Interviews

Preparing for your interview

Interview booking

You will need to book an interview slot using your Oriel account. Slots are offered on a first come first served basis subject to availability and will need to be booked by the deadline stated in the invitation to interview. Further information on how to book an interview slot can be found in Oriel Applicant User Guide.

There is an Applicant Declaration which you must agree with and adhere to in order to sit an online interview. The Declaration also contains a list of steps you must undertake before the day of interview.

Interview format

Before you take part in an on-line interview, it is very important that you have completed all of the preparatory steps (see above). Interview panels will usually consist of two panellists and the interview will focus on exploring aspects of the responses that you provided to the questions contained in the application form as well as exploring commitment to specialty.

Your entire interview time is 30 minutes. This 30 minutes is divided up into 2 components: there will be a face-to-face interview time of 20 minutes with 2 panel members via Qpercom; the remainder of the time will involve the panel cross referencing your submitted application to complete scoring. During the clinician interview, you will be asked questions relating to your application and commitment to specialty. Take this opportunity to ensure all the relevant components of your application are covered in the responses you make.

An NHS England administrator will be in the room to manage timing and any IT issues, there may be a lay representative or quality assurer in the interview room but their role is not to assess you. The role of the lay representative/quality assurer is to assist in the quality assurance of the interview process.

Scoring

The MSRA score will be combined with the online interview scores to produce a total score and final rank. The MSRA will be weighted 40% and the interview score 60% of the total score. Please note that the final score will involve scaling of the scores.

Online interview

You will need to book an interview slot using your Oriel account. Slots are offered on a first come first served basis and will need to be booked by the deadline stated in the invitation to interview. Further information on how to book an interview slot can be found in Oriel Applicant User Guide. 

All interviews will be undertaken online using Qpercom video platform between 29 February to 11 March 2024. The time indicated to you via Oriel is the time you attend the document checking process, please do not try to access the link earlier. You may need to wait in a virtual lobby until the administrator admits you. 

Interviews will be undertaken through Qpercom video platform using in-built interview stations with integrated scoring, a new system being piloted by the recruitment team to provide a positive interview experience for applicants. You will need to register on the system when prompted by the recruitment team. 

You can register by clicking on the initial login/forgotten password. As soon as the interview has been made available by the recruiter, you should see ACCS EM Interviews appear on the main page and click the green button. You will be taken to a diagnostics tool to ensure you meet the connectivity and other requirements. 

You should ensure you test this from the device you plan to use for your interviews as you may need to source an alternative device to ensure connectivity. If you are unable to connect, you should contact the recruitment team at the earliest opportunity. Once you have passed the diagnostics tool, it will take you back into the waiting area, where you will be met by a member of the admin team on the day of interviews.   

On the day of the interview, you should login and click ‘choose’ 10 minutes prior to your allocated time. You will be kept in the waiting area where a member of the recruitment team will meet them to perform identity (ID) checks. Once this is completed, you will be advised of your interview stations.  

You should ensure that your camera and microphone are turned on and working correctly prior to joining the call.  Interviews will be terminated where the panel cannot see you.   

Before the interview commences, you will be briefed on the interview process and will be required to confirm your identity with the interview administrator.  It is therefore important that you have suitable photographic ID available (passport or UK photo driving licence).  In addition, you will be required to move your camera to show the entire room where you are undertaking the interview, to confirm that nobody else is present.   

Once identity has been confirmed, the administrator will advise the interview panel that the interview process can commence. The interview must not be recorded by either the applicant, the administrator, or the panel members.   

On completion of the interview, you should terminate your connection to the call and the interview process is complete.

On the interview day troubleshooting

Should you encounter a problem moving from the doc check room to the interview room, and you find yourself in a room without being told you are waiting in the lobby, please return to your doc checking room for further support.

Booking an interview with approved reasonable adjustments

For any candidates with approved adjustments you will receive an email from the recruitment team by the 12 February 2024 with a link to the Event Management System (EMS) to book your preferred interview slot. Please note that Oriel will send you reminders to book your interview, as you are using a different system to book your interview, please ignore Oriel’s reminders. Once the booking window has closed your interview time will be booked on Oriel by an administrator and you will be able to see this.