Top tips for hiring managers

MariaPCC 20 September 2023

Interviewing within the NHS is a rewarding responsibility. As a hiring manager, you play a vital role in creating and shaping the future of the NHS. The increased pressure to fill vacant positions has never been greater. Finding qualified candidates who not only meet the vacancy’s requirements but also the ethos of the NHS is becoming increasingly challenging. The NHS currently has in excess of 20,000 job vacancies (NHS jobs) As a hiring manager your commitment to selecting the best candidates is a testament to achieving excellence and patient centred care.

My top five suggestions for hiring the best applicant have been put together to help create a positive candidate experience.

Tip 1: Create exciting job descriptions
Writing an appealing and comprehensive job description is essential to attracting suitable candidates. Try to involve colleagues who are currently performing the role in the creation of the job description – they are likely to have some great contributions and will appreciate the opportunity to be involved.

Tip 2: Consider the NHS values
Before starting the interview process, familiarise yourself with the NHS values. Working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving lives and everyone counts. These values can help guide your approach to interviewing and help you identify candidates who share a real commitment to improving patient outcomes.

Tip 3: Consider the right fit
The significance of cultural fit requires considerable thought. Asking the right questions allows you to truly understand how a candidate will fit into the current culture within your team. The use of competency-based questions is a way of achieving those results.

Tip 4: Create a supportive interview experience
Providing a positive and supportive interview experience reflects the NHS values and sets an optimistic tone. Give candidates information about the department and how they can contribute as well as allowing them to ask questions so they leave the interview feeling valued and informed.

Tip 5: Sleep on it
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by candidates’ responses when conducting multiple interviews in a short period of time. Try not to make any decisions until you have had the opportunity to thoroughly review and reflect on each candidates’ responses.

Interviewing as a hiring manager is one of PCC’s workshops. This virtual workshop is being delivered on 23 November. If you want to improve your interviewing skills, why not register today. See our event calendar for more details.

Barrie Sample, Personal and team development trainer, PCC.

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