Interview Help (NHS)

[UnderOpenSky]

I'm quite excited, but also rather nervous as I've managed to get an interview next week for at IT position in a local NHS trust. I've been doing IT a little under two years for a tiny tiny company that other people outsource their IT to (MSP). Before this I've had little approaching "real" jobs in many many years and the interview for my current place was more of a get to know you chat and then technical questions. I think big organisations work quite differently and I'm currently trying to get my head around what kind of questions I'll be asked. I know there will probably be give me examples of time type ones, which I totally dread, so I know I need to have some examples to hand as I can't think of them on the spot. Technical stuff I'd expect and think I'm ok with but I don't know what else might be thrown at me. I've done some LinkedIn stalking of the people who will be interviewing me, one sounds quite technical, the other despite being in "IT" for ten years doesn't seem to have done anything that technical in the time with lots of words like change, management and quality thrown in. So I'm expecting I'll be asked a wider range of stuff. I know they follow ITIL and a week isn't enough to do the cert, but I guess I can do some reading around that. I'm suppose I'll probably be asked why I want to work for them but what else should I be cramming?

 

[Elpenor]

Don’t work in IT but I’ve interviewed for a few NHS jobs in my time.

It may well be blind scoring for the interview process. Work on the assumption that they know nothing about you except what you tell them (presume you did this for the application process):

Look at the job description / competencies and make sure your answers to the questions follow the STAR principles.

 

[Numbers]

What type of position is it?

Good luck also

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Don’t work in IT but I’ve interviewed for a few NHS jobs in my time.

It may well be blind scoring for the interview process. Work on the assumption that they know nothing about you except what you tell them (presume you did this for the application process):

Look at the job description / competencies and make sure your answers to the questions follow the STAR principles.

Thanks. See I actually had to google what STAR was!

I'd have never have thought about the blind scoring and would have just assumed they would have ready my application form!

What type of position is it?

Good luck also

Cheers. Tier 2 - Primary Care IT Technician

​

 

[Elpenor]

Thanks. See I actually had to google what STAR was!

I'd have never have thought about the blind scoring and would have just assumed they would have ready my application form!

​

If it’s done it in the same way as where I work they will have read your application form and scored it, but they will have known you as Applicant A, rather than Mr UAS. A device to weed out conscious and unconscious bias.

 

[Numbers]

Thanks. See I actually had to google what STAR was!

I've been in IT since the mid 80s in all sorts of positions technical and non-technical - desktop support, trade floor support, moves & changes manager, ServiceNow Catalog admin, Business Continuity co-ordinator, project manager, migration co-ordinator. And even with all this experience I still shit myself giving examples in the STAR model even tho' I've been through the mill and handled, and fucked up to be fair, many a situation so had hundreds of examples really, but could never articulate them, unless relaxed*.

The last interview I went for the guy interviewing me was writing 'poor' down to some of my answers to verbal questions (I scored 100% on the test page thingy), he looked like he was in the business a year or two at most and was all process driven, I told him I was nervous as I don't interview well but my experience speaks for itself, I first asked him to answer the same question(s) which he didn't like and then asked him why he was writing poor to my answers so blatantly in front of me - I told him to go fuck himself and got up and left.

*I got a call about 2 hours later from his manager who invited me in for a 2nd interview, I met him the next day in the reception of the building but he suggested we went for a pint, I had a great chat with him and got offered the job. I didn't take it.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I know there will probably be give me examples of time type ones

if it's done well on their part, it's not much more than a rabbit about jobs you've done in the past with someone who does and has done similar work.

if it's done badly on their part, it can be some HR nurk who knows nothing about the job you're applying for, and is just counting how many of the buzz words on their bingo card that you come out with.

all the 'a time you did X' questions, the X should be something they have mentioned in the job advert / person specification, so shouldn't come as a surprise. one good example is usually preferred to a variety of things, even if this makes it more difficult to demonstrate a wide range of experience.

it's worth thinking of some good examples before you go, but maybe not rehearsing word for word, as sometimes the question will have a twist like 'and what did you learn from the experience?' or 'and what would you do differently another time?'

what the X things will be obviously varies from one job to another - for an IT job it's more likely to be technical things, but may be fuzzier things like a time you dealt with an emergency* / conflicting deadlines or something like that, or a time you provided excellent customer service or some balls like that.

