Nhs job interview

bee78

Hi,
I am glad that i found this place,it is filled with amazing ppl and info.Let me introduce myself. This is my first time here. I am married and i have a little boy aged 6.I recently resigned my job with a high street bank,which i had been doing 2.5 years. The job at bank was adminstrative/sales oriented. I enjoyed the job,until May 2009,when something snapped in me,i was ready to move on,and i voluntarily resigned. I was quite happy to be home with my son,but i lacked friends.I felt lonely and that led me to apply for jobs again.I wanted to leave tha banking sector and try other avenues of jobs. and this led me to apply for NHS jobs.

I am now invited for an interview for the post of communications operator. After feeling lonely and somewhat down,the fact i am shortlisted makes me feel motivated and happy.at same i am nervous to the core.
the job involves working at reception and switch board.I am fairly confident i can do the job,as i have experience in taking outbound and inbound calls and working at reception desks.But i have to cross the interview hurdle.Could someone help me.I found this forum really helpful with my money problems.i hope someone here could give me some examples of interview questions and tips.how do they score the interview.what sort of questions and scenario would be up against.what sort of questions can i ask.Has anyone out there worked or working in similar post in the nhs.
Thanks in advance for all help

slowandsteady_2

I work in the NHS but as a nurse. If i were you, id go through the job description and if there is one the 'essential/desirable criteria' with a fine tooth comb and make sure if they ask you that you can prove you can fulfill the role.

Id expect they would ask a lot of 'what would you do if' questions, for example if there was a rude person on the other end who is demanding confidential information you either cant have or cant give, what you would do if you recieved a '4444' call (national nhs emergency switch number from wards/departments, to get access to cardiac arrest teams etc immediately or fire brigade). They may ask would you be happy to undergo training for the role and what sort of training you feel you may need. You will definately need to emphasise your excellent communication skills given the role. They may ask about data protection issues if you have to use a computer but not sure, however they do seem quite strict about that where i am.

If i were you i would google 'Agenda For Change' and 'Knowledge and Skills Framework'most Trusts use this it is related to payscales and the knowledge and skills you need to achieve your increments, might be useful to have a look at the knowledge and skills foer the band of the job you are applying for if you know.

You may get asked all of that ar none of it and i may be completely off base! However if i am im sure someone will be along to correct me!

Good luck!!

sharkie

Strange that you do reception work AND switchboard. In most hospitals this is two separate departments.

most switchboard work in a hospital is 24/7/365, so expect to be asked about shift and weekend work, covering for colleagues, 'flexibility', sickness record, abusive callers (you may get continuing death threats!) and how you would handle them.

Freedom of information act, data protection act. giving out phone numbers. Say a gp phones up one evening and would like to contact a consultant as their patient is severely ill, would you give them the consultants email address, home phone number, or home address to the gp?

If you are counter based, you will get abusive patients, it is part of the game. You will be dealing with people whom have strange accents, and some may even not know why they are there, or going - 'the gp just sent me here'. The answer to the above question is that you do non of the items listed. You never give out a number, but there are circumstances that arise and people need to be contacted, you take the number of the caller and you contact the hospital member giving him their number, or join the two lines via the switchboard after speaking to the hospital member.

bee78

thanks for the above replies,i have just accepted the invite for the interview.after a night sleep my nerves have settled a bit.A bit about the job,-the job description mainly says to answer external and internal calls and maintain the facilities help desk.that's the broad description. it also say - operates a reception point for doctors and other staff grades. i assumed it to be the main reception area near the entrance.

i understand that the job would be varied shift patterns,weekends and bank holiday working.is it all right to question b4 interview about all these,or is it better to do it during the interview.It is 16hours job,i am thinking i should leave it till interview.what do you all think.Pls give me some ideas on the interview questions.

has anyone here worked for nhs switch board? or any NHS clerical jobs.

I think what i will do is after my job interview is over,i will post what to expect in NHS clerical job interview.

I was speaking to a agency the othe day,the lady there said to me,sometime for NHS jobs they do a get 100 applications.there must be alot of ppl like me going for interview and wondering what to expect.


anyway hope to hear for all of you.thanks for all help:cool:

HellsGranny

Go to the interview looking smart and efficient. First impressions count for 55% of the decision, 38% is how confident you appear and only 7% is what you have to say for yourself.

If telephones are involved it helps to have a clear speaking voice and a helpful attitude. Try to do your homework on the hospital itself, what their specialities are, what departments they have, etc., as foreknowledge will give the interviewers tha clue that you are keen to work for them and are prepared to go that extra distance for the clients (in this case the callers and the walk-is at the reception desk).

only one more thing to add; Good luck!

Louise22

I had an interview for the NHS last month (and like you I worked for a high street bank and left in May) and I can honestly say that it was one of the most pleasant interviews I have ever had. They just asked questions like "what would you do if x happened?" and "can you give me an example of a time when you have done x?" (x always being an aspect of the person specification).

As someone before said, you have to know what the job is an what your duties will be (as this was another question they asked me) and you should make sure that you meet the person specification. Being short-listed is a massive achievement in itself, as over 100 people applied for my role, apparently.

Best of luck, you have already done the hard part by being short-listed

duncans-mum_2

I had an interview today with the NHS, but for Secretary/Admin Post.

Needless to say I think it went very badly, I hadn't fully researched on the actual role of the department like I should have been and therefore felt myself waffling.
The type of questions asked:
Why have you applied for this particular post?
What have you done to prepare for this interview?
What do you understand about this department.?
What can you tell me about the nhs?
Can you give an example of when confidentiality has been important in your working life?
What skills can you offer that are suitable for this role.

Another job I went for was Admin Support in the Public Health Dept
Different questions that I can remember from then,
In 3 words how would your best friend describe you.
Describe your view on confidentiality
How would you deal with an agitated phone call/complaint (gave me an actual scenario)

They then gave me the opportunity to ask them questions.
The 2 interviews were very different though, and I think each individual dept will ask different things, but it might be handy to keep some of the above in mind in particular about confidentiality.

Just do as much research as you can about the department/hospital you will be working for. And go through the job/person spec on what is required and try to think of examples of what you have done previously.

And the very Best of Luck x

abbecer

I work for the NHS too but in nursing. My interview would obviously be very different to yours but one advice I would offer is, if you don't know an answer don't try to blag it, say you are unsure but would always seek advice from an appropriate person. Hope that helps.

Rebecca

bee78

Thanks for all your replies,i always feel i get the most useful advice in this site. i have noted all question and tips and will soon compile them and post it once my interview is over.

just a few more questions,would they actually ask about the hospital's policies or trust policies on issues not related to the job.

how do i discuss salary and shift patterns.do i leave it till i get the job.:rolleyes:

LondonDiva

Ask about shift patterns at the interview

Save salary questions after an offer has been made

lr1277

The job will have an associated salary band. My hospital says that everyone starts at the bottom of the band. There are two ways to get more than this:
1) have relevant experience in the NHS
2) Have a very and I mean very persuasive manager.