Getting that job: Preparing for interview
In the second part of our series about getting the job you want, Anita Houghton explains how to research and prepare for interview
Job interviews and oral exams differ little. They both assess your capabilities and knowledge and allow examiners or interviewers to decide if you are suitable for joining their particular club. The big difference, of course, is that although examiners have the option of passing everyone, interviewers have to select. So, if one scenario requires special effort, it is the interview. In this article, I consider the stage after shortlisting and before interviews, which is probably the most important and possibly the most neglected stage.
Getting in the right frame of mind
How often have you heard people say these kinds of things?
- I'm hopeless at interviews
- A lot of good people are going for the job
- I'm not really up to the job
- I hate interviews: I never know what they want to hear
- I'm no good at interviews because I'm no good at bullshitting
Although these thoughts and sentiments are common, they are not useful.
When a job is advertised the people offering the job are usually required to state clearly what they want in the person specification. The deal is that if you satisfy the essential requirements, then you are eligible for shortlisting. If too many candidates come through at this stage, they will then move on to the "desirable" list of attributes. The number of attributes are scored, and the top scorers are shortlisted. It is as simple as that.
So when you are invited for interview you already, by definition, satisfy the requirements of the job. You therefore have as good a chance as anybody of getting the job. I think you would agree that this is a more useful thought. It does mean, however, that whether or not you get the job depends almost entirely on you.
Researching and preparing for interview
To be well prepared for interview you need to:
- Ensure you have sufficient knowledge to appear confident and competent
- Prepare answers to the most likely questions
Once you have done these, you are ready to develop your strategy, and this will be covered in next month's article.
Ensuring a good knowledge base
Understanding the job
It sounds pretty basic, but it is surprising how willing people are to go for jobs they know little or nothing about. Knowing something about the job you are applying for will not only help you to decide if you want it but will give you confidence for the interview.
The first step is to carefully read the job description and any accompanying documents. Often some background information about the organisation will be included. When you have as much information as you can get this way, think about what else you would like to know and who could give you the answer. For example, you may want to contact the person who is doing the job now. The etiquette for making contact with people in the organisation you are applying to varies from place to place, but it is generally acceptable to make inquiries about the nature of a job if the application pack contains insufficient information.
If you do decide to contact someone at the organisation or department, be sure to think through in advance what you would like to ask. If, for example, you were contacting the current post-holder you might like to ask: What is the work of the organisation or department like? Who are the main members of the team, and what do they like in a colleague? What are their specialist interests? What is good and what is not so good about the job? What are the main challenges of the job? What qualities do you need to do the job well? What problems are facing the organisation or department at the moment?
The answers to just these few questions will give you enormous insight into any job, and will make it much easier to plan the answers to questions in the interview.
Understanding current issues in your subject
Whatever job you are going for and at whatever level, being well informed about the clinical area concerned is an advantage. You are the best guide to what you need to know about your own chosen area of medicine, but, as a rough guide, these are the things you might consider: scan the relevant journals for the three to six months leading up to the interview, to find all the topical news and views relevant to medicine and your specialty; talk to colleagues--especially recently appointed ones--working in your specialty and your subspecialty areas, to find out the hot topics; ask colleagues what questions they were asked at interview
Understanding the broader issues in the health service
This is one of the big differences between applying for training posts and applying for the more senior, long-term posts. At interviews for senior jobs, candidates are expected to have a reasonably broad knowledge of how the health service works, what developments are in the pipeline, and what are the current debates. Although you are much less likely to be disadvantaged by not having this knowledge at an interview for a junior post, it is always a bonus.
Much of this information will emerge from your perusal of the journals, and quizzing colleagues. If you are in the United Kingdom, the Department of Health website is useful for finding recent publications and policies. But, if you have not done this already, read the papers for the week or two before the interview.
Preparing answers
When you have done all this, make a list of the topics you have found and put together a list of questions that an interviewer might ask, including ones you have been asked at previous interviews yourself. Knowing who is going to be on the interview panel is helpful in this process, although not always possible.
Then you need to prepare the answers, and unless you are exceptionally articulate under all circumstances, I would recommend that you do this verbatim. There are bound to be questions that you have not prepared for, and if you have just supplied a series of concise and fluent responses, it is absolutely fine to take your time thinking about the answer to these questions or even saying that you do not know the answer. You obviously cannot do this for every possible question, but at a minimum you should always have a slick answer ready for the following.
Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
This is a gruesome question, but people still ask it. There is no right answer here, you just need to know what you are going to say.
Why do you want this job?
This is where all your hard work deciding if you want the job comes in handy. You should explain why you want the job, even if the interviewer does not ask you. This is your opportunity to stroke the egos of the interviewers. For example, someone recently appointed to a training post in my local hospital told the interviewers that the reason she wanted the job was that she had spoken to lots of trainees who had been through the department and they had all said what a great place it was to work.
What would you bring to the job?
This question translates as, "How are you going to make my life better?" It is your opportunity to describe how you will solve the interviewer's problems, how you are going to improve their working life, and even perhaps how you are going to make them look better.
Imagine this scenario. You are the head of a busy medical unit and you are interviewing for a new senior house officer. You ask this question and the interviewee tells you a list of their assets, which include: being competent at practical procedures (you have just worked for six months with a doctor who did not know one end of a catheter from another); being flexible (you have constant problems getting juniors to cover each other's duties); having a good track record in clinical audit (thank goodness you will not have to explain all that again)--they know what an integrated clinical pathway is (maybe they could explain it to you).
The only question likely to come to mind is, "When can you start?"
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This is a favourite. The only thing people hate talking about more than their weaknesses are their strengths. But this is your great chance to blow your own trumpet and to allay any fears that the interviewer might have about your deficiencies. It is fine to have a weakness if you know about it and you know what to do about it.
Remember that your weaknesses are often the flip side of your strengths. So if you are a willing and flexible colleague, it may be that you have trouble saying no and consequently occasionally become overwhelmed. If you are a creative person who has lots of ideas, you may not be so good at their practical implementation. When considering your strengths and weaknesses it can be helpful to ask yourself, "If I were working in a team, what qualities and strengths would I look for in my colleagues to complement my own?"
Do you have any questions you would like to ask?
If you have done your homework then you probably will not need to ask anything here, and it is fine not to. However, you will be given the floor at this point, so this is the time to get in anything that you would like to say but have not had the chance. So, for example, "I don't think I do have any questions at this point, but I would like to take the opportunity of saying..."
Other questions
There will be other questions that you will want to prepare for--some specific to your specialty and some specific to you. If you have taken an unorthodox route, either before or since you became a doctor, you will need to have an excellent answer prepared explaining why this is not a problem but an asset.
Anita Houghton freelance careers counsellor and coach, London
Email: Anita.Houghton@btopenworld.com
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