(* - it's probably best if it's not one you caused in the first place )

for public sector, there may be a question on an equalities / diversity / inclusion tack (bit more here - it's what used to be called 'equal opportunities')

as has been touched on, don't assume the people doing the interviewing have read your application form, some places the application form is scored to see who to shortlist and then not referred to by the interviewers who just score you on the interview, so don't be afraid of repeating things you put on the application form, and don't expect them to know / assume that because your current job title is X then you do Y (for an increasing number of jobs, it's not easy to tell.)

it can sometimes be appropriate to use an example from what you might think isn't 'relevant' - possibly a job in another sector, possibly volunteering or in education. examples from paid employment usually go down best, but it's not compulsory.

all of the above subject to the disclaimer that i've never worked in the NHS and don't think i've ever applied for a job in the NHS - my background is mainly local authorities, and i'm aware (from experience of not getting very far) that the 'language' of civil service recruitment is different and i haven't quite got the hang of it.

they may have some advice for job applicants on their website.

hope it goes well.

 

[ouirdeaux]

The NHS is big on diversity. Be prepared for a question on what you have done to promote it, which may throw you if you're not prepared for it.

There are 9 protected characteristics according to the Equality Act 2010. I'd advise you to learn them by heart.

Age
Disability
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Marriage or civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Sexual orientation
Gender reassignment

Mentioning the act itself, & the date, isn't a bad idea either.

 

[Elpenor]

Oh yes I am pretty certain I got asked what would I do if a customer patient asked me a question if they saw me in a corridor, that threw me a bit but having been for a few interviews within schools where they chucked in safeguarding / prevent questions I figured the answer was basically to pass them onto someone who actually knew how to help them.

 

[lazythursday]

It is highly likely that the majority of the questions will relate very directly to the 'essential' elements of the person spec so make sure you can think of clear examples (ideally in the STAR format) for all of those.

Think I've yet to have an interview that hasn't had a totally pointless question about prioritising / conflicting demands etc.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Think I've yet to have an interview that hasn't had a totally pointless question about prioritising / conflicting demands etc.

one interview i went to, they wanted me to prioritise some tasks - answering 'i think this order, but that's based on past workplaces - i would do it in accordance with the procedures here' wasn't the right answer - not sure if this was their way of prioritising internal candidates or what.

 

[Elpenor]

With the classic inbox challenge I think it’s a way of understanding your decision making rationale

Sure that I read an IT one was something like the inbound sales phones are down and the Managing director can’t print a document. Which would you tackle first? Probably the example is dated now by mentioning printing

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Thank you everyone. Lots of stuff to think about, repeating the application form, think of lots of scenarios. I'll remember the diversity bit would not have thought to do that. I'd hope I've got the safeguarding bit ok due to my work in children's homes. Likewise if I get questions about demanding users, I can draw parallels. When Jane's PC wasn't working and she was quite demanding I was able to deescalate the situation, using techniques taught to me and practiced in real world scenarios like when a group of armed young men came to a house I was working at to hurt one of the young people I worked with and I stood outside and talked to them until I was able to get them to go away. Maybe going a bit far?

I've been in IT since the mid 80s in all sorts of positions technical and non-technical - desktop support, trade floor support, moves & changes manager, ServiceNow Catalog admin, Business Continuity co-ordinator, project manager, migration co-ordinator. And even with all this experience I still shit myself giving examples in the STAR model even tho' I've been through the mill and handled, and fucked up to be fair, many a situation so had hundreds of examples really, but could never articulate them, unless relaxed*.

The last interview I went for the guy interviewing me was writing 'poor' down to some of my answers to verbal questions (I scored 100% on the test page thingy), he looked like he was in the business a year or two at most and was all process driven, I told him I was nervous as I don't interview well but my experience speaks for itself, I first asked him to answer the same question(s) which he didn't like and then asked him why he was writing poor to my answers so blatantly in front of me - I told him to go fuck himself and got up and left.

