I have gone through the process of Consultant interviews in Dentistry a few times and it is probably one of the most daunting interviews you can have... so here's just a few tips if you're going through the process.
1. Read the Personal Specification
Every Consultant job is different, so read all the information in the job advert, in particular the personal specification as that will lay out what is wanted from an applicant and what the post entails.
This would also usually include a sample job plan, which will give you more information of what a week of working in that post looks like so that you can work out if that works for you e.g. if you are looking to do a particular activity such as theatre time, then you can see if that post includes that as part of the job plan.
Use this as a crib sheet to see if you firstly fit the criteria to apply in the first place, secondly to tailor your application to hit what they want and hopefully ultimately, guide you in preparation for an interview.
2. Speak to other Consultants for Advice
If you know other Consultants, I am sure they would be happy for you to contact them to ask for advice and preparation tips. Particularly if they work or have worked in the service you are applying to!
I would ask for any advice in preparation for the interview and also to get an idea of what it is like to work within that service if they already work in that service. They will give you pointers to help you prep, for example if they know that there is a hot topic going on in that service at the moment.
3. Reach out to the Panel
A very traditional interview will expect you to reach out to each panel member and meet them before the interview - think of it as a series of mini informal interviews before the real thing!
When someone first explained this to me, I didn't think they were serious... surely you're being interviewed by the panel at the time they've given you, why do you need to them also contact each panel member and seek them out before as well?! But many services are expecting this, particularly if you are new to the service and haven't met them before. I think the idea is that the panel can get to know who you are outside of the interview, to see how keen you are about the post itself as well as give you an opportunity to work out how you'd fit within the service.
I have had 3 Consultant interviews and this part was very different for each. One I did meet everyone via Teams, over the phone or in person before the interview, another I had already worked in the service so only met with people I didn't know on the panel and the other I wasn't even told who would be on the panel and therefore didn't meet anyone beforehand.
Panel members tend to be a large number of people compared to interviews you might have had in the past; I've had about 6-8 members on each interview I've had! That's a lot of people to meet beforehand! Some people might also ask you to send or bring your CV with you to a meeting. Panel members tend to be as follows, depending on the service:
- Clinical Lead of the department
- Clinical Director of the service
- External Royal College representative
- Service or Operations manager
- Chief Executive or other senior manager within the trust (often outside of Dental)
- Academic representative (particularly if the post you are applying for has a close relationship with a dental school)
- Other Consultants currently working in the department
- Senior Nurse or Nursing Manager
4. Go on a Preparation Course
As with many application processes within healthcare, there are courses to help you prepare for a Consultant interview. I think all I have come across are general Medical/Dental courses rather than specific to dentistry, but from what I have heard from people who have been on them, they have found them very helpful.
Going on a course isn't for everyone, but it can be a great way to simulate the process as well as learning more about what is expected of being an NHS Consultant. The best way to find local courses in your area is to contact Health Education England Professional Support Unit, or even find courses your local deanery might run co-hosted by NHS trusts.
5. Read about the Trust and its Values
Just like other job interviews, I would highly recommend doing some reading about the trust you are applying to work at and its values. There is often a question within the interview about how you demonstrate those values as an individual; how would you be able to answer this if you didn't know what the values are?!
You might also be able to glean information about what is going on in the trust at the moment, for example, are they developing certain services you can get involved in, do they have certain programmes or initiatives that you are interested in, do they have problems that you can show you can help with? If you are able to bring examples into your answers that show you know the trust and what is going on, this shows you've done your homework and understand what it is like to work there.
6. Prepare to present, if needed
Some interviews ask you to prepare a presentation as part of the interview format. Format of Consultant interviews again can vary but can include:
- A presentation on a topic (either oral or PowerPoint), and topics are usually something about the issues facing the speciality or location you are working in, or plans for the future
- A traditional question and answer interview with questions. The themes of the questions typically follow the roles of the people of the panel, for example:
- Clinical situations e.g. what would you do if a patient presented with x, y, z
- Questions about yourself and your motivations e.g. why do you want this job
- Assessment of your communication - this can be a specific question or just a general assessment of how you answer questions
- Academic questions e.g. experience in teaching, research etc
- Management questions e.g. tell me about experience in management and leadership, what would you do if x, y, z, clinical governance based questions
- An equality, diversity and inclusion question or something about the Trust values
So if you are asked to prepare a presentation, carefully use the guidance they give you to prepare something and practice!
7. Visit the Department
If you haven't worked in the department that you are applying for, I'd highly recommend going to visit the service so that you meet everyone in the department and see where you'll be expected to work.
Even if you have worked there, but haven't worked there in a while, it might be worth arranging a visit to touch base with the team and show your enthusiasm for the role.
When I applied for the role I currently hold, I was actually on maternity leave. Thankfully the team were very open to me visiting with my baby at the time, which made me feel like that was definitely a place I wanted to work because of how accommodating and friendly they were when I visited.
8. Book a coaching session with me!
Navigating this process is not easy! If you are looking for more one on one support, I do offer one on one coaching over Teams, so if you'd like some assistance in preparation please contact me.
Good luck with your interview! If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below, or get in touch.
