HSC Application & Interview Guidance

This overview provides you with the outline process and timeline you can expect when applying for a post in the Health & Social Care (HSC) service for Northern Ireland.

What’s the Process & How Long will it take?

Reasonable adjustments

Employers will want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to succeed in their application and interview process. If you have a disability, impairment, or health condition that might make a standard application or interview difficult, Employers will be happy to consider requests for reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustment requirements should not deter anyone from applying for a job, help and support is available. These may include simple changes to the process—such as providing information or applications in accessible formats, ensuring a suitable location for interview, adjusting the format or timing—to remove barriers and help you show us your best self.

If you require a reasonable adjustment and wish to speak with someone who can help. You can contact the Organisations Human Resource Team to further discuss.

HSC Information

The HSCNI Jobs website provides some additional guidance around the application process, including advice and guidance. There is also information available around support and accessibility available for applicants.

Waiting Lists

When applying for a job, the advert may indicate that a waiting list will be created. Information on waiting lists can be found here.

Completing an application form accurately is very important because the information you include will be used by a short-listing panel to check if you have the essential qualifications and experience required for the job. Failure to demonstrate clearly on your application form that you meet the essential criteria (and desirable criteria, if used) will result in you not being shortlisted.

Below are some points to guide you when completing an application form:

• Review the recruitment sites detailed at the bottom of the website to find a position/s that meet your requirements.
• Once you have identified a job which you are interested in, note the closing date and time for receipt of completed applications. Late applications will not be accepted.
• Complete each section of the form accurately making sure you have provided evidence on how you meet the essential criteria as you may not be shortlisted otherwise.
• Read the desirable criteria and complete the same exercise: ensure that all the information you include is accurate. Remember that all your qualifications and experience are checked.
• For nursing and midwifery posts particularly, complete your professional registration details as requested.
• It is important to ask your referees if they would be willing to give you a reference before submitting your application.
• Ensure that you gain the approval of your line manager if you are applying for a secondment opportunity.
• All applicants must complete the Equality Monitoring section.
• Ask a trusted friend or colleague to read over a draft of your application form, to check for mistakes before you submit your final copy.
• Keep a copy of your completed application form. You may need to review it in preparation for interview and it may be of some use in the future.
• Save a copy of the personnel specification and job description, so that you can access it easier should you get shortlisted for interview. The personnel specification and job description may not be readily available after the application closes. Once you have submitted your application online most organisations will send an email acknowledging receipt of your application, save this for future reference.
• If you requested support with your online application from the advertising Organisation follow all instructions provided, ensuring additional time for support from the Organisation or postage of the application (providing this can be accommodated by the Organisation).
• When completing an application, it is important to check that you have completed the necessary information. An application checklist is available, click here.

Guide to Preparing for Interview

Success at interview depends on careful preparation. There are many ways in which you can prepare for your interview; the key, however, is to stay focused and not learn lots of new information. The panel will want to assess how you apply your knowledge and experience to the demands of the new job. Interviews make some people nervous, but with careful preparation you should be confident that you can be successful.

Members of the interview panel are trained to help you perform well at interview. The Chairperson will introduce you to the other panel members, explain how the interview will run and the order in which each member will ask their questions.

Listed below are some things you can do before the interview that will help you make the experience a positive one

• Has the employer identified someone you can talk to about the job? If so, do this or if not, contact the employer and ask if there is someone you can talk to. The contact person will usually be provided to those who have been shortlisted. If you have been shortlisted and a contact person has not been provided, please contact the recruitment team.
• Think about what questions, relevant to the job role you would like to ask before speaking with the contact person. This will assist in making best use of the time. Talking to a contact person can help you better prepare for interview.
• Read the job description and personnel specification carefully.
• List the main responsibilities and skills required to do the job from the job description and personnel specification, think of examples as to how you have met these, or similar skills in the past.
• Using the list you have made, identify the relevant knowledge, skills, behaviours and experience that you offer. Note examples which demonstrate how you have successfully completed relevant tasks or applied relevant skills.

