NHS job interview - very weird ending

[IAmNeverGoingToChangeCareer]

I’ve name changed for this.

I just attended an NHS job interview. It was for a non-clinical role, and was connected with the training and development of staff.

We had to split into 2 groups and produce a verbal presentation which we then had to present. We had to provide feedback on the other teams’ performance, and then on our own.

We were then told the panel would go away for 5-10 minutes and decide who to interview. We were called one by one when they returned. I don’t think I performed very well. I was told that they couldn’t decide today who to interview and they need to deliberate further, and that I’ll receive a phone call later to confirm. I asked if I would have time to go and eat lunch somewhere, and she said, ‘you’re free to go home, the interview won’t be held today.’ I was shocked!

We had been told in the invitation to interview that the whole process would take up to 4 hours if we were going to be interviewed. It was only 10.45 by this point, and the process had begun at 9.30! Surely they would’ve had long enough to deliberate and then interview the remaining candidates within the 4 hour timeframe they’d said they would give us? I have never been through a similar experience to this, and I have attended a lot of interviews - never in the NHS though.

I bumped into one of the other candidates in the toilet, and she told me she had been told the same as me.

Is this common practice within the NHS or indeed elsewhere?

Are they being genuine, or is it a softer approach than to tell you you’re rejected there and then?

@susiedaisy1912

I was wondering this too. I’ve been thinking all sorts!

2 of the candidates already work in the NHS, but one of them didn’t contribute verbally in the presentation whatsoever, and the other one talked a lot during it, but his ideas and examples were not clear at all, and seemed confused. If I found out either of them were successful, I’d feel quite cross!

@Saintmariesleuth

There was no opportunity whatsoever for any of us to visit the department or to ask any questions. We were met 15 minutes later than scheduled, and taken straight to a conference room.

@Notthebestidea

I completely understand what you mean. Wow, it sounds so manipulative, but I can very much imagine that kind of thing occurring.

How bloody ridiculous.
It's not X Factor.

Urgh, job interviews that involve participating in a circus need to die a death.

Not if it's been advertised twice before.

They'll will be running out of candidates soon!

No-one is a. 100% perfect fit, yet it sounds like they're waiting for one.

Meanwhile, more NHS money is wasted....

I wish more people would refuse to be involved in these recruitment palavers.

Trouble is, with the job market being as it is, the situation in on their side and they know it.

However, I would refuse to get involved, tell them why, and look elsewhere for a position.

Any department or company that recruits this way will be a strange one to work for.

There would no doubt be staff training days and no end of courses filled with nonsense like this.

This is so inefficient for everyone involved! If it’s because they don’t want to reject people face to face that’s really pathetic.

Fingers crossed you do hear back and get an interview.

I've probably been on 100+ clinical and non clinical NHS interview panels, and have never known anything like this.

I can see that if it's a training role a presentation could be part of the interview process (but not in groups). However, asking you to provide feedback on the other presentations is unprofessional and pointless. The thing that puzzles me most of all is that they told you they'd make their decision on who to take forward to interview in 5 - 10 minutes. How can they possibly thoroughly review all the candidates in that time?

I suspect that they will have interviewed the favoured candidates today, though how they can have come to a sensible decision on who those candidates are in 10 minutes, I've no idea.

It's a basic courtesy to tell candidates the outcome of their interview as soon as possible. I always attempted to do it the same day - the successful candidate first, then the others; in person if they were still on site, or by phone if not. And always with the offer of feedback if it would be helpful.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience OP, no wonder they are struggling to recruit.

@penjil

I would definitely have refused to participate, but I’ve been stuck in one particularly industry for my whole career and desperate to escape, and I assumed that maybe making a group presentation was commonplace in other sectors. I’ve never had an interview outside of my industry, aside from the retail interviews I had as a student before I started working in my industry.

That’s the problem I guess, there will be people like me who are clueless about a lot of interview procedures, and desperate for a job. It’s so depressing.

@Sealtheenvelope

I also could understand if they’d given us an individual presentation to prepare and present - I’d have thought that to be reasonable.

It’s very interesting to know you’ve been in on so many NHS interviews and never experienced this.

I really don’t understand the 5-10 minute ‘decision making time’ either, it makes no sense, and surely they’d blocked out the whole day to conduct the whole process when they’d told us to expect it to last 4 hours, so would’ve had time to make a decision.

I waited anxiously all of yesterday afternoon and evening to learn of the outcome, only to not receive a phone call!

I’d run out of patience by 2pm, and sent a polite but assertive email asking if they’d now worked out an outcome, since I still haven’t had a call despite being told it.

It’s nearly 8pm, and I haven’t received a reply to my email, nor have I had a phone call. It’s now over 30 hours after my interview. I think this is really disgraceful and shameful.

I’m really upset as I’m completely desperate to leave my industry, and this is my first interview outside of it, and I really was hoping for a better experience than the sort of shitty treatment I’m routinely subjected to in mine.

