London Pharmacy Education & Training
NHS Recruitment 2013-14 Helping you get a head start
Contents NHS opportunities Recruitment process An introduction to interviews Activities 5
Hospital Pharmacist Job Applications WHAT? The entry level for newly qualified NHS hospital pharmacists is Agenda for Change band 6 salary. Some posts may request that some post registration experience is required! WHEN? Usually from February of your training year and onwards. Some adverts may be placed earlier or later depending on funding for posts. WHERE? 1. www.jobs.nhs.uk - Dedicated online recruitment service for all careers in the NHS across England and Wales - You will need to register with a valid email address 2. www.pjcareers.com Some trusts still advertise here 3. www.healthjobsuk.com UK s largest independent jobs board. Search under Healthcare science services
The NHS is a rewarding place to work Working hours- set hours per week. Flexible working. Progressive pay scale from band 6 to band 9 Annual personal development review and the opportunity to extend your skills and knowledge Other benefits: occupational health, counselling 27 days annual leave, increased to 33 after 5 years Pension scheme On-call service/out of hours service
The Recruitment Process 1. Advert 2. Complete & submit application form 3. Shortlisting process 4. Interview 5. Reference checks 6. You re hired! 6
1. Advert The recruitment process starts off with the employers getting funding for the post, writing a job description/person specification if there isn t one available already Employers tend to advertise their jobs on the NHS Jobs website, a few advertise in The Pharmaceutical Journal 7
NHS Jobs Website 8
NHS Jobs website - What you need to do Register your details with NHS jobs by going on to www.jobs.nhs.uk You will be asked to create an account by entering in your personal details including an email address Once registered you will be able to view all jobs currently being advertised You will be provided with vacancy details once you have selected a job that interests you 9
Job Description and Person specification The vacancy details will allow you to view the JD and person specification but what are they? Job description (JD) Brief explanation of roles and responsibilities Person specification (PS) List of essential and desirable experience/ skills/ personal qualities/ attributes required Employers use the PS to shortlist candidates 10
2. Complete and submit an application form Once the advert is available online, candidates must complete the application form by the specified deadline Applications can be started and candidates can save information and come back to it at a later stage- this saves you completing the form all in one go If you have started an application, emails will be sent from NHS Jobs to remind you that an application form has been started along with a reminder of the application deadline Once submitted the application form is not retrievable 11
Application Form The purpose of the application form is to: get you shortlisted give the employer positive first impressions Advantages of using an electronic form: can save and complete at a later date make changes up until date of submission stores your information so that you can re-use it, if applying for more than one job within a short space of time Plan in advance and don t leave it to the last minute! 12
Supporting Statements Usually the hardest part of the application form Employers focus on this to find out information about you as a person and whether you have the necessary skills for the job Up until this point you may have similar experiences to other trainees, the supporting statement is your opportunity to stand out and share your skills Use the PS to structure your supporting statement as it needs to relate to the job Spend time planning what you are going write! 13
Top tips for supporting statements Plan your supporting statement with an introduction and conclusion Match it to the PS to ensure that all the required skills are being demonstrated. The employer will use the PS to see whether you are the right person for the job Provide evidence and examples of how your experience/skills match the roles and responsibilities stated on the JD Avoid duplication, use one example to demonstrate multiple skills Maximum 2 sides of A4 - be concise don t waffle! Demonstrate a working knowledge of the hospital you are applying to for a job 14
Top tips continued Include experiences and activities that set you apart from other trainees but don t make things up! Include things you have done recently in your pre-reg. year e.g. audit Include reasons why you want to work for that particular hospital Draft the supporting statement in Word so you can check spelling and grammar. Once complete copy and paste the information into the online application form Use headings / underline sections to break up the text and make it look more visually appealing 15
Remember to Account for any gaps in employment Add the most recent employer first in the employment history Select appropriate referees and ask their permission Include personal achievements if relevant Hobbies and interests- but keep this fairly short 16
3. Shortlisting Once the employer receives all the applications submitted they then face the difficult process of going through all the forms and shortlisting candidates for interview Employers need to decide on when the interview will take place. In some organisations the interview date is set in advance and advertised with the application submission deadline All applications are anonymised 17
