’t leave it too late. Here are some deadlines for your calendar:

• Irish Construction Industry Awards: deadline July
• Engineering Excellence Awards: deadline July
• Fit Out Awards: deadline August
• Property Excellence Awards: deadline: October
• Irish Construction Excellence Awards: deadline November
• Building and Architecture of the Year Awards: deadline December
• RIAI Architecture Awards: deadline March

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2. Ask for the judge’s scorecard

If 40% of the score is tied to results, but you spend most of your submission talking about company culture, you’re out of sync. The winners maximise the scoring, line by line. Just like the leaving cert!

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3. Ask for a sample of previous winning submissions

It’s not always public, but some organisers will share winning submissions if you ask. And if they do, take them. This is one of the fastest ways to check if you’re hitting the standard, or just writing what sounds good in your head.

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4. Follow the format. No exceptions

Every year, solid entries get marked down because they didn’t follow basic instructions.

If it says portrait, don’t send landscape. If there’s a file size limit, stick to it. If they want bullet points, don’t send a four-page essay. Following the format isn’t about being compliant, it’s about making life easier for the people scoring you.

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5. Include strong visuals

They don’t need to be over designed. Just clear, high quality, and relevant. Especially if you're doing something technical show it. Not everyone on the judging panel will know your world, so help them see it.

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6. Show the impact, not just the work

Talk about what changed. What did the project deliver beyond the spec? Who felt the benefit? What did it actually improve for the people who use the space every day? Do you have data or metrics on health and safety, sustainability or quality?

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7. Proofread, proofread, and proofread again

Spelling mistakes. Typos. Mislabeled figures. They all say you didn’t take it seriously enough.

A rushed or messy entry suggests rushed or messy work, whether it’s true or not. Once you’ve done this, print it, read it aloud, and get a second pair of eyes to review.

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8. AI can’t do this for you

There’s nothing wrong with using AI to help get your ideas down. But if you hand in something that reads like it was generated in 30 seconds, it’ll land exactly where it deserves: at the bottom of the pile.

Judges see enough of these to know when it’s been generated. It sounds polished, but there’s nothing behind it. Humans bring a point of view and emotions such as pride, trust, and happiness.

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9. Prepare for the submission throughout the project

Photos and stories and metrics, and data are the ingredients for your submission. You should be collecting these all year, not just the week before.

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10. If you’re struggling, call me

We’ve produced dozens of winning entries and a few shortlisted ones too: tiffany@generateleads.ie