Follow proven recommendations and tips from Graduates First, a team of organisational psychologists and recruiters, to pass the recruitment process for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme and get your job with NHS first time.
The text below provides a full candidate recruitment, assessment and preparation guide and practice for those applying to jobs, internships and graduate programs at the NHS.
Our website provides scientifically validated practice assessments tests, interviews and assessment centre exercises that can be used to practice and prepare for the recruitment and assessment process.
Check here for Free and Premium aptitude assessment tests and video interviews to practice and prepare for NHS recruitment.
If you are aiming to apply to the NHS or have an NHS assessment test coming up, our text below is the best place to start.
Not sure if you should practice to prepare for the NHS assessments? According to research, 60-80% of candidates are rejected based on their aptitude tests results. It is proven that practice increases your chances of getting hired.
A recent study (Bradley et al, 2019) found that candidates who do not practise assessments, tend to fail at the first hurdle of psychometric assessments (54%-84%). This study looked at the Top 100 global employers.
In a nutshell:
How to prepare for NHS assessment tests and get the job?
The NHS uses a variety of aptitude assessment tests. These may include:
You may get rejected already after your numerical and/or situational judgement tests. These tests sift out 50-80% candidates. The only proven way to get to the next round is practice.
The NHS makes use of a variety of competitive exercises during the assessment center to find the right candidates. Ensure that you practice a variety of exercises including:
Hone your written and spoken communication technique. Research online, prepare and practice for as many role play case studies as possible.
Be aware; not many get to this stage. The competition is very fierce.
Prepare for your one-on-one interview with a senior manager. Expect and practice for behavioural and competency-based questions. Aim to stand out. They have interviewed dozens or hundreds of candidates at this final stage.
Refine your technique for your final NHS interview to showcase your:
For your final interview, use the video interview platform and record yourself answering the interview questions using the STAR method.
Continue reading to get answers to these critical questions:
Looking into assessments with NHS, simply use your fingertips to click in the table below to practice assessments relevant to your assessment process!
If you decide to apply for NHS, you can practice online aptitude tests with us to improve your results and get scores above their threshold.
The National Health Service, commonly abbreviated to NHS, is the publicly funded national healthcare system – one of the four National Health Services of the United Kingdom. It is the largest single-payer healthcare system in the world with a number of employees totaling over 1.4 million. The NHS offers various career opportunities for graduates and professionals, often attracting thousands of applications each year.
This part of the recruitment process is your first chance to set a good impression and stand out from your competition. The online form will ask you to provide details of your education and any academic results, work experience and may include some motivational questions, depending on the business area you apply to.
Throughout your application try to refer as much as possible to some key competencies and skills that the NHS recruiters will be looking for. These can include the ability to:
You should also highlight your key skills that might be useful in this role, such as numerical ability, good communication skills, etc.
Apply as early as possible, as applications are often reviewed on a rolling basis. This way you increase your chances of progressing through to the next stage of the recruitment process.
It is very likely that this stage will also include some motivational questions, such as:
The online aptitude tests may include NHS’:
NHS’ Situational Judgement Test will provide you with a number of scenarios that you are likely to encounter when working for the NHS; it will require you to identify the best and worst courses of actions. You will need to use your common sense, and appreciation of what it takes to excel in a professional environment, to give satisfactory responses.
NHS’ Situational Judgement Test is written in a way that makes all answers seem desirable. Always bear in mind which response is the most practical and demonstrates the key characteristics of an ideal candidate.
Remember: You will only need around 30 minutes to complete this test.
For more hints on how to pass a situational judgement test, visit our YouTube channel
NHS-style Situational Judgement Test Example
Learn more about Situational Judgement Tests
For more FREE QUESTIONS similar to an NHS-style Situational Judgment Test, register with Graduates First.
Since working in a managerial role at NHS will require you to use numerical skills and ability to interpret data from tables and charts, the NHS Numerical Reasoning Test will examine your ability to understand a previously unseen passage – as well as its data. You will be required to perform basic GCSE Maths calculations.
Do not worry if you have not done Maths in a while! The complexity of this does not lie in the knowledge tested but in the time pressure and stress involved. When taking your Numerical Reasoning Test, you will have less than a minute to read the question, analyse data provided and perform the necessary calculations.
The only way to succeed is to take practice tests beforehand. This way you familiarise yourself with the types of questions and become more confident. Learn how to manage your stress in a safe environment and you will not have to face rejection – just because you were unfamiliar with the process.
Learn more about Numerical Reasoning Tests
For more hints on how to pass a numerical reasoning test, visit our YouTube channel
If you are looking for an NHS-style Numerical Reasoning Test with answers, worked-solutions and professional score reports including personalised tips based on your performance – then Graduates First has it covered.
Check if you got the correct answer at the bottom of the page.For more FREE QUESTIONS similar to the NHS assessment tests, register with Graduates First and take your FREE Numerical Reasoning Test now!
The NHS Assessment Centre will be a chance for you to network with professionals working for NHS learn more about the work culture and environment. It is the perfect time for you to get a better insight into what it would be like to work there.
The exercises you might be expected to take as part of the Assessment Centre are:
This exercise will examine your ability to work as part of a team. Throughout this task various NHS employees will observe you and how you solve problems, when required to work with others.
It is important that you are confident to share and argue for your ideas, but also be ready to contribute to somebody else’s input. Most importantly, speak clearly and do not interrupt anyone!
Try to persuade others towards your ideas and also ask critical thought-provoking questions, but only do so when it feels natural. You need to appreciate that other people on the team are just as important.
Learn more about Group Exercises
In this exercise you will be given around 20 minutes to work in a pair and analyse a set of information. You and your partner will then need to prepare your response. In this task, you will need to prove your negotiation skills, teamwork and analytical thinking.
Learn more about Role Play Exercises
This stage of the recruitment process will consist of a one-on-one interview with managers or senior staff. It will be competency based, and will be a final chance for you to demonstrate your passion, skills and enthusiasm to work in a management role at NHS.
Your interview should last up to 30 minutes. Although it might seem long, remember to refer to specific arguments following the S, T, A, R method: describe the particular situation, the task you were faced with, and what action you took to resolve it, concluding with the result of your work.
Learn more about the most common types of interview questions
At the end of your interview you will be given a chance to ask questions. You must definitely use this opportunity! This is a way of showing that you are interested and motivated, so prepare some thought-provoking and interesting questions beforehand. You can also ask your interviewer about their career path.
Our proprietary tool will help you identify questions that are likely to come up during your interview. Check out our Question Identifier Tool (QIT) here.
Do you want to pass your NHS Graduate Scheme assessments first time? Sign up for tools offered by Graduates First, the only aptitude practice test experts that provide tests to over 70 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe.
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Numerical reasoning test