Hi there, everybody. My name is Richard Munn from the career guidance company How2Become.com.
And in this excellent training video, I'm going to teach you how to pass your NHS interview.
I'm going to give you sample questions and I am also going to give you suggested answers,
so please make sure you watch it from beginning to end, because if you have an NHS injury
coming up, you don't want to miss this tutorial. So, a very warm welcome from me. That's me
there on the right-hand side, Richard McMunn, and I've been helping people pass their interviews
for over 20 years now and in this particular video we are going to focus on the NHS interview.
Don't forget, please do subscribe to the channel by clicking the red button below the video,
then you will get notified as soon as I create new and fresh videos and content straightaway.
Also, I would very much appreciate it if you gave the video a ‘THUMBS UP’ if you do
like the content and in return if you tell me the NHS role you are being interviewed
for in the comments section below this video, I will give you five specific questions in
addition to these ones to prepare for, so you make sure you pass your interview. Okay,
let's get straight into the questions and answers. First question: Why do you want to
work in the NHS? It's virtually a guaranteed question. So, we need to prepare fully for
it. So, I'm going to give you a couple of tips and then a suggested answer. So, here
are three tips: Refer to the NHS values when answering this question because that demonstrates
that you've looked into the NHS and you know what their values are, and you also know what
they are striving and working towards achieving. Now, also explain how patient care is something
you are extremely passionate about. It doesn't matter what role you are being interviewed
for, everyone is working towards one, for excellent patient care. Now, also tell the
interview panel you often hear people praising the NHS staff for the tireless work they do
and that you want to be part of that team. So, we want to be talking about positive things
when we respond to this question. Here we go. So, “Why do you want to work in the
NHS?” is a simple answer. “I have set my sights on this role within the NHS for
some time now and I've thoroughly researched the organisation and the role to make sure
I can perform to the high standards required. I believe I can strive to achieve the NHS
values and standards it sets itself and I am extremely passionate about patient care.
Now there are many different roles within the NHS and I feel my job will be to help
the wider team achieve the goals that the NHS sets itself. Now despite the NHS often
coming under pressure from external factors, I've heard nothing but great things about
the staff, the organisation as a whole and the tireless work everyone continues to carry
out for its patients. I enjoy working in a challenging environment. I feel strongly I
can cope with the pressures of the role. I believe that if I am given the opportunity
to work in the NHS you will be pleased with my performance and the contribution to the
organisation I'll give as a whole.” Now that's a great response. It's quite in-depth
but it gets you off to a flying start in your interview and you can also use this for the
interview question “Tell me about yourself?” because you’re focussing it entirely on
the NHS. Question number two: “What qualities do you have that would be a good fit for the
NHS?” Here are two tips again. Refer to the NHS values when answering this question
and use powerful and positive keywords and phrases within your response to this NHS interview
question. So, here's a sample response for you to structure your own. Oh, and by the
way, at some stage I want to give you the slides so there'll be a link below the video
so that you can download the slides and start working on these for your own preparation.
Here's the answer. “The qualities I have are many and varied, including an ability
to work hard under pressure, a desire to provide a quality service and a passion for delivering
outstanding patient care. I am a hard worker and someone who enjoys working as part of
a team to achieve a common goal. I enjoy being busy at work and I have a flexible approach
that means I am able to cover extra shifts and help out at short notice as and when required.
I am a compassionate person who believes that everyone should receive the same level of
treatment and the same quality service regardless of who they are. I can also be trusted with
confidential information and I fully understand the external pressures the NHS are under.
Decisions that may be made within the NHS at times may not be popular among staff or
patients, but they are done for the wider good of the organisation. Finally, I am a
loyal and committed person who will work hard to learn the role quickly with a view to carrying
out my role with consistency professionalism and with a focus on quality patient care.”
OK, great answer. Question number three: “Do you have any knowledge of the NHS systems
and processes?” Now, I am going to refer to the NHS long-term plan. You'll see there
on the page that I've put a link in there to that long-term plan. I'll also put that
link for you in the description below the video, so that you can look at the long-term
plan. Now you don't have to know it in-depth, but I would refer to it in your answer to
the question. So here we go: three tips. Have a quick look at the NHS long term plan, again
the link is in the description below the video. Mention the key points of the long-term plan
and say everyone is working together to achieve the main goal of the NHS. Now, also, if you
do get chance before your interview, visit the hospital or place you're going to be working
at to find out more about how they operate as an individual team. Here we go, here's
my answer” “Now everyone in the NHS is working together as one and there is a long-term
plan in place to make sure the NHS is fit for the 21st century. Now essentially, the
NHS is looking to boost ‘out of hospital care’, reduce pressure on emergency hospital
services and staff, give people more control over their own health, digitally enabled primary
and outpatient care, whilst also moving to an integrated care system across the board.
