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Why don't we provide "the" answers to questions?

Many people read the sample interview question bank that we list and then try to find the page where we give all the answers to them.

But - we do not give answers to the range of questions for a number of very good reasons

* the list only represents the "sort" of questions that can come up

* it is not sensible for people to trot out "standard" answers as it is very likely to sound like a learned response and it should be YOUR answer not someone elses. This doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare your answers well in advance - but it does mean that they should be yours generated from your own thinking and reading and experience

* the process of learning and thinking about your answers is too valuable in general career terms to leave it to someone else - it is your responsibility.   Sounding "your own man/woman" at interview is less likely if we spoon feed which is why we don't

* if the question is phrased slightly differently - there is a greater chance that you won't hear this variation if you have learned a "standard answer" that has been provided for you. You could then look foolish. For example "tell us about the best audit you ever did" - you hear the word "audit" and trot out "audit is a cyclical process which has a number of different phases" - ie totally the wrong answer!

* it is important to learn the process of "how" to answer a question (we cover this in our e-course "interview wizardry") and how you could be selling yourself - the REAL you - better as this ensures an overall improvement in your ability to explain yourself and what you have to offer - irrespective of whether it is a question you have heard of before - or not (and new questions are always being thought up by interview panels)

* if everyone is supplied "answers" to typical questions then what is the point of interviewing?

There are interview training courses advertised in the medical press from time to time which say that they give answers to 100s of questions. But in our experience (and we have interviewed them) people who have been "given" the answers frequently deliver  them when under pressure in formats that are identifiable as standard and are therefore unoriginal. It is important to stand out from the crowd in an interview so time spent mulling over and working on your own answers to a range of question types is in our view the pathway to success at interview. It is our belief that any decent interview panel can spot memorised or standard answers at 50 paces! The process of absorbing "given" answers is not the same process as working out the answers for yourself and means that your opinions and comments on things can easily look stilted and your true lack of knowledge and understanding behind your answer can be easily revealed.

The other problems with "mass" workshops on interview skills is that, if you have a specific problem with your interview performance the event may not be individually tailored enough for your needs. That said - as a broad reminder of the types of questions that come up and how to go about preparing for interview - workshops can be helpful for people who don't have serious interview performance problems.

 

So what do you do?

Interviews are a game to some extent and one needs to learn how to play the game - but being given the answers to us seems fraught with potential difficulties and is not "the answer".

What if you really can not work out an answer to your own question bank or ours? Well - for example if you don't know what a Foundation Hospital is all about - you should do your research on this until you do and then you can formulate your own original answer. The process of doing so increases your overall knowledge such that if a slightly different question about hospital structure comes up you will be able to think on your feet and not suddenly think "oh dear that is not a question that I have a taught answer to" and then panic). Researching the answers to questions involves reading, asking others and even literature searches "what do you think of F1F2/ MMC?" for example is highly topical. If you do a literature search or read a recent medical rag - these topics are likely to be easily researched. This means that if you are asked "what is your opinion of...." something - you actually have an opinion and don't trot out a formulaic answer.

It might seem like an easy short cut to be "handed" the answers on a plate - but it is fundamentally the wrong approach altogether and ultimately will not mean the right people get the right jobs.

The purpose of interview questions is to find out more about you and your general level of knowledge about how the NHS works, what health care is about, current topics and trends, how you would handle various situations in reality, what you are like as a person etc.
By being given a standard so called "perfect answer" you are not performing as "you" and you may be appointed to a job that is beyond your overall skills and then find that you do not get a good reference.

So how do you get better at interviews?

Firstly you need to look at things like....
How you look (not just are you smartly dressed but how you "come across" overall (eg confident, pleasant, relaxed, able, equal - or shy, mousy, easily intimidated, submissive)
How you sound
How you interact with the panel
How you reveal your attitudes, motivations and abilities
How able are you to perform under pressure
How you "come across" overall (eg confident, pleasant, relaxed, able, equal - or shy, mousy, easily intimidated, submissive)

And the questions - which will be focusing on things like....
How you deal with questions that are tough or that you don't know the answer to
How you handle typical situations at work (clinical and non clinical)
How well you know the organisation or unit or specialty you have chosen
How you get along with others
How much you know about yourself and your limitations
How you approach challenges or difficulties
How you are handling your career and learning

 

Further support from Medical Forum

If you find you are going for interviews and not getting offers - there may be a number of things you can do to get better at them.
The easiest and lowest cost option we have available is a powerpoint presentation available to anyone whose employing organisation has subscribed to Career Guidance Essentials - Toolkit

Paid options include

* e-course "interview wizardry which is for self directed learning - delivered by email and  free for those joining our Career Review/Interview Review Programe
* phone assessment
* interview post mortems
* phone dummy interview
* interview training programme with video

If you have been experiencing interviews but no job offers - then one of these options may be appropriate. Sometimes employers will fund or part fund our training via study leave if you have had feedback from an interview panel that your interview technique was not up to scratch.

To see the costs for each of these or to book one please visit our order page.

To read more about each of the above services  click here.