Presenting your le

skills in recruitment & selection

processes

Laura Mackenzie The Careers Group,

Careers Consultant University of London

Objectives

To help you to:

• gain an insight into the recruiter’s point of view

• recognise appropriate evidence of your (leadership) skills

and understand how to present this effectively in writing &

through interview

• Improve confidence with regard to interviews

The session today:

• Understanding the recruiter’s perspective

• Presenting yourself on paper - CVs and application forms

• Developing a professional portfolio

• Preparing for interviews

– Preparation tactics

– Typical questions

– Structuring answers

• Interview practice

(Medical) recruitment & selection

• Increasing move towards standardised recruitment and

selection processes (often competency based)

• Focus on demonstrating competence

• Like all recruitment selection, core principles:

– Can you do the job? – Competence & experience

– Will you do the job? – Motivation & attitude

– Will you fit in? – Interpersonal

The perspective of the recruiter

• Recruiting is expensive and time consuming

• It is costly not to get it right

• Recruiting is never an exact science

• Recruiters are looking for tangible evidence and (at interview)

a sense of rapport

• Understanding what a recruiter wants to know can provide a

framework for presenting your evidence …

You’re the recruiter:

• Discuss with partner and write down top 3 things you would

look for in an excellent consultant

• Then discuss how you would assess whether someone had

those skills through applications/interviews

Groundwork for all effective applications

• Understand what the recruiter wants

• Analyse the role requirements

• Prepare your evidence in advance

• Learn how to structure your evidence appropriately

Sample Person Spec: AFP • General Attributes:

– Understanding of patient as central focus of care

– Ability to prioritise

– Understanding of importance of working with others

– Ability to communicate effectively with colleagues & patients

– Initiative and ability to deal with pressure

– Commitment to learning & CPD

– Self awareness & insight into own limits

– Understanding of principles of equality and diversity

Leadership skills – presenting

your evidence

"The doctor's frequent role as head of the healthcare team and

commander of considerable clinical resource requires that greater

attention is paid to management and leadership skills regardless of

specialism. An acknowledgement of the leadership role of medicine is

increasingly evident. Role acknowledgement and aspiration to

enhanced roles be they in subspecialty practice, management and

leadership, education or research are likely to facilitate greater clinical

engagement"

Aspiring to Excellence, Prof John Tooke, 2008

“The responsibility we have for our patients gives all doctors, not just

those in designated leadership posts, a natural leadership role.”

P. Young (2011): Integrating Leadership into GP Training

Medical Leadership Competency

Framework

http://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/wp-

content/uploads/2012/11/NHSLeadership-Leadership-Framework-

Medical-Leadership-Competency-Framework-3rd-ed.pdf

The elements of the framework • Personal Qualities

– Self-awareness

– Self-management

– Self-development

– Acting with integrity

• Working with Others – Developing networks

– Encouraging contribution

– Working within teams

• Managing services – Planning

– Managing resources

– Managing people

– Managing performance

• Improving service – Ensuring patient safety

– Critically evaluating

– Encouraging innovation

– Facilitating transformation

• Setting Direction – Identifying contexts for change

– Applying knowledge & evidence

– Making decisions

– Evaluating impact

Behind the buzzwords

• Communication

• Organisation & planning

• Managing others

• Problem solving

• Interpersonal skills

• Decision making

• Leadership

• Conceptual thinking

• People skills

Example: good

communication skills?

Q. Provide an example of a time when you have used

communication skills effectively with a colleague.

“I always aim to communicate effectively with everyone I meet.

I’ve been told I’m a good communicator and have got lots of

positive feedback from patients. I would always communicate

positively with my team and anyone else I came into contact with.

One time a colleague was not happy at work and I spent time

helping them to feel more positive about things which they later

thanked me for”

The art of being specific

• Describe a specific incident (not several vague examples)

• Be explicit about what you did (not ‘what I always do is’)

• Stay focused – provide evidence and context

• Try the STAR technique …

STAR

• S ituation [concise description]

• T ask or target [what had to be achieved?]

• A ction [what did you actually DO?]

• R esult/reflection [what was the end result?]

[what did you learn?]

[Situation/task 15%, Action 70%, Outcome 15%]

Competency Question Example:

Describe a situation in which you demonstrated

leadership. What did you do and how did you

know you had been effective?

• Bullet point a STAR answer

• Share with a partner

Presenting your skills on paper:

CVs, application forms

& portfolios

Application forms

• Reader

– What is their focus?

• Content

– Relevance and priority

• Structure

– Readability

– Priority

– Logical flow

– Theme then evidence

Your medical CV

Constructing a medical CV Core Sections

• Personal details

• Career Statement

• Education and Qualifications

• Present position

• Career history (ensure that any

gaps in employment are

accounted for)

• Clinical skills and experience

• Management and leadership

experience

Refinements

• Development courses and

conferences

• Presentations

• Clinical audit

• Research experience/

Publications

• Teaching experience

• Interests

• Referees

Striking the right balance • e.g. Going for an elective: emphasise your experience so far to

highlight your:

– Adaptability and flexibility

– Resilience

– Clinical exposure so far

• e.g. Going for a consultant position: emphasise management skills

and experience

– Staff management

– Financial management

– Leadership potential

– Inter-agency liaison

– Vision

• Remember: a CV is not ‘you’ according to ‘you’

Specific & Succinct • Be Succinct:

– avoid long prose; bullets often best

• Be Specific:

– Avoid general statements of competence e.g -

– ‘Managed patients on an acute psychiatric ward’

• Think skills: that you developed in each previous job, and how these might

relate to the post advertised.

– e.g.

