All of our current job vacancies are available via NHS Jobs. Unfortunately we do not accept CVs. Here are some general hints and tips to assist you with the recruitment process at West Midlands Ambulance Service;
Applying for a role on NHS Jobs:
- Read the advert, job description (JD) and person specification (PS) to ensure that this is the right role for you and that you meet the relevant entry criteria:
- Do you understand the role that you are applying for, its base location, the hours of work and the experience / qualifications required?
- Complete the application form in FULL, we do not accept CV’s and therefore each section of the application must be completed.
- Check what experience and qualifications are required for the post and ensure that they are clearly noted within your application:
- For example: If the role requires 5 GCSEs grade A-C and experience within a public sector environment then you MUST list your GCSEs and your employment which provides this experience. You may of course add in additional higher qualifications that you hold but those required by the post must be included
- List your qualifications clearly, including the name of the qualification, its subject, the year you completed the course and the grade you achieved. You MUST be able to show evidence of these qualfications as part of the assessment process.
- Save each section of the application as you complete it:
- The NHS Jobs application can be time consuming to complete and to avoid losing any of your work, click the SAVE option after completing each part of the application.
- The new NHS Jobs platform does not have the functionality to save your application to be used again for another vacancy so we’d recommend that you save all of the information that you have inputted on a separate document for future use. Doing this will also help you to read more easily what you have written. When you are happy you can then copy and paste it into the application.
- Make sure you select email and telephone as communication preferences; otherwise you will not be prompted to provide your telephone number. We often call candidates if we don’t receive a response to our emails in case of any technology issues.
Preparing for assessment/interview:
- Begin your preparation early:
- At WMAS we often include the assessment and interview dates within the advert, make sure you know when we will be assessing applicants and that you are prepared and available on these dates.
- Do you know what the assessments / interview will include?
- Have you researched our organisation and able to talk about us in interview?
- Do you understand the Trust’s Vision & Values and able to demonstrate how you meet these?
- How will you meet the requirements of the role?
- Ensure you have original identification documents and qualification certificates to hand…if not get some ordered as you will need to produce these at assessment / interview.
- Are you interview ready? Some of you may feel apprehensive about taking part in assessments or attending for an interview but the first thing you need to try and do is to RELAX! Our teams are experienced in assessment techniques and will do their utmost to make you feel at ease but you may also find the following tips useful;
- Practice, practice and practice – ask a friend or family member to interview you to make you feel comfortable in this scenario…general questions such as ‘What skills do you have that you feel would benefit this role?’ ‘ What is your understanding of the role you have applied for?’ ‘What can you tell us about West Midlands Ambulance Service?’
- Have all of your documents ready in case you are invited to attend interview at short notice.
- Plan what you are going to wear which will make you feel most confident and also comfortable.
- Plan your journey and/or familarise yourself with the technology you will need to use if your interview is taking place remotely. The Trust uses MS Teams to conduct interviews online.
- Give yourself plenty of time before your assessment / interview commences to unwind and relax…this is the case whether you be attending in person or virtually.
- Be yourself!
General tips:
- If you need any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process then please contact us as early as possible so that we may discuss your requirements and ensure that everything is in place for your assessment / interview.
- Once you have applied for a vacancy, the recruitment process is then taken offline. This means that all communication will be sent directly from a member of the recruitment team to your preferred email address. Please check your inbox, junk mail and spam regularly so you don’t miss anything from us
- Always ask for feedback:
- We encourage applicants to request feedback if they are unsuccessful at any stage, this will assist you with future applications and help your general professional development. Feedback can be requested by emailing the Recruitment Team.
We are here for you…if you have any further questions or we can assist in any way then please contact the Recruitment Team.
We look forward to receiving your application, good luck!
WMAS Recruitment Team
Email: recruitment@wmas.nhs.uk
Telephone: 01384 989452
Twitter: @wmaslouisejones
