Anyone have experience with applying for NHS jobs - question about references

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For my application I provided a reference that covers 2015-2019. However since November 2019 I have been unemployed which I explained on the application form as it asks for an explanation for any gaps in employment.

I have been invited for an interview but am panicking about whether I will need to provide any more references to cover this year? I have been unemployed so have nobody I could ask and I don't know anyone who would be able to provide a character reference as they need to be professionals.

Congratulations on the interview. References are usually requested from your last two employers. Did you have another employer pre 2015?

@slidingdrawers

Congratulations on the interview. References are usually requested from your last two employers. Did you have another employer pre 2015?

Thank you.

No, I am a new graduate so I only have university 2015-2019 and then before that I was at sixth form!

They'll probably ask you for a character reference instead. They usually only take up references if/once you've had a successful interview.

Just reread your OP. Speak to HR once you get to that stage. They will be able to give you some advice.

I have listed my tutor from university to cover the years I was at university, would they be able to also be used to provide a character reference do you think?

I don't know anyone personally who is classed as a professional of "good standing" (!) aside from my university lecturers.

I'd have a chat with HR. You should have been allocated an HR advisor (usually the person who sent you the interview details).

Congratulations on your interview.
For successful candidates, the references get requested and forwarded to the recruiting manager for them to review. I recently employed someone who had a gap like yours, they had explained the gap in their application and also described what they had been doing that was relevant to the role during their period of being unemployed. The references reinforced what we had seen and heard during the process and so she was offered the post and so far, has been a fantastic addition to our team.
Good luck

I applied for an NHS job in 2018 & don't remember an HR 'advisor'

@lljkk

I applied for an NHS job in 2018 & don't remember an HR 'advisor'

If you apply via NHS jobs or trac, a directorate specific advisor, is usually allocated to the recruitment campaign ime.

I regularly recruit for NHS. It isn't something we would look at until after the job has been offered. Once you are offered the position, let the hiring manager and the HR advisor know the situation and they will let you know what else to provide. Usually would be a character reference but they will specify.

Your character reference can be your university tutor or anyone in your social circle who is a professional. I have given character references for friends in the past but have been very upfront about the capacity in which I know them

@MissSmith80

Congratulations on your interview. For successful candidates, the references get requested and forwarded to the recruiting manager for them to review. I recently employed someone who had a gap like yours, they had explained the gap in their application and also described what they had been doing that was relevant to the role during their period of being unemployed. The references reinforced what we had seen and heard during the process and so she was offered the post and so far, has been a fantastic addition to our team. Good luck

Thank you, that has made me feel better. Do you think I will need a reference to cover the gap? The only guidance I can find says you need three continuous years covered, I have three continuous years of university covered by my tutor's reference, but not the gap year.

I have been volunteering on a casual basis for a family member's small business which has given me some relevant transferable skills but I don't think I can list them as a reference as they are family.

Is it likely to just be one character reference?

I can probably find a lecturer who would be willing to provide one but it will be at short notice for them during a busy time which I would feel bad about.

I don't have anyone else I could ask. I don't know any professions, even my parents' friends aren't professionals...

I wouldn't worry too much about a one year gap if you've explained it in your application. I recruit in the NHS and unexplained gaps are more of a concern or when dates just don't add up and you wonder if the applicant has made an error or if they're trying to hide a gap.

directorate specific advisor?

What's a directorate when it's at home, is that a new phrase for Trust or STP? Looking back thru the emails I had 2 yrs ago, I finally found an "HR administrator". I seem to remember that each new email about the next bit of paperwork came from a different person (or was auto-generated). Other than many msgs from the chap who became my line manager, I didn't get multiple emails from any single person...

"recruitment campaign"?

Just checking nhsjobs... my old team is hiring! Very similar sort of job as what I started in early 2019, although one band down. Working for them gave me some very useful & transferable skills, I'm pleased to report.

Thank you all for the help, hopefully the gap will be okay particularly given what a difficult year this has been for everyone.

Now to just prep for the interview! It's a phone interview with three Recruitment Advisors for a lab job - does that mean that questions are unlikely to be about technical details and more general? (Sorry if that sounds patronising, I don't mean it to).

All my emails have been from the same person but I am not sure whether they are HR or not, it doesn't say.