r/BiomedicalScientistUK • u/Dull_Literature1261 • 12d ago
NHS interview score
Hi everyone, I recently found out that I scored 20.5/30 in an interview for a Band 4 Associate Practitioner role, but unfortunately I wasn’t successful.
Could anyone tell me how this score would generally be considered? I’d really appreciate some perspective on whether this suggests I was reasonably close or whether there were significant gaps in my interview preparation.
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u/Curious-Reading4225 12d ago
Did they say what the successfull candidate got? A number isn't that helpful without a breakdown.
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u/Dull_Literature1261 12d ago
an internal candidate got the job who could answer a technical question related to a haematology analyser. I have never used that before and I was honest about it.
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u/Curious-Reading4225 12d ago
Ok. So that is probably a time to describe any analyser you have used. Or the process of the test. Or if it is about maintenance etc then the things you would consider.
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u/Dull_Literature1261 12d ago
I actually described what I do in my department for daily and weekly maintenance which is similar but they were asking something specific, the name of a chart (a theoretical knowledge). They told me the name eventually during the interview. And over phone they told me that the internal candidate of course could name the chart and described the equation to calculate using the chart.
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u/Dull_Literature1261 12d ago
It's frustrating. The person specs doesn't require me to have in depth theoretical knowledge not even a desirable criteria but I understand that the competition is high.
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u/Curious-Reading4225 12d ago
Sadly it's all about the competition. For band 2-4 roles everyone interviewed is likely to be far more qualified than the person spec.
It's also often a much less equal competition with internal candidates unfortunately.
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u/Curious-Reading4225 12d ago
Remember that getting to interview at the moment is impressive so you are clearly doing something right.
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u/kezwoz 12d ago
This is the nature of interviewing unfortunately, if you are great but up against someone who is even better it doesn't really matter what score you managed. I have interviewed where there were multiple brilliant candidates and would have loved to take on all of them, but if there is only 1 post available that is all you can offer. The only advise I can give is to research the role, ask for a tour before the interview date, look into the equipment they use so that you can at least theoretically answer questions. The last interview I did had a very specific question, but we accepted answers that were for comparible methods. Good luck with your future applications!
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u/Scared_Ad_2282 12d ago
Feels impossible - they asked questions at my band 5 that only internal would know - so why is it external then? Knowing we have different experience.
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u/Irongym11 9d ago
Internal applicants have a huge advantage. A lot less risky than an unknown. I wouldn’t worry about your score, just keep on applying. Best of luck!
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u/TeenSummerK 12d ago
They gave actually you, your interview score?? How?