To ask for NHS interview advice?

[ToastyCat]

Hi all,

I potentially have 4 NHS interviews ( 2 are confirmed ). I applied for them, thinking I wouldn't even get one, but 2 have, and I still have 2 applications outstanding (I might not get interviews, which is fine, but I still need advice, haha).

3 of them are for administration, one being an apprenticeship because I thought it might be worth getting the qualification within the nhs for future opportunities. The other 2 are administration duties within perinatal and CMHT (I was training to be an MH nurse but had to withdraw due to physical disability), so it would be amazing if I could still work as part of those teams in some capacity.

The other one is an apprenticeship for a health and well-being practitioner within a MH setting (I thought this would also be a good qualification to have).

Sorry to waffle on - please could I have some advice on how to approach them as I'm thinking they may be a bit different to just normal job interviews.

Thank you.

Google the NHS core values and make sure you are able to give examples of how your views and experience align to them. Not sure if it's different in admin, but certainly in nursing most interviews are competency based. So things like "Describe a time you had to work under pressure." "Tell us about a time you worked as part of a team, describe your role." Google competency questions and have some examples ready to talk about. There may well be standard interview questions as well. I've been asked about career goals, where I see myself in 5 years etc. Re read the job description before your interview so you can talk about how your experience makes you suitable.

Good luck!

From my experience asking for a walk/show around of the area/dept you would be working in always goes down well. It shows interest from the outset and allows you to bring more substance to the interview. It also gives you a chance to get a feel of the work environment/dynamics etc, to see if its a good fit for you.

There is likely to be three people on the panel and they will give each of your answers a score. Person with higher total score gets the job. Of course panel will discuss and other aspects might be a tie breaker, but it will be pretty fair in most NHS settings in my own experience.
Agree with PPS above - practice your answers to typical questions.
Refer to confidentiality, patient autonomy and safeguarding considerations within your answers, as well as team work, multidisciplinary working, good interpersonal communication, ability to engage, deal with conflict or de escalate. The importance of managing your own health and stress (aim to appear boundaries and able to take care of your own needs in the workplace).
Mention ability to use different IT platforms and name check any you have used and that you are a quick learner and have a good approach to effective and efficient admin systems.
If there's any kind of typing test or practical element they will tell you in the invite.
When you think of your own questions, I tend to use this to show an interest in the unit 'can you tell me about a typical day on reception on this ward, what kind of clinics or patient interactions might I be supporting?'
If an apprenticeship, what kind of pathway might be possible after completing.
Good luck
Walk around speaking your answers to the mirror and get good at hitting all the key points you want them to know about you early on. Sell yourself! Don't worry about nerves, everyone gets them, but take a sip of water and a deep breath and carry on regardless.

When I am interviewing (NHS) I would always ask questions regarding how you fit it with the values of the organisation. This should be available on the specific website for the trust.

In recent interviews I have had myself, a colleague from my team plus an ally, this isn't necessarily an HR person but sometimes is, I would expect questions around how you treat people from different backgrounds or something along those lines.

What I would be looking for is someone who has really understood the JD and can relate their answers to that even if not in the same role.

And always have a few questions prepared to ask them, I have been surprised recently by some candidates (esp below Band 5) not having any questions prepared. It's really interesting hearing what candidates ask.

Look up the values and behaviours of the organisation. There is usually some sort of safeguarding question about how you deal with a situation and who you would escalate to.

Thank you so much, the advice given is really good.

Do I ask to look round before my interview or after?

Safeguarding will probably come up. If you are unsure of an answer, say you would follow the trust policies.

Cut and paste the JD into chat gtp and ask it to suggest questions - it will give you some good practice questions. If you are really lucky the employer may have set the questions using it and you could get the same, but that may be less likely in the NHS, who knows.

You don't get marked down for talking too much. They will be looking to write down examples that will record why they chose you, so keep giving more examples of things you've ddone that fit the question until you run out!

Looking up trust vision and values is essential.
GDPR and patient confidentiality are also likely to come up.

Look round before the interview.

They like you to say you'll always escalate a problem or issue.

And give an example of how you have used a core value, it can be an example from your whole life not just in previous employment.

Good luck!

I have worked in admin in the NHS they will probably ask you about the trusts core values and how would you handle different scenarios - dependant on the role. I would also read the job description/person spec and ask 4/5 questions based on this. Write them down and take them in with you. I find this quite calming. Remember you are also interviewing them. You may also have a basic word/excel test, but if you have an admin background these are usually quite easy. Good luck!

Absolutely this. I had an experience in interview (not NHS but similar) where I was asked this and said, 'well presumably you have a pretty right policy on this so I would follow that's and they just about fell off their chairs with delight so heaven only knows what some candidates had said.

The other thing (and this was NHS) which stood me in good stead was having a good think about issues like confidentiality and how previous experience I had could relate to them. I was interviewing after a long period out of the workforce but with lots of volunteer experience and was able, for example, to talk about volunteering at a food bank and seeing people I knew to be food bank users at the school gate where I was a parent governor - just about wearing different hats and keeping them separate! Mind you I live in a small town where examples like this abound.

Trust values, safe guarding and an equality question.

Just landed a job very similar to one of the ones you talked about.
There was 3 on my panel.
They asked for examples of good practices, dealing with difficult situations. How I ensure I work well when advising other professionals. Standard safeguarding question, my future plans. What was my knowledge and experience of positive behavioural practices and evidence based interventions.
I read the JD a number of times and tried to have examples of how I met each item listed.
Happy if you want to pm me. And good luck 🤞

I also had a few questions prepared, I asked what a typical day in the role would look like and that was very helpful.

I would ring or email the person named on the recruiting info and politely ask if it would be ok to either ask some questions about the role or, if possible, to visit the department. Either way, consider it an opportunity to look friendly, professional and on the ball.

I don't think ringing/visiting makes as much difference in interview any more personally though

Highly likely they will ask about one or more of the following:
safeguarding
confidentiality
equality/diversity

they will just want some indication you have a basic understanding of these.

for example, yes you might break confidentiality but this wouldn’t be done without checking policy/checking with a manager and it would be for example due to child safeguarding etc.

and you would of course tell them that you would keep information secure by locking your pc whenever you leave it even a quick loo trip.

NHS interviews are all competency based. So look at the job description and have solid examples for everything they are looking for.

Every question is marked on how well you give them evidence you can do the thing. Preparation is key. This picture is from my health board and shows you what you need to do to get a good mark.

Sorry, image didn't post.

I also sent a follow up email after the interview and got a nice reply back

As others have said prepare answers to questions about confidentiality, teamwork, safeguarding and communication. Things like can you tell me about a time you had to deal with a challenging situation and how you resolved it?