Sometimes experiences outside of work can provide useful evidence to the panel. When considering examples, you may find it helpful to follow the ‘STAR’ or ‘SBO’ model.

‘STAR’ Model

SITUATION – What was the situation you were in? What was your role? What responsibilities did you have?

TASK – What was your unique role in this task/situation? What were your objectives/ aims? What were the risks in the situation? What did you personally contribute to the task?

ACTION – What did you do to complete the task? What behaviours did you display in completing the task? What did you personally do? What problems did you encounter? How did you overcome them?

RESULTS  – What was the outcome? Did you consider the outcome a success? If so, can you identify the actions that contributed to the success? If not, what would you do differently next time? (Please note that it is not necessarily a bad thing to admit during an interview where your actions failed. Panel members are aware that not everything in work always turns out as planned. What they will want to know is what you learned from this experience and how this has contributed to your development).

The SBO model is useful for more senior posts e.g. Level of Practice 8 and above.

‘SBO’ Model

SITUATION – What was the situation you were in? What was your role? What responsibilities did you have?

BEHAVIOUR – What did you do or say? Be specific and give important details. Paint a word picture so the employer can completely understand the scenario and your thought process.

OUTCOME – What was the result of your actions or behaviour?

Here are some points that may help you to perform well:

• Have a good night’s rest. Do not stay up late cramming new information.
• Dress to feel confident and comfortable.
• Know where the interview is taking place and leave enough time for your journey.
• A good guide is to arrive approximately 15 minutes before the time of your appointment; this gives you time to refresh and relax.
• Listen carefully to the questions being asked.
• If you did not understand a question, ask for clarification:
• Stay focused on the questions.
• If unsure of the question, ask the panel if you can come back to it.
• You may find it helpful to use the ‘STAR’ or ‘SBO’. This logical thought process will take you through your answer. The really valuable evidence for the panel comes from the information provided in the ACTION or BEHAVIOUR and RESULTS or OUTCOMES stages. Be sure to demonstrate to the panel what your unique contribution was.
• Remember it is usual for panel members to take notes while you are speaking. Do not allow this to put you off.
• Speak clearly and confidently, portray a positive but balanced attitude.
• Interview panels tend to invite you to ask questions at the end of the interview. You can prepare questions before the interview if you wish. If you don’t have a specific question, do not feel you have to ask one.
• It is advisable to bring evidence of your registration details and/or qualifications in case the panel members wish to see them, especially if they are part of the essential criteria.

During the process of application and preparation for interview, you revise existing knowledge and learn new material. This is valuable learning and could be recorded in your portfolio.

Note the questions that you were asked; this will help you when you receive feedback.

If successful, congratulations!

If unsuccessful, it is normal to feel disappointed; ask for feedback from the panel and reflect on what you learn about your performance.

Remember to keep looking for other opportunities; do not give up; view the interview as a learning experience.

Following are some questions to help you reflect on your experience

• What attracted you to this job?
• What skills and experience did you feel you had for this job?
• What preparation did you make for the interview?
• What new information did you learn during your preparation?
• How did you feel you answered the interview questions?
• How did you feel when you learned the outcome of the interview?
• What did you learn from your interview feedback?
• What would you do differently for your next interview?
• What have you learned about yourself through this experience?
• Thinking about the questions you were asked at the interview; how would you answer them if you were asked the same question in future?

Presentations are often included as part of the interview process especially for more senior Nursing or Midwifery posts. You may be given a title beforehand (a seen presentation) or when you arrive for interview (an unseen presentation). You will know this in advance of your interview. The purpose of a presentation is to assess how well you arrange and communicate information.

Here are some points that you may find helpful when preparing for, and giving, presentations.

