If you are an IMG sitting for your first NHS job interview, this post is for you. Here I will discuss some of the common interview questions you may encounter. I am writing this post based on my own experience. But first thing first, to get an interview call you need to create a perfect CV and apply for the jobs. If you have not yet created a perfect NHS job CV then you need to create that ASAP. You can use my CV as a guideline for creating your CV.
Typical interview setup
If you are applying from your home country, the interview would typically be online. You will be sent an MS Teams meeting link for the interview. The typical duration of the interview maybe 15 minutes to 25 minutes. The number of interviewers can be two to three. At least one of them would be a consultant doctor.
Make good first impression
First and last impressions matter! Here I will give you some tips to create a good first impression:
- Dress professionally. This can be a formal shirt.
- Test your webcam and sound setup before you join the online interview.
- Join the meeting 5 minutes before the joining time and wait for the interviewer to join.
- Stay calm and make eye contact with the webcam instead of the screen. That would give the impression of eye contact to the interviewers.
- Your background also tells a lot about you. Choose a professional background. You can use a plain wall or your bookshelf as the background.
Starting the interview
- At first, you need to say a greeting to everyone present in the interview session. Show your confidence even if you are nervous. Your body language and non-verbal communication also indicate your confidence. Making eye contact and responding accurately indicates confidence.
The first question
- The first question you may get is ”introduce yourself or please run us through your CV.”
- Please be mindful that the interviewers already thoroughly studied your CV. Therefore, they don’t expect you to repeat every word from your CV. The ideal answer can be a summary of your key achievement against the time frame. A sample answer is given below:
I have passed my medical undergraduate degree in 2015, then I did 1 year of internship training, followed by 4 years of experience in the internal medicine as a Medical Officer which is equivalent to Junior Clinical Fellow in the UK health system. Meanwhile, I have completed all three MRCP UK exam. The passing year of MRCP PACES was 2019. After that, I joind a tertiary medical facility as a Medical Registrar. I am continuing this job till now.
Dr. Prince
The common questions
Now I will discuss some common questions that every interviewee may have a high probability of encountering. I will also give sample answers to all these questions. The sample answers may not be the most ideal answer but these were good enough for me to secure my first NHS job as a Registrar.
Why do you want to get an NHS job?
Different people may have different reasons to get an NHS job. Some people may want to come to the UK to make money and get UK citizenship, while others may want to develop their careers in the NHS environment.
NHS is the largest public medical system in the entire europe. The practice and guidelines followed in the NHS are of gold standard. I think if I can be a part of NHS job environment I will get plenty of opportunitis to grow and flourish. With world class training received in the NHS environment, I can be a confident physician.
Dr. Prince
Where do you want to see yourself after 10 years?
I got this question in my interview. To be honest I don’t know the correct answer but I remained truthful while answering and that made the interviewers happy.
In an Ideal world, if everything goes smoothly then I would like to see me as a consultant doctor in the NHS job environment after 10 years. This job may be a stepping stone to achieve this ultimate goal. I think all junior doctors have the similar goal, to be the most competent doctor. I know this journey is going to be extremenly tough and the world is not an ideal place. But I am already directed my sail towards my destination. With hard work, and determination I believe I can reach my ultimate destination even if the direction of wind is not always favorable.
Dr. Costa
Do you know about the NHS core values or trust policies?
The six core values of NHS are:
- Respect and dignity
- Commitment to quality of care
- Compassion
- Improving lives
- Working together for patients
- Everyone counts
Please try to memorize these core values, very occasionally interviewers may ask about these values. Every NHS trust has different trust policies. So, please go through the website of the respective trust to get the trust policies and the services your trust and department are offering.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question because every person has different strengths and weaknesses. Please state the strengths that go in line with the NHS core values and trust policies. Some areas of strength may be:
- Empathy
- Teamwork
- Good computer skill
- Good communication skill
- Collaboration
- Research experience
Don’t highlight your weaknesses too much. You can mention one or two weaknesses just to complete your answer.
My strengths are teamwork, computer skill and research. I have been a team leader in many occassions throughout my medical career. Since my childhood, I was quite techie and I know about the computer systems very well. One of my research already got published in a PubMed indexed journal. I have knowledge and skill regarding research methodology and biostatistics. My biggest weakness is I have no experience in working in NHS environment. Although, I am confident about my medical knowledge and skills. Perhaps, I would need a shadowing period just to get familiarized with the NHS system.
Dr. Prince
Other questions
There are more questions that the interviewers can commonly ask. Answering all questions is beyond the scope of this blog post. If you want to Ace your NHS job interview then feel free to send me an email: doctorcosta@live.com. Once you send me the initial email including your name and qualifications in brief, you can book a 1 hour video session (costing $100) with me. I will tell you all the tips and tricks and help you to prepare for the job interview.