In all fairness to the NHS, I've only ever had good interview experiences and have always heard back within the timeframe given.

It's unfortunate this has happened but I really would just write it off. Even if they came back to you and invited you for a second interview it would be wise to decline it. I very much doubt it would be a decent job and/or team.

Just crack on and keep looking and applying. No point in crying over this particular job. It pretty much sounds like a lost cause.

I've had some poor experiences with applying for NHS roles. Interviewed twice for the same role ( band 6 ) a couple of years apart. First time interviewed well, they had so many essential criteria and I ticked them all except one but wasn't successful even when I was the only candidate ! This was when interviewed months after applying because they didn't even get any other suitable candidates to shortlist. Then interviewed again two years later, again interviewed well, still didn't get it.
Another time , different role, rejected and only found out I hadn't got the job when I saw it re-advertised two weeks later. They hadn't even bothered to let me know and let me find out by seeing it being re-advertised. They had interviewed five or six of us for a band 3 yet none of us met their standards for a band 3. I had previously spent 30 years in the NHS as a band 5. I told myself at that point I would not bother with any more NHS applications. Got a much better role elsewhere and haven't looked back.

@Babyroobs

I’m sorry to hear about your experience, it’s shocking!

It sounds as though the same or similar may be happening for the role I went for. I really would’ve expected better from the NHS.

@MichaelatheMechanic

That’s what my Husband keeps on telling me. He said if this is what the team are like now, imagine working with them.

I’m finding it so hard to keep momentum going with searching and applying elsewhere, it’s so tough.

Unfortunately nhs interview and the recruitment process is just the tip of the iceberg of how dysfunctional working in the nhs is generally. Poor practice, inflexible, terrible communication, disjointed processes. I’m cynical I admit but all these things happen at interview and then are played out in the working environment. This is my experience anyway….this maybe your lucky escape!

lol. I agree with the statement but not because of this! I do a lot of NHS recruitment. This process is a disgrace and shouldn't have happened when applicants have been invited for a four hour process. It does demonstrate how stupid 7 fortunately some managers are and the poor quality of many.

Why are some managers so poor? The reason is for many years some trusts allowed NHS experience required to be an essential criteria for non clinical roles where frankly it was irrelevant and basically preserved roles for internal candidates. Basically means the pick was the best of a poor bunch and hence why the NHS struggles with having such awful managers now. I have to say that is no longer the case in my trust and for example I came from outside the NHS to my role.

Sorry you experienced this. I would complain after to the head of recruitment

I've never heard of a process like this either!

I once went for a band 5 in NHS interviews were in a health centre (not where the post would be based) I arrived in plenty of time and let reception know id arrived. They knew nothing about it. They suggested I speak to another team , they knew nothing. I sat in reception, checking my invitation stressing I was in the wrong building. They left me there over an hour after my interview start time. After about 30 minutes the next candidate showed up so I felt slightly better. It turned out they had booked a room for interviews but not thought to let the staff know. I got a very casual 'sorry to keep you waiting' after 70 minutes of stress!
Unsurprisingly I didn't get the job.

As a senior nhs manager I find this bizarre. You can phone hr and explain the situation and complain. I hate these full day style interviews.

The whole thing just makes them seem completely incompetent. Have they considered their approach might put some of the most eligible candidates off?

Don’t take it personally OP, just tell yourself you’ll have to go through a few interviews before you find a role to shift from your current industry.

You should see the delays in civil service recruitments 🥲

I attended an NHS interview a few years ago. What a waste of MY time. It was non clincal and there were four people one of whom wore a Mickey Mouse T-Shirt.

I used to be a technology supplier to government in a previous role and quite honestly this sort of attitude doesnt surprise me. There are tons of people running 'cottage industries' and wont listen to any options to change things.

They might be out of a job if they changed their processes.... So they spin things out, treat people like cattle and then moan and groan they cannot get the right person.

Shame on them and I wish that the NHS had a complete overhaul.

I also never heard back despite chasing twice. I did see it advertyised months later so I guess I didnt get it but they couldnt be bothered to tell me.

I would have turned it down as it was nightmare role. Manage 20 people for just under £30k. One of the panel did blurt out that a couple of people were difficult to manage and was I up for it? They also told me that I would get free parking because of where I lived but I had already found out from the Parking Office that the boundaries were changing and that in fact I wouldnt be eligble

One of the questions I got asked was ( for a band 3 cancer support worker) how I would deal with a Consultant who was rude to me. I answered that I would ( politely) ask them not to speak to me rudely and ask what I could do to put the situation right., or something along those lines. The answer they wanted was that I would report this to the clinical Nurse specialist ( band 6) who would speak to the Consultant on my behalf. As if I was some kind of subordinate who should not speak my mind to a Consultant who had been rude to me. ! Honestly think I didn't get the job as they thought I would step out ' above my band 3 rank and just wanted some kind of subservient yes person. Think I had a lucky escape. The manager was awful. I vowed I'd never go back to working in the NHS, did it for 30 years and it broke me.