When we are job applicants, we should ideally be aligned to the organisation’s objectives
in this task. If we want to prove we are not only suitable for the post in question but a
better choice than the other candidates, then we should want to enable the exploration of
our skills, experiences and ambitions. You could say the more detailed, the better. This
can, however, prove to be more than a little uncomfortable at times - particularly so when
areas where we feel less confident are being explored.
Between the organisation and the applicants sit the interviewers. They are the human
face of the organisation who are tasked with establishing the relative suitability of each
candidate for the role. To achieve this, they must conduct their assessments in a fair
and consistent manner. Gaining consistency between individuals on subjective matters
is always a challenge.
The terminology of ST and CT Medical Interview would suggest a single activity, such as
a one-hour interrogation of each candidate. In reality, the face-to-face stages of the job
allocation process vary from one programme to another. Some ST3 or ST4 roles do
utilise the 1-hour panel interview for recruitment. But most run-through ST programmes
and the CT programmes use multi-station interactive assessment centres. The intention
is to achieve the levels of rigour, consistency and fairness desired by all stakeholders
and uniting their complementing objectives.
1.02 The aim of this book
Some candidates attending our regular ST & CT Medical Interview Courses want us to
tell them exactly what to say and how to behave. However, the aim of the selection
process is to find out about you as an individual. Responding to your assessor’s
questions with stock answers would mean that they find out very little about you. In
theory, it would be impossible to differentiate the grading of two people providing the
same stock answer. The interviewer’s role would become impossible if multiple people
offered identical responses.
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