Preparing for the interview - Healthcare

Let us assume that your focused CV has been submitted and you receive an invitation to interview. Your natural excitement should be tempered by the preparation process needed to be successful.Initial preparation
Whilst the interview is still used by many organisations as the sole method of selection, there is a growing trend to use a range of assessment methods. The reasoning behind this is that an interview, often only forty or so minutes, does not allow the potential employer to see candidates ‘in action’. For example, a common key requirement is to be able to ‘work in a team’. The interviewer can encourage the applicant to give examples of when he or she worked in a team but it does not truly test this in a real-life situation.

The use of ‘assessment centres’, where all the shortlisted candidates participate in one or more activities designed around the key requirements of the person specification, offers a much more realistic test of skills, qualities and attributes. An assessment centre can include:
team activities or tests, where all candidates are observed whilst fulfilling a task or activity;
aptitude tests on specific skills, such as information technology (IT), literacy or numeracy;
presentations, where the applicant is asked to plan and deliver a presentation about a pre-determined topic; psychometric testing or profiling; the former indicates how good someone is at a particular skill, such as verbal or numerical reasoning and the latter ‘builds a picture’ of the candidate by identifying their values, personality type or occupational interests.

The invitation to interview should indicate whether the process will be ‘just’ an interview, or if other forms of assessment will be used. If this information is not offered, it would be beneficial to contact the organisation and ask.

The interview itself
From the day you are invited, until you leave the interview room, your focus will be on the impression you make in your appearance, behaviour, attitude and communication skills. The preparation you put in will reap huge benefits.Logistics
Where is the interview being held? Do you know how to get there? Can you ensure you arrive at the right time!

It might seem unnecessary to even ask these questions, but you will need to arrive around fifteen minutes before your allotted time, in order to gain composure and feel raring to go. Getting lost, being unable to park and missing your train are all guaranteed to ruin your interview. Research the location; check the best method of transport and allow plenty of time for hold-ups.

Building knowledge

Employers expect you to prove that you really want to work for them; that they are not one of many you have applied to and that you will just take the first offer. Your proof will be in your knowledge of the organisation.

Research as much as you can about the organisation. The person specification will guide you in thinking more deeply about the job and how you might apply your skills in context. Research more widely about the sector so that you can position the organisation more effectively. If you have been told who will be on the interview panel, find out about them. The business networking site LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) will help here.

You will find it less stressful if you have considered the possible questions that you might be asked. The majority of interviewers use ‘competency-based questions’. These enable you to give examples of how you use the skills and behaviours asked for in the person specification. For example, if an essential requirement is ‘the ability to work in a team’, the resulting competency based question might be:
‘Tell me about your experiences as a team worker.’
or
‘Tell me about a time you joined a team; how did you get to know your colleagues?’
Consider the questions that might come from each ‘essential’ or ‘desirable’ criterion and practice (perhaps in front of a mirror, or with someone) a range of answers.

Building interview skills
How you answer questions is not just about the validity of the words you use. The way we say something is just as, if not more, important. Research by Albert Mehabrian (1972), suggests that the messages we transmit are received as follows:
7% understanding through our spoken words;
38% through our voice, tone, eye contact, pitch and so on (paralinguistics);
55% via general body language and gestures.
It goes without saying, therefore, that in your responses you should match the words with your body language and tone!

At the end of every interview, the interviewers invariably invite you to ask any questions you have. It would not be a good move to ask about salary or bonuses but it is worth preparing two or three questions that would show you have thought about the process. Remember that a job interview is a two-way process. You are investigating whether you want to work for the organisation concerned just as much as the organisation is testing you, as already discussed in Chapter 1. It might be useful to jot your questions into a notebook or onto your phone or tablet.

Your image

You never get a second chance to make a first impression!
Dressing for the interview is often perceived as difficult. Rightly or wrongly, we are judged (often subconsciously) on our appearance. Think of your own response to people and what they wear. For job interviews, there is the dilemma of being yourself, yet appearing appropriately dressed for the interviewers.

If you can research the usual dress of the organisation, then you have a starting point. Yet, whilst dressing to ‘fit’ into the culture of the organisation, there is a sense that you still need to portray an image that meets the expectations of the interviewing panel. It is worth considering the basic rules:
Men – a suit is not always necessary but smart trousers, shirt and jacket are. Wear shoes not trainers.
Women – smart clothes, not too short or low cut, not too much jewellery.

Smart shoes.Preparing for an assessment centre

Once you know that there is any form of testing, then you can practice!
Psychometric tests are available online and, as well as giving you the chance to become familiar with the concept, will enable you to learn a great deal about yourself. With psychometric tests, there are no right or wrong answers; just a view about you and your thought process or personality.
Your invitation to interview might ask you to give a presentation. If so, consider carefully the brief and be particularly aware of the time constraint given. Naturally, you will make sure that any technology you use is compatible with the equipment offered. The ability to give a presentation is a good test of your communication skills, your ability to translate information into easily understood messages and your skill at not relying on technology! Please do not rely on IT-based programmes to do the work for you.

Consider what you know about any activities. Will you be working with other candidates? If so, how do you want to be seen? As a leader? A follower? Someone who pulls their weight? Someone who listens? Someone who communicates confidently but sensitively? Activities will be observed and how you respond will give the observers a view of you that may influence the interview. In some situations, an observed activity may be used as a way to eliminate candidates before the interview!

In the interview room

With the right preparation, you will arrive at the interview venue with time to spare. Arriving about 15 minutes before the appointment is considered appropriate. Time to relax, calm down and get focused on the next hour or so. Your image is also portrayed by your attitude. Walking confidently into the interview room (yes, you will feel nervous, but nobody else sees that!), offering a firm handshake, smiling and making eye contact all add to the overall impression.
When you are offered a seat, feel free to move it slightly, perhaps at a slight angle to the interviewers, so that you are not face-on (which can feel confrontational) and to allow you to take control of your space!

Handling questions

Thinking back to your preparation, you will have some idea of the questions asked. It is important to listen carefully, without interrupting the interviewer. Take a few seconds to consider your answer and then, making eye contact and alert to your tone and gestures, make your response.
For each of these, and similar questions, your preparation will come into its own. Remember to answer concisely but with the detail required and without veering off-course!
At the end of the interview, when you are asked, ‘Do you have any questions for us?’; you can refer to your prepared questions and ask.

Once the interview is over, rise from your seat, smile at the interviewer or panel, thank them for their time and stride confidently out of the room.

Potential interview questions in this area

Tell me about a time you had to confront a difficult situation?
Describe a situation where you had to work as part of a team. What were the team’s aims? What were the challenges?
Please give an example of a time where you developed working relationships with people from different backgrounds. What skills did you use?