4. Interview If your application form impresses the employer, you will be invited for an interview An email is sent from NHS jobs outlining all the details of the interview e.g. date / time / contact person and whether there will be a presentation or task that you must prepare beforehand 18
Preparation is key Time & date Confirm the time, date and venue Find out who will be on the interview panel Emergency Save important contact numbers in case of an emergency Info Questions Do your homework, find out about the organisation Find out where the venue is and how long it will take you to get there Prepare a list of questions to ask at the interview Anticipate some of the questions that may be asked based on the PS Go through your application form 19
Do s and don ts of interviews 20
Things you should DO in an interview Arrive ahead of time Dress smartly Smile, be polite and speak clearly Switch off your mobile Ask the interviewer to repeat a question if you did not hear/understand Pause for thought Listen to the question Answer questions with examples Look interested when the interviewer is talking Enter the room confidently, shake hands and introduce yourself With a panel interview, maintain good eye contact with the person asking the questions but acknowledge others Sell yourself, get your good points across and be positive 21
Things you should NOT do in an interview Arrive late Answer with a simple yes or no- you should explain yourself and provide examples Waffle Interrupt Draw attention to your weaknesses Lie or be too enthusiastic Pretend that you know something that you don t Criticise past employers 22
Types of questions in an interview Competency based questions E.g. give an example of a time when you worked in a team and what role did you play? Scenario based questions E.g. in a busy dispensary you are asked to clinically screen a discharge prescription, a doctor would like to discuss a gentamicin level and the nurse would like a stock item. How would you prioritise your workload? 23
5. Obtaining references If the employer is impressed with you after the interview stage, they may offer you a job on the basis of obtaining satisfactory references In some organisations, the employer will for check for 2 satisfactory references before they make you a job offer 24
6. You re hired! 25
The final hurdle An offer is usually made by one of the interview panel members either by phone or email You will be given the opportunity to think about whether you want to accept the job or not The employer will outline the details of the employment e.g. start date and forms to complete Job offers are always pending occupational health clearance and DBS checks (previously known as CRB) 26
Activities to help you prepare 27
Activity 1: Supporting Statements Critique the following supporting statement and comment on whether this applicant should be shortlisted for interview Think about: What is good/ not so good Whether it relates to the person specification Is anything missing? Any other information that could have been included? 28
Suggested answers for activity 1 Generally this is a poor supporting statement What is good about it: Hobbies have been included and the applicant has kept this section quite short and succinct First Aid skills mentioned but possibly could have added this in the qualifications section Trained in electronic prescribing Would like to undertake diploma and take part in the residency programme Involved in the generation of SOPs at Warwick Hospitalmore detail needed 29
Suggested answers for activity 1 Things missing / not so good: Doesn t state hospital being applied for only states this hospital which sounds very generic Doesn t state why they are applying for a post other than the hospital will provide the needs to further knowledge Grammatical mistakes Does not match the person specification Achievements include attending meetings therefore not really an achievement MUR accredited, repeat dispensing mentioned but is this is relevant for the post? 30
Suggested answers for activity 1 Repeat information from main part of application e.g. driving license information this was most likely cut and pasted directly from the CV States skills e.g. good problem solving skills, good organisational skills, works independently and can adapt to any situation but does not provide examples to back this up States that they are confident working in a team and can deal with staff of other disciplines at all levels of seniority- quite a big claim but nothing to back this up Do not need to include number of days sickness as this information is requested from the referee (current employer) 31
Activity 2: Mock interview Here are a few questions that you may want to role play with someone to help you practice for the real thing Why have you applied for this band 6 position? Describe a situation when you had to deal with a conflict How do you see pharmacy services developing in the next 5 years? Describe some challenges that you may face when covering emergency duties over the weekend? Why do you think we should offer you this post? How would your colleagues describe you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? 32
Further reading http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-bycareer/pharmacy/pharmacist/ http://www.rpharms.com/about-pharmacy/careersin-pharmacy.asp 33
This is the end of the presentation Please contact a member of the pre-reg. trainee pharmacist team if you have any queries Pre-reg-training@chelwest.nhs.uk London Pharmacy Education & Training 2013-14 34