Your recruitment journey

footprints in the sand representing a journey

As a recruitment team, we want this to be a smooth process for you so we are here to help every step of the way. We provide great customer service and a friendly attitude. We want you to have the best start to your career, here at NSFT.

Everyone has a role to play in delivering outstanding care to our service users.

What makes a great job application?

Values icons, positively, respectfully, together

We're not just looking for people with the right skills and qualifications to join our teams, we are looking for people who believe and live our values of positively, respectfully and together, so tell us what they mean to you.

Take time on your application, and remember the person receiving your application does not know you so you will need to tell them all the reasons why you are the best person for this role.

Read the job description and make sure you use your supporting statement to link your experience to the essential criteria and spell out the reason why your skills and experience match the job.

Think about the reasons this role is required in the Trust and the positive impact it can have on service users; how you could contribute to this.

I’ve been invited to an interview, what can I expect?

You can expect a warm welcome and to be interviewed by members of the team the role will be in.

Many of our interview panels also include service users and representatives from our staff networks. 

You will be asked a combination of values-based questions and competency-based questions and the interview panel will be looking for you to demonstrate that you have the skills to do the role but also that you uphold the values of our Trust.

Do your research, understand the role you are interviewing for. You may even like to contact the team before the interview to talk through the role and what to expect if you were successful in the role.

Be yourself and give honest answers to our questions

Good luck!

I’ve got the job, what happens now?

Once you have been successful at your interview, you will be sent a conditional offer letter which includes your pre-employment checks. These are an essential part of the process to ensure that we continue to keep our services users safe and will be explained to you by your recruitment officer, who will help guide you through the whole process.

Once you have completed all your checks, you will be invited to book a place on our induction, which will be your start date with the Trust. Once you have agreed a date with your manager and recruitment officer, you will be sent your contract of employment and all of the information you need regarding induction and what to expect.

Once received and you have started in post, you will be part of the fantastic NSFT family!

 

Values Based Recruitment (VBR)

Our values — Working together for better mental health

What is Values Based Recruitment?

Values Based Recruitment (VBR) is an approach in which we assess and select employees by ensuring the behaviours fit with our values.

Our questions have been co-created between service users and carers, managers, safeguarding and recruitment/HR.

Why we use Values Based Recruitment

We want to ensure that our workforce has values which match those of the Trust as we believe this will support the delivery of excellent patient care. 

VBR forms part of our wider plan to embed our values into everything we do. We want our staff to live our values every day. 

What is the format of the interview and how can you prepare?

You may find it helpful to look at our values and think about ways in which you might demonstrate these during the assessment. They all have key behaviour statements of  what we ‘will’ and ‘will not’ do.

You should also familiarise yourself with the job description and the set of behaviours relevant to the role. These can be found on our website work for us pages. (add link)

The interview will include:

  • Opening questions
  • Values section
  • Technical / competency section. This include a presentation or an in-tray assessment.
  • Closing questions, to include a question based on the application form and supporting statement, as well as mandatory administration questions

How will your performance be evaluated?

Each element of the assessment will be reviewed by the panel members who have been trained to use values and behaviours, enabling them to make objective, fair and accurate evaluations.

Types of questions, assessments and exercises:

Values Based Questions: These allow you to demonstrate your values and behaviours and how you approach different situations. They can assesses whether you can demonstrate that your values meet with those of our Trust.

In-tray exercise: This is typically used for administration jobs and simulates some of the planning and administrative aspects of the role. You may be asked to deal with tasks within a specified time frame, including typing a letter or working on an Excel spreadsheet.

Presentation exercise: This is mostly used for leadership roles. You will be given a brief prior to the interview and be asked to prepare a short presentation for the interview panel. This will give you the opportunity to show your ability to assimilate information, present data and ideas, as well as your presentation and interaction skills.

Competency-based questions: The interviewer will ask you to describe a situation which demonstrates your abilities and skills that are integral to the role that you have applied for. Examples of competencies are:

  • Organisational ability
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Problem solving
  • Judgement
  • Teamwork
  • Innovative thinking

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