- Arrive a few minutes early so you have time to compose yourself and can enter your interview confidently
- Smile! It suggests confidence
- Maintain eye contact with your interviewers. If there is one more than interviewer on the panel, make eye contact with the interviewer who has asked the question and glance at others as you reply
- Listen to the questions and if necessary, pause for a few seconds to think about the structure of your answer. Structure your answers with 3 or 4 main points.
- Answer all questions in full avoiding ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers – providing examples of how you meet the person specification. Remember to use ‘I’ rather than ‘we’.
- Don’t worry if you get stuck at any point in the interview, ask if you don’t understand a question or ask if you can leave the question and return to it at the end of the interview
- Try to adopt an open, honest and confident attitude – getting your good points across.
- Ask any relevant questions at the end of your interview, to gain a greater insight into the post and NHS Tayside.
Competency based questions are focused on actual experiences and are specific questions that require you to share examples of past experiences.
A competency-based question allows the interviewer to gain a greater understanding of your actions in that situation, what you actually thought and felt. Detail the situation, task, action and result in your answer.