Getting an NHS band 3 role without much experience

sulphate

I've worked in band 2 and 3 jobs in the NHS. My prior experience in the related band 2 role was highly relevant to me being offered the band 3 position but the position I was offered was actually only advertised to internal applicants - a lot of band 3+ jobs are. So if you are already working in the NHS trust then you will be able to apply for these internal positions and have a better chance of getting an interview because there simply won't be as many applicants.

But many, many people start off in a band 3 role and get offered band 3 roles with no prior experience in the NHS. A lot of NHS person specifications do list "prior NHS experience" as desirable criteria, that doesn't mean they will automatically shortlist those with this experience and rule out those without.

The main thing about NHS job applications that you need to consider, is that a lot of the entry level roles advertised to external applicants attract many applications (one band 3 job I was offered had 80+ applicants) and therefore they have to be strict with their shortlisting. I don't know if it's the same nationally but the trust I worked for shortlisted on a scoring system. This meant you had to be crystal clear on your application about what experience you have that's relevant to the role and give clear examples. For example, if the person spec says that communication skills, attention to detail etc etc are essential skills for the role you need to state clearly on your application that you have these skills and give examples on how you have demonstrated them in the workplace. They also work on a similar system during interviewing.