*I got a call about 2 hours later from his manager who invited me in for a 2nd interview, I met him the next day in the reception of the building but he suggested we went for a pint, I had a great chat with him and got offered the job. I didn't take it.

Probably not good to tell the story of why I was wondering why an Autopilot reset was taking so long to start on a PC I was working on and the boss came out of a meeting and found that his laptop was currently resetting.

With the classic inbox challenge I think it’s a way of understanding your decision making rationale

Sure that I read an IT one was something like the inbound sales phones are down and the Managing director can’t print a document. Which would you tackle first? Probably the example is dated now by mentioning printing

Jesus I wish.

 

[InArduisFouette]

Oh yes I am pretty certain I got asked what would I do if a customer patient asked me a question if they saw me in a corridor, that threw me a bit but having been for a few interviews within schools where they chucked in safeguarding / prevent questions I figured the answer was basically to pass them onto someone who actually knew how to help them.

exactly

also an opportunity to throw in the 'hello, my name is' ( Hello My Name Is | A campaign for more compassionate care ) - this shows you'd done some reading on the NHS in general and demonstrate a bit of humanity / humility and 'living the organisational values' by saying you would help them find the appropriate answer - whether that might be you'd point them i nthe direction fo the correct unit / office etc or find someone who can help them rather than just ignore them

 

[InArduisFouette]

one interview i went to, they wanted me to prioritise some tasks - answering 'i think this order, but that's based on past workplaces - i would do it in accordance with the procedures here' wasn't the right answer - not sure if this was their way of prioritising internal candidates or what.

did you have the rationales for for why you prioritised or just that answer ?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

did you have the rationales for for why you prioritised or just that answer ?

i can't remember now - i'm not sure that there was the chance to explain my reasoning.

 

[savoloysam]

The nightmare of bureaucracy in the public sector begins at the interview stage. Navigating the competency section of the interview process is absolutely laughable.

I no longer apply for public sector jobs because of it. It's almost like they want to put you off or something

 

[Elpenor]

The nightmare of bureaucracy in the public sector begins at the interview stage. Navigating the competency section of the interview process is absolutely laughable.

I no longer apply for public sector jobs because of it. It's almost like they want to put you off or something

I must admit I didn’t actually interview or even properly apply for my current job, I was agency for about a year, in fact when permanent vacancies came up I failed twice at the application stage and didn’t even get to an interview. Anyway after doing the job for a year to their satisfaction the boss asked if I wanted to go permanent as they could apparently make a case that I was the best candidate so could just get the job without having to bother with the interview. Absolutely changed - and saved - my life tbh.

 

[savoloysam]

Aye that's the best way. They employ who they like not who jumps through the hoops (Which are a smokescreen imo)

When I worked at DWP and promotions became available (or forced moves for that matter) you always knew who would be successful or moved on elsewhere based on who's face fitted the most.

They used to claim that the application process was completely anonymous to the assessor but it clearly wasn't.

 

[lazythursday]

The nightmare of bureaucracy in the public sector begins at the interview stage. Navigating the competency section of the interview process is absolutely laughable.

I no longer apply for public sector jobs because of it. It's almost like they want to put you off or something

Why is it a nightmare? What's different about a private sector interview? I only ever apply for public / third sector jobs so I'm pretty used to the standard sort of public sector approach.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Why is it a nightmare? What's different about a private sector interview? I only ever apply for public / third sector jobs so I'm pretty used to the standard sort of public sector approach.

Most of my interviews in the past have been pretty informal chats, which is why I started this thread, more just to know you type stuff and talk about what you've done. My current job I had one of those and then a more technical interview over teams where I showed off a little what I'd been doing in my homelab as I had no IT experiance.

One interview I did many years ago we had the formal interview and then went climbing

 

[Elpenor]

Most of my interviews in the past have been pretty informal chats, which is why I started this thread, more just to know you type stuff and talk about what you've done. My current job I had one of those and then a more technical interview over teams where I showed off a little what I'd been doing in my homelab as I had no IT experiance.

