The Interview

On the day of the Interview

So you have prepared as much as you can for your interview, and now it's finally here! The first thing you do is smile 😊. Try not to be nervous (although you might be). Greet your interviewers and introduce yourself (briefly) ‘Hi, I’m Debbie, nice to meet you’.

Experienced interviewers can tell how nervous you are just by reading your body language. Don’t worry, they won't bite. Infact, they will make you feel welcomed & comfortable. And they always provide you with a glass of water!

The interviewers will introduce themselves, and give you a brief description of the workplace & the role that you will be interviewing for. The interview panel normally consists of 2-3 interviewers. You can be asked 10 -12 questions, and each interviewer takes turns.

The more questions they ask you, the better. They want to know what you know and don't. If you don't know the answer, tell them straight away. Do not beat around the bush- if you do this, you are wasting their time

Key Points

• Do not brag
• Do not over/undersell yourself
• Do not assume the interviewer can read your mind (tell them)
• Do not be overconfident
• Do not deviate from the question

Do not assume that the interviewer knows what you have accomplished. Yes, they read your application, but they have also read 50 other applications in the past week. They do not remember what yours was about. You have to tell them your accomplishments and experience in detail.

Do not assume that the interview knows about your work experience. Imagine your interviewer knows nothing about you, and tell them everything that is relevant to your job role.

It is okay to ask your interviewer to repeat the question for clarity, you can also ask them additional questions.

If you have forgotten something in your answer and wish to add something to it, or have answered incorrectly and wish to you rectify it, you can do so at the end of the interview (your interviewer will give you these instructions at the start of the interview).

Types of Interview

Each Interview panel conducts interviews differently.

The different scenarios you might face are:

• Cases studies - Use clinical reasoning to answer questions for your case study questions. Do not make up your own answers!
• Skills test - They can test you on your special tests or treatment techniques. It could be any joint or any condition. You could be asked to demonstrate on the interviewer or a model.
• Group session - You could be divided into groups with other candidates to discuss case studies and give a mini-presentation (5 minutes) to discuss your findings. This form of interview technique is done to assess your interpersonal and team working skills. It is important to express your opinions and give input to the team as well as to listen carefully to the others. You should try to strike a balance between not being too quiet and also not being too assertive.

You could face one or a combination of the above.

Point based system for interview process

You interviewers make notes throughout the interview. Don’t worry if there are moments of silence, or if they keep looking down at a piece of paper, this is normal.

Each question that you have been asked has a score, usually on a scale of 0-5 points. Your interviewer will mark you accordingly.

All the notes and answers are analysed, and a score is provided by each individual interviewer. Your scores for each question are then compared by the interviewers to avoid bias. All the scores for each question are then added up, and a final score is written beside your name.

Your interviewers do this for all applicants and then compare the final scores.

The candidate with the highest score is offered the job. The candidate with the second highest score is also offered the job, as a ‘backup’ in case the first candidate declines the job for any reason.

End of the Interview

Now, this your turn to ask the interviewers any questions you like. You can ask them about the different services they run, the workplace team, working hours, accommodation, travel. . Anything that you can think of. The more questions you ask, the better. This shows that you are very much interested in the job!

At the end of the interview, it's OK to try to get to know a bit more about the interviewer(s). At this stage you can try to engage in a friendly conversation. Don't be afraid to show your personality.

Here are some example questions you could ask:

• Ask the interviewer: "What's your background / speciality?".
• What are the different services you provide?
• Who will I be working with?
• Do you provide any training or CPD opportunities?
• What are the opportunities for progression?

At the end of the interview they typically ask if you have any holidays booked. This is normal in the UK and if you have a holiday booked, they won't hold it against you. They want to know this so that they can plan their schedules.

They will scan your documents (passport, etc.). This is normal procedure for every candidate.

Hopefully this helped. Don’t worry if you do not get offered the job. Learn from your mistakes and keep going, do not give up!

Physio Career - Job Applications & Interviews by Deborah Dias