– Responsible for care of post-operative patients in the eight bed ITU

– Responsible for organisation of ward rotas

– Developed negotiation skills through liaison with local PCTs and secondary care

providers

– Responsible for inducting new members of staff into the department

Common pitfalls

• Irrelevant information

• Putting earliest experiences first

• Too much description

• Long prose paragraphs

• Poorly presented, unprofessional design

• Inconsistency of style or format

• Spelling or grammatical errors

Professional portfolios

Portfolios for Recruitment and Selection

• Suggested format:

– Lever arch file or similar

– Tabbed for easy reference

– Divided into relevant themes, e.g. ‘Publications’, ‘Audits’, ‘Non-academic

achievements’ etc

• Suggested Structure(s):

– You can structure your portfolio in different ways, such as:

– Following the key headings of your CV

– Using the core themes within the GMC's Good Medical Practice Guide

for Doctors

Presenting your skills at

Interview

Before the interview: preparation

General preparation tactics

• Review and re-read your application – any gaps or questions?

• Get to know your portfolio (if relevant)

• Think of evidence to Illustrate your abilities & motivation, and to

match the person specification

• Try to anticipate some questions

• Practise talking about your examples (coming up ...)

• Research where you want to be (the post, the research unit, the

trust etc)

Common types of Question

1. Motivation (& realism) ‘Why AFP? Why this UoA?’

2. Competency based ‘Give me an example of a time when ...’

3. Portfolio based ‘What does your portfolio say about you?’

4. Academic Research, teaching, etc

5. Future focussed ‘What do you want to achieve in the AFP?’

6. Self-reflective ‘What are your major strengths/weaknesses?’

Talking about your motivation

• Research What have you discovered about the (specialist)

training post? Trust? Training programme?

• Decisions What choices have you made regarding your

career so far and what rationale can you give?

• Behaviour What have you done relevant to the specialist

trainee role to indicate motivation?

• Interests What do you devote time to beyond and around

medicine?

Dealing with Competency Questions

• Competency Qs are used frequently in formal interviews

• An opportunity to demonstrate a required or desired behaviour

• Top tips:

– Describe a specific incident (not several vague examples)

– Be explicit about what you did (not ‘what I always do is’)

– Stay focused – provide evidence and context

– Try the STAR technique …

Tips from the AFP Trainees

Academic interview component:

• Be prepared to summarise/critique your abstract or journal extract:

– Try books such as How to read a paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine. T.

Greenhalgh.

– Practice summarising an abstract succinctly to others and getting their feedback

– Practise critiquing papers, looking at (e.g.) methodology,

• Be prepared to talk about a research paper that you have found

interesting or consider to be important

– Try Faculty of 1000 – a post-publication review of biomedical literature by leading

faculty across the world, with rankings of important papers: http://f1000.com/rankings

• If applying to a UoA where you get to choose your research, think about

potential supervisors!

– One candidate was asked who they’d like to have as their supervisor from the

university's faculty list.

Tips from AFP trainees cont’d

Clinical interview component: • Brush up your acute medicine knowledge to be able to talk

confidently

– Try The Oxford Handbook or similar

General advice: • Beware of the bell! – Many interviewers use a bell to signal the end

of the interview

• Try to include specific examples from your own experience

whenever talking about general points

Practicalities

Take care of the basics:

• Don’t be distracted by practical details ...

• Journey time – allow for problems, dry run

• Telephone numbers – in case of delays

• Look smart, feel comfortable

• Emergency supplies – spare tights/tie

Presenting your skills at

Interview

During the interview: performance

Performance Tactics Impact

• Make eye contact with all of the panel members

• Smile when appropriate!

• Be confident and concise with your answers (no ‘probably’s, ‘sort-of’s’ and

‘might do’s’!)

Focus & preparation

• Stay focused on the job in hand and slow down

• Give yourself thinking time - Repeat Q / Ask “can I have a minute to think?”

• Think of the ‘key features’ of your answer before you talk

• Seek clarification - “Are you looking for an example of...?”

• Ask for feedback - “Is this example what you were looking for?”

Performance tactics cont’d

Structure

• Try to structure your answers with a clear beginning/summary at the end

• Focus on your actions/skills/behaviours rather than general descriptions

• Try STAR

• Summarise your answer & come to a definite end.

In difficulty?

• Stuck? - vocalise what is going on and ask for time to think / or for help

• When in a hole, stop digging!

– “Sorry, I’ve got a bit lost. May I start again?”

Your chance to Practice

• Work in groups of five

• All take turns as interviewee and interviewers

• Set yourselves up as a panel facing your interviewee

• Take it in turns to ask a question of your interviewee

• Be prepared to provide constructive feedback around:

– Structure of answers

– Length of answers

– Eye contact and body language

– Evidence of motivation

After the Interview …

• Review your performance – What went well?

– What could have gone better?

– Do you know?

• Feedback from selectors?

• Make a note of comments – “I could have approached that

question this way …”

– “Next time try to mention …”

Interview Record Trust:

Int. date:

Interviewers’s names/positions:

What happens next?:

What went well?:

What additional preparation would

have been useful?:

Any difficult questions?:

How might I approach these?:

How was my presentation/style?:

General comments:

Summary • Preparation:

– Focus on what is required for the role

– Match your evidence & identify specific examples

– Think carefully about your motivation

– Practice answering questions (without ‘rehearsing’)

• On paper: – Be succinct and specific in answers & on CVs

– Tailor CVs to the role and audience

– Think about relevance

• At interview – Be yourself & be honest

– Provide specific and succinct examples as evidence

– Be prepared to refelct on experiences and talk about weakness as well as

strength

Thank you.

Any questions?

The Careers Group believes that all

information provided in this publication

is correct at the time of publication.

© The Careers Group, University of London. 25 May 2013.