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Guidance For Applying

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Saadia Riaz
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18 views5 pages

Guidance For Applying

Uploaded by

Saadia Riaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Your guide to

applying for
a job with us

About this guide


As London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust is such a rewarding place
to work, we get thousands of job applications each year. To give you the best
chance of standing out, this guide will help you to submit a strong application.

It covers:

• 8 Steps to applying for a job in the NHS


• Your supporting statement
• References
• A positive about disabilities employer
• Declaring a criminal conviction
• Submitting your application
• What happens next

Making a good first impression


Your application form is usually the first impression you’ll make with us.

So make it count. It’s your best chance of securing that all-important interview. In
the NHS, you can typically apply in two ways – using an online application system
called ‘NHS jobs’, or a paper version. It’s generally much quicker to apply online,
and it enables you to change and submit your application more easily too.

continued...
8 Steps to applying for a job in the NHS
1. Visit www.jobs.nhs to search through the current available jobs.
2. Register with the website. This allows you to apply for jobs and request details
of current or future jobs you like the sound of.
3. Read the job advert carefully. It should give you information to help your
application, as well as the salary, hours and location. Look at any attached
documents too – especially the job description and person specification (often
on one document). They’ll tell you even more about the job, plus the skills,
experience, knowledge and qualifications you need.
4. Click ‘apply’, which will take you to the application form.
5. Complete the personal details section. These will be saved, so you only need
to enter them once.
6. Complete the equality and diversity section:
-- This information will be saved and can be re-used for
future applications.
-- You don’t need to answer these questions if you don’t want to. Just select
the ‘Prefer not to say’ option.
-- We use this information to make sure adverts and jobs appeal to a wide
range of people. It’s never seen by managers who decide who to interview,
or interviewers. It’s usually only seen by our HR team.
7. Complete the rest of the application form. Some of it will change for each
job, some things like your previous jobs, qualifications or courses will stay the
same. Unless a CV is specifically asked for, it won’t be used.
8. Do a final check, then you’re ready to submit your application.

Your supporting statement


Some posts have extra ‘Key Questions’ for you to answer. These will be included
in the ‘Person Specification’ and relate to the job. If you don’t answer them in
your supporting statement, you might not be shortlisted for interview.

Your supporting statement is probably the most important section on the form.
It massively affects the decision on whether or not to invite you for an interview.
A good supporting statement clearly and concisely explains how you meet all the
essential criteria for a post – and ideally some of the ‘desirable’ criteria too. If it
doesn’t, the manager reading it could easily assume you aren’t right for the job.

continued...
Try to give examples for the essential and desirable criteria. Think about relevant
skills and experience you’ve gained in a paid job, volunteer role, work experience
placement, school, university or other area of your life. For example, if the job
asks for someone who works well in a team, you could write something like: “I
worked on a group project at school. My role included working with others to
write and deliver the final presentation. Teamwork was essential to its success.”

Do this for each of the criteria. All person specifications are different so if you
save your application form, make sure you change the information to suit each
job you apply for.

Now make sure you’ve completed the rest of the form correctly, and included all
of your work history (including work experience and volunteering), qualifications
and other courses.

References
Obtaining references is one of the most difficult parts of the recruitment process.
It often causes a long delay before we can offer someone a job. You can help
speed this up by checking that you have:

• Included up-to-date contact details for your referees – including an email


address if possible.
• Checked that your referees are happy to give you a reference.
• Informed your referees that we’ll be contacting them.

There are a few points to take note of when providing referees


• You must give the names and contact details of at least two referees who can
confirm the information you’ve given and comment on how suitable you’d be
for the post you’ve applied for. Ideally, they should be your line managers from
your most recent or current employer. Internal candidates should give their
head of department. Students should give the name of their teacher/tutor.
• If you can’t give referees, please tell us clearly why.
• Personal references won’t be accepted and will delay the process.
• If you don’t want your referees to be contacted before your interview, please
tell us on your application form. However, we can’t offer you the job without
satisfactory references.

A positive about disabilities employer


We welcome applications from people with disabilities or a long-term health
condition, and work hard to retain our ‘Two Ticks’ award – a quality standard
created by Job Centre Plus.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) covers a wide range of conditions,


including long-term health issues such as migraine, asthma, eczema, heart
conditions and mental health issues. A condition is covered by the DDA if it has

continued...
a significant negative effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities and
has lasted, or is likely to last, for more than 12 months. If you’d like us to make
any adjustments for your interview, then please make sure you complete the
relevant section of the application form.

You don’t have to discuss your disability or health condition at interview, but we
encourage you to if you might need adjustments making for work. If you don’t
feel able to do this, then it’s important that you discuss this with the recruiting
manager as soon as possible after you receive your offer letter. This will enable us
to make the preparations we need, ready for your first day.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme


As a ‘Two Ticks’ employer, we guarantee an interview to anyone with a disability
whose application meets the essential criteria for the post. If you’d like to apply
under the ‘Guaranteed Interview Scheme’, please tick the box on the application
form and make sure you state that you have a disability in the equality and
diversity section, as the scheme is only open to people who are covered by the
DDA. In the supporting statement, make sure you explain how you meet all the
essential criteria, giving examples where possible. If you meet them, you’ll be
invited for an interview.

Declaring a criminal conviction

Having a criminal conviction doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be offered
a job with us. Each case is considered on an individual basis, in compliance with
the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and the Criminal Records Bureau policy. We’ll
look at things like how relevant the incident was to the post you’ve applied for,
how recent it was, and if there appears to be a pattern of offending.

It’s important that you honestly answer questions about any conviction, caution,
warning, reprimand or bind-over. If you don’t, this is fraud and any job offer
may be withdrawn, or in some circumstances you could be dismissed from a job.
Depending on the post, you may also need to:

• Declare these even if they are considered spent.


• Have a Criminal Records Bureau check.
• Have an additional Protection of Children Act (POCA) check.

Submitting your application


• You can save your application at any time and come back to complete it later.
• Make sure you’ve answered all of the mandatory fields.
• When it’s completed, make sure that spellings and dates etc. are correct –
double check it and ask someone else to read it if possible. An application
form is a legal document, so it’s vital to complete it honestly and accurately.
• All done? Click ‘Submit’ before the closing date or it won’t be accepted.

continued...
Interviews
One of our recruitment team will automatically send rejection letters to anyone
who hasn’t answered any key questions. All other applications will be considered,
for us to decide who to interview. This is known as shortlisting.

• It’s important to check your email regularly to see if you’ve been shortlisted.
• If you are shortlisted, we’ll get in touch via email (or phone, if you didn’t apply
online) around a week before your interview. We’ll also let you know if there
are any extra requirements, such as a presentation, typing test, etc.
• If you’re invited for an interview, please confirm as soon as possible whether
you’d like to attend.
• If you don’t hear from us within 10 days, we’re very sorry but this means you
haven’t been shortlisted.

What happens next


If you’re unsuccessful in your interview, we’ll let you know by email. You can get
feedback on your interview from the chair of the interview panel if you’d like by
contacting the recruitment administrator you’ve been dealing with.

If you are successful, we’ll make an offer of employment subject to satisfactory


references, health clearance and Criminal Records Bureau Clearance (if applicable).
This formal offer will be in writing from our recruitment department. If you accept
the offer, we’ll ask you to confirm a start date. You’ll then receive a confirmation
letter before you start.

We look forward to reading your application.

Good luck!

Updated March 2018

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