One interview I did many years ago we had the formal interview and then went climbing

I once had an informal chat with someone in a pub beer garden who stopped the chat as a police car had just pulled up and was about to deploy a stinger device

 

[InArduisFouette]

Aye that's the best way. They employ who they like not who jumps through the hoops (Which are a smokescreen imo)

When I worked at DWP and promotions became available (or forced moves for that matter) you always knew who would be successful or moved on elsewhere based on who's face fitted the most.

They used to claim that the application process was completely anonymous to the assessor but it clearly wasn't.

or despite working at the DWP you failed to put into practice the advice given about tailoring applicatiosn and reading the JD+PS to inform your answers or, you knew all this and chose not to apply it in the hope that you got left alone ?

 

[InArduisFouette]

Why is it a nightmare? What's different about a private sector interview? I only ever apply for public / third sector jobs so I'm pretty used to the standard sort of public sector approach.

I think itis the difference between organisations with a structure and how some SMEs recruit or none core departments in various organisatiosn recruit away from demonstrating proper probity in appointing

 

[savoloysam]

Why is it a nightmare? What's different about a private sector interview? I only ever apply for public / third sector jobs so I'm pretty used to the standard sort of public sector approach.

"200 words to explain why you are superman who can explain clearly the following seven competencies with all the details of the set of circumstances"

Uh. Too much for me. Perhaps it's my ADHD or perhaps I'm too simple. I've always performed excellently in all the jobs I've had but when I'm giving such a narrow spot to prove it I just can't do it. I spent a week once navigating the DWP competency map and ended up with the second lowest score.

But being a bit quirky and outspoken as I am I should have realised I didn't have a chance to begin with.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

"200 words to explain why you are superman who can explain clearly the following seven competencies with all the details of the set of circumstances"

Uh. Too much for me. Perhaps it's my ADHD or perhaps I'm too simple. I've always performed excellently in all the jobs I've had but when I'm giving such a narrow spot to prove it I just can't do it. I spent a week once navigating the DWP competency map and ended up with the second lowest score.

But being a bit quirky and outspoken as I am I should have realised I didn't have a chance to begin with.

ChatGPT? I literally fed in the entire 5 page job spec to it and asked it to write me an application.

I didn't use what it wrote, but it was a helpful tool to focus my writing.

 

[savoloysam]

ChatGPT? I literally fed in the entire 5 page job spec to it and asked it to write me an application.

I didn't use what it wrote, but it was a helpful tool to focus my writing.

This was a few years back but would definitely look in that direction should I need to.

 

[Elpenor]

Bureaucracy or just following a defined process so that every gets the same experience.

(Still not sure why I managed to skip it. I didn’t ask)

 

[weltweit]

Don't be scared by moments of silence, you are allowed time to think of your answers.

Make eye contact with whoever asked the question, and the rest of them if you have time.

Make a list of questions you have for them and take it with you, refer to your list at the end and go through the questions one by one even if they have already been answered during the interview. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

At the end, ask them what happens now? What is the next step?

If you feel brave, ask them if there is anything they are concerned about which might rule you out for the role, be prepared to think on your feet, this is your chance to answer your objections face to face and it could be vital in getting you to the next stage.

There is a nemonic to remember about countering objections, I can't remember it at the moment, if I can find it I will post it for you.

 

[weltweit]

..
There is a nemonic to remember about countering objections, I can't remember it at the moment, if I can find it I will post it for you.

One way to deal with objections is “APAC”, which stands for:
Acknowledge, Probe, Answer, Close.

So if the interviewer raises the concern or objection that they are not
convinced you can maintain the pace required of the job.

You can respond, I acknowledge your concern about my keeping up with the
fast paced requirements of the role, it is a genuine concern. To probe a bit,
what systems are in place to maintain personal organisation and ensure
nothing gets forgotten? Further, to answer the concern, in previous job X I was
in a very fast paced environment, the phone, fax, email and mobile phones
were humming all day and I thrived in that environment. Then to return to the
close, does that answer your concern?

Only thing is that "APAC" is a little tricky to remember.