Of course, another key goal of the NHS is to make sure you are getting the most out
of taxpayers investment in the NHS. Now there is also a health system support framework
in place which incorporates a ‘Five Year Forward View’. Local health systems will
need to move to a more proactive joined up care system which is wrapped around patients,
as opposed to being an entirely reactive system.” So, like I say, during your research for your
interview, whatever it is within the NHS, have an understanding of their wider goal.
Have a look at the link in the description below the video. We can go through to the
NHS website and look at their long-term plan. Question number four of your NHS interview.
“Describe a situation when you've had to adapt your approach to get your message across?”
So, what this interview question is looking for is to assess your level of confidence
and resilience that you stick with things and that you are able to adapt your approach
to get the job done, because you need to do that in the NHS while you're under pressure.
So, here's two tips to this interview question. Make sure, this is important, you use a specific
example when you were in a situation where you had to adapt your approach to get a message
across. Use a specific example. And also make sure you use the S.T.A.R technique for structuring
your answer. Now if you've never heard of S.T.A.R before, it stands for SITUATION, TASK,
ACTION, RESULT and I'll put it up in that format on the next slide in the answer for
you. I've also put another link to a video here on YouTube below this video, where you
can learn an in-depth tutorial on structuring questions and answers around the S.T.A.R technique.
Use a situation where you have to be confident and resilient to get your message across.
Here's my suggested answer. Here we go. So, I've put star on the left that stands for
SITUATION, TASK, ACTION, RESULT and will work through these in chronological order. Here
we go: SITUATION: “In my previous job I was responsible for delivering a difficult
time-sensitive project for my line manager whilst working as part of a team. It was my
job (TASK) to convince the team that my proposed method of working was the most effective.
The majority of the team were opposed to my methods and they made their feelings clear
within the initial team briefing. (So, this puts the ACTION). Despite this. I was still
confident that my method would work, and therefore, I decided to change my approach to sell my
ideas to the team. I took the time to sit down privately and individually with each
member of the team to explain my idea. I felt this approach would be more effective, simply
because it is easier to sell an idea to individuals than a group of people. The results were a
success. I eventually got everyone within the team on board and the project was delivered
successfully and on time.” Great answer and that is a specific one. I am telling them
what I did do in a SITUATION as opposed to what I would do. Question number five: “Can
you give an example of when you have achieved an NHS value in your career?” So, this assesses
whether you actually know what the values are and whether you can actually demonstrate
them in a work situation. So, we have to know what they are. Here's two tips: refer to one
of the NHS values in your answer to the question. And if you've never worked in the NHS before,
use a team working example or a customer care example. So, these are an example of the values:
WORKING TOGETHER FOR PATIENTS. So that's a teamwork example. RESPECT AND DIGNITY. COMMITMENT
TO QUALITY OF CARE. Well that's a customer service kind of example. When you've demonstrated
COMPASSION. when you've IMPROVED PEOPLE'S LIVES or when EVERYBODY COUNTS together when
you're all working as one. Here's my suggested answer. We're going to focus on COMMITMENT
TO QUALITY OF CARE and we are also going to use a S.T.A.R technique in this response:
SITUATION, TASK, ACTION, RESULT. Here we go: “In a previous job, a clearly upset and
distressed customer came into the store to complain about how she had been mistreated
by a member of our staff. It was my job to ensure the customer was OK, investigate the
issue and also resolve it to the satisfaction of the customer whilst operating within company
guidelines. I sat the customer down, made sure she was comfortable whilst asking her
to explain the situation to me. She explained a member of staff had shouted at her unnecessarily
while she was parking her car in the company car park, and she felt threatened by his behaviour.
After investigating the complaint thoroughly, I reported the member of staff to my head
of department, apologised to the customer unreservedly and took steps to make sure the
situation did not happen again. When the customer arrived home, I telephoned her just to make
sure she was still okay. The end result was the customer was looked after following the
initial upsetting situation and I managed to make sure the same situation did not ever
happen again. Now, of course, in your NHS interview there's gonna be other questions
and like I say, don't forget to tell me in the comments section below the video what
particular role you were being interviewed for. I’ll come on here each day and I'll
give you a list of questions to prepare for. But here's some more ones: “Why do you want
to work in the NHS”. “What qualities do you have that would be a good fit?” “What
do you know about the NHS?” We already know a bit about the long-term plan. “Do you
have any knowledge of NHS systems or processes?” “Describe a situation when you had to make
a tough or difficult decision?” “What in your opinion is the best thing about the
NHS?” “Can you give an example of when you've achieved an NHS value in your career?”
“If a patient start shouting at you, how would you deal with the situation?” “How
do you feel about seeing unpleasant sights?” and ‘What is the NHS long term plan and
how do you think it would impact on your role?” Okay, so if you'd like more free training
for your NHS interview please go now to the website PassMyInterview.com, or click the
link directly below the video. Please make sure you subscribe and say you'd like this
tutorial give it a thumbs up. And I wish you all the very best in your pursuit to passing
your NHS interview. Good luck and thank you for watching.