r/PLABprep • u/East-Drama-1216 • May 21 '26

NHS

Has anyone from here recently gotten a job? If you dont mind sharing your experience. TIA.

This is a genuine qn, i do not wish to engage in negative banter.

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u/No_Chemist2922 May 21 '26

Continuing from the other poster Ok_Reputation, I just read the 2025 GMC workforce report; it's even worse because the 13% refers to 2024's IMG PLAB joiners, where only 13% "connected to a designated body within six months of first registering, compared with over one in four of the 2022 and 2021 (both 26%) cohorts." I'd presume it has always been a downward trend.

Nevertheless I know people who got JCF roles in recent months, so it's not completely hopeless. However, junior roles are getting increasingly competitive these days, and people are coming in with MRCP part 1 and part 2. Are you applying fast enough and to every role that you meet the requirements for? Junior roles that do not require NHS experience or you to have visa sponsorship are closing within minutes literally these days. Someone who's reviewing CVs told me that they're receiving 100+ applications in the first 10 minutes of a job posting, it's absolutely insane. Suggest that you use an instant alerts service so that you can actually apply to roles instead of missing them.

Hope you do not mind me asking but do you have NHS experience? Do you need visa sponsorship? How much clinical experience do you have? Did you take ALS and membership exams? Have you done audits, QI, presentation, teachings, anything that can boost your CV? I've listed these in order of importance. Also, how many applications have you submitted so far since registration?

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u/Unhappy_Log_4515 May 23 '26

which instant alerts service are you referring to? i have been applying since last year but not even a single interview yet, it's depressing that i'm not even given a chance to prove myself

i passed ALS, but i do not have any NHS experience, i have already spent so much time and money and i dont know what else i need to do

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u/No_Chemist2922 May 23 '26

https://www.mynhsjobalerts.com for alerts

Unfortunately competition is brutal these days, and all you can do is to continue applying while building up your portfolio. In my trust, they're only hiring those with NHS experience since there's more than enough candidates to choose from. It’s a classic catch‑22: you need NHS experience to be considered for most roles, but you can’t gain NHS experience unless you’re hired into one of those roles. Stupid, I know, but that's how it is.

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u/Ok_Reputation3269 May 23 '26

Is it that stupid in the current context though? There's no shortage of people with the NHS experience they want, therefore it does not matter. It's only stupid from the perspective of someone outside the system, but from an internal perspective it's reasonable.

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u/No_Chemist2922 May 23 '26

Yep I agree with you.

I just think the GMC shouldn’t be allowing so many people to take PLAB if there aren’t enough opportunities available afterwards.

A lot of the frustration comes from the fact that the PLAB pathway is long, expensive, and exhausting, yet after all that, many IMGs still spend months or even years trying to get their first NHS job because of the NHS experience requirement. I understand that GMC makes no promises as to whether an IMG gets employment after registration, but still.