Advice for NHS interview

[LaughingGirl29]

Hi, I'm attempting to switch careers and have an interview next week for a band 2 clinical position based in a hospital.

What sort of things should I prep before the interview? Is there anything I should specifically know? I've looked up the Trusts values and vision in case that comes up but if anyone has any other advice I would be so grateful! Thank you!!

Show an awareness of the challenges currently facing the NHS and the potential impact of those challenges on your role/patients and how you have the skill set to navigate those challenges.

Give examples of your resilience. They need to know you can handle pressure and support colleagues under extreme pressure.

Also demonstrate an awareness of the importance of GDPR. The NHS are HUGE on this and will come down hard on any breaches (rightly so too!).

You will always get a question on Equality & Diversity, along with GDPR & team working. Good luck!

Make sure you speak to the person who is the department contact before the interview if you can. A complete game changer in terms of interview questions pointers and it shows your interest in the role.

They might ask you why you want to work there and what do you know about the department you are applying to. I was asked this once and it blindsided me, as it hadn't even occurred to me they might ask this. Reader I didn't get the job 😆

• what do you understand about patient confidentiality?
• tell us a bit about yourself and what you can bring to this role.
• give an example of a difficulty you have faced in a workplace and how you have overcome it.
• how do you think teamwork will work in this role?
• what wouid you do if you were concerned about a patients condition?

any questions? - ask if you would have a period of training? - ask how many patients in each bay/on the ward?

I changed career to a nhs role last year and was asked about why I wanted to do this job. I made sure I knew the job description inside out and made my answers fit the role as best as I could. I prepared some questions (what is a typical day in this role like, is there progression available). They asked how my former colleagues would describe me which I hadn’t prepared for! But managed to answer ok as I got the job 🤣 I emphasised my desire to help and feel job satisfaction and I remember one of the interviewers nodding along as I spoke which I took as positive feedback! I also went to the department to see what it was like and get a feel for the place. Definitely make sure you know the job description well! I think they asked what my understanding of the role was too.

One big thing most look for is the awareness of patient centered care. If you are asked anything about a scenario (whether that be "what would you do in this situation" or "tell us about a situation you've come across") then always try and link it back to patient centered care!

In general its helpful to know that the interviews are more formal/structure than some other roles, the main chunk is very much interviewer asks a question, then you answer which they write down without much feedback then they ask the next question.

It can be a bit of a shock if you are used to chatty interviews where its more of a conversation format. It's an equal opportunity thing as everyone gets asked exactly the same questions with same level of prompting etc

The job will be advertised with a person specification, take a look at what they've asked for and think of examples of how you meet them. Look at the job wording too for a good pointer of what sort of scenario questions you might get. There tends to be lots of tell me a time when you showed (one of the trust values) or what would you do if...

Eg I would assume that the job description mentions something about challenging patients, fast paced environment so I'd expect a question about how you've managed a tricky situation before and how you would prioritise tasks

Always expect a safeguarding question. As a b2 its perfectly fine to say you'd escalate things up

I'd expect a confidentiality question usually too

They shouldn't be asking anything that isn't based around the job spec / person spec so give it a good read and think about how you meet the criteria.

I would expect something around safeguarding / how you would deal with a difficult situation. It's important to recognise when to ask for help and to make sure you record what actions you've taken.

Likely something around communication, so maybe adapting your communication style or over coming a barrier type question.

Possibly team working or maybe a time when you've had a challenge working with someone.

Possibly something around maintaining dignity when providing care or something around cultural competence (working with people from different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs)

And some sort of self care question, how do you manage stress type thing.

Nhs like "tell me about a time" type questions and STAR technique type answers work well. Try and use the words from the person spec where you can (you can rephrase so you sound like yourself!)

And remember interviewers really want you to do well!

Thank you to everyone who has replied. There is some really great advice and I will make sure I re-read the job description and personal specification again!! Thank you!

If it's a values based interview you will need to demonstrate that your values match those of the trust. Look up the trusts values and memorise the five key words. Be prepared to demonstrate how you meet each of the values and weave these into each of your answers. Good luck