Preparing your presentation

• If you were provided with a topic, research it as much as possible.
• Set out the main points you want to put across.
• Style your presentation to suit your audience.
• Maximum of five key points per page or slide.
• Use a mixture of words and pictures; this helps a mixed audience hear and see your message.
• Do not overuse animation in your presentation.
• Balance your presentation between slides and talking.
• Make a note of the things you want to say to accompany each slide, using whatever method works for you.
• Do not have too many slides.
• It is likely that you will have time allocated to your presentation, remember to stick to that time requirement.
• Know your technology.

Giving your presentation

• Dress to feel confident and comfortable.
• Have a drink of water at hand.
• Introduce yourself.
• Give the audience an overview of what your presentation is about and how long it should take.
• Speak clearly.
• Find the level of moving around that you are comfortable with but do not roam.
• Face the audience; do not turn to read the screen.
• Aim to summarise the information on the screen.
• Keep your notes at hand; know what you need to say to each slide.
• Be able to expand on points that are on the slide, rather than reading them out.
• Have a copy of your slides for your audience.
• Invite questions at the end.
• Complete within the time limit given.

An Assessment Centre is a process, not a place. Assessment Centres are the most valid predictor of future job performance that employers can use during a recruitment process. They are, however, now mainly used for the recruitment to the most senior posts. An Assessment Centre, by definition, involves the use of a set of exercises designed to assess a range of behaviours relevant to the job.

This is a way for organisations to find out how you might behave in certain work scenarios. Commonly, at an Assessment Centre you will participate in a number of exercises (role play, written exercise, group discussion, for example) and you will be assessed against a number of behaviours related to the post you are applying for. The behaviours you display throughout the exercises will be observed and assessed by more than one assessor and you will be given a score for each behaviour observed. The total score will contribute to your overall assessment in the recruitment process.

Generally, Assessment Centres are used in one of two ways: either to provide a percentage of the overall recruitment score (combined with the interview score), or as a short-listing tool for interview. Below are some examples of the most common exercises you may be required to participate in, during an Assessment Centre.

In-tray Exercise

In-tray exercises normally consist of a number of job-related tasks to which you must provide a written response within a designated period of time. Generally, you are asked to assume the position you are applying for and may be given a scenario in which you have arrived for your first day, only to find that you have a number of urgent matters to deal with. Competence is assessed, based on the responses you have made to each of the tasks. It is important that you indicate how you would deal with certain situations – for example, whether you would send an e-mail or speak face-to-face. The person administering the exercise will clarify the instructions for completing the specific test you are to be given.

Group Exercises, Discussions and Role Plays

In Group Exercises and Discussions candidates work collaboratively with others to solve a set problem. Generally, the group is given a goal to achieve within a set period of time. All members of the group will either be given the same basic information or they will be given specific and individual briefs as to what they should achieve. You are assessed during the exercise on your behaviour in this context.

In Role Play situations, you may be assigned a specific role to play on a one-to-one basis with an actor. You will be assessed during this process by an assessor. Examples of role play exercises might include conducting a disciplinary interview, speaking to someone about their work performance or absence.

In both cases, you should listen to the instructions for the exercise and ask questions if you do not understand what is being asked of you.

Case Studies

In Case Study exercises, you can be presented with a scenario for which you, either independently or as part of a group, make recommendations in a report and/or presentation.

The scenarios can often contain large amounts of factual information, some of which may be ambiguous or contradictory. You are being tested on your ability to analyse information, to think clearly and logically, to exercise judgement and to communicate either in writing or verbally.

Interview

Some Assessment Centres are designed to include a one-to-one interview or a panel interview. This may be used to probe some topics arising from the initial interview. This stage of the interview process will be treated independently; do not, therefore, assume that your interviewer is familiar with the answers you gave at an earlier stage.

Presentation

You may be asked to prepare a short talk for presentation to the other candidates and/or the assessors. This may be previously prepared or could be unseen, that is, you are given a topic and a period of time to prepare it. The assessors will want to know that you can structure and communicate information effectively.