Personal & Background Questions

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Question: Walk us through your CV or Introduce yourself or Tell us about your experience relevant to this speciality. 

This is the most important and common question in the interview. This is usually almost always the first question. I have discussed this question in detail separately. Click here to view this question.



Question: Why do you want to join this post/speciality?

What the interviewers want to see: 
  1. Your enthusiasm to join the speciality
  2. You are focused on this speciality and have thought it through as a career choice 
  3. Evidence that shows your interest in the speciality i.e., relevant experience 
  4. Explaination of your reasons 
Your answer would be incomplete without the above. Just stating that you want to join the speciality because you are interested in it will get you zero marks. You need to demonstrate proper reasoning for your choices. 

You can use the CAMP structure for your answer, as it covers all aspects of a speciality. 

Question: Why did you choose to apply to this NHS Trust?

Keep in mind the following points for writing your answer: 
  1. Research the trust values and the department you are interviewing for 
  2. Demonstrate how you relate to the Trust values in your clinical practice '
  3. You can also search the interviewing panel and find out if they are working something specific that interests you e.g., technology, surgical technique, any ongoing research. 
  4. Is there any special development in the department you are applying for e.g., any procedure, or surgery etc. 

Question: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

Keep in mind the following points: 

    Do not give a very obvious answer to this question. Most of the candidates are not prepared for it. This is where you can impress the interviewers with a comprehensive answer. Use the CAMP structure to answer this question. 

    Clinical

    • Which speciality would you like to get into? (you can list two or more)
    • Any specific preferences or interests within a speciality
    • If you want to be a consultant, specifiy at which type of hospital 

    Academic 

    • Any research you want to do 
    • Interests in teaching that you want to pursue, any teaching qualifications in mind? 
    • Any specific certifications you want to complete 

    Management 

    • Do you wish to take managerial positions? 
    • Developing training programs?

    Personal 

    • Hobbies 
    • Acitivites outside your work 
    • Sports 
    • Charity 

    Example Answer: 
    By 10 years, hopefully I would have completed my training and become a consultant. I see myself working in a tertiary care teaching hospital in the long term. In line with my clinical experience, I am interested in pursuing speciality training in one of the two fields, emergency medicine or cardiology. Both have a strong academic and research side that I am looking for in my career. 

    I have a particular interest in teaching, and over the last couple of years I have really enjoyed the teaching I have done, including teaching medical students and doctors. This is certainly an aspect I want to develop and to achieve this I plan to gain the necessary experience and degrees by the time I complete my training. In the context of this, I have already completed my Teaching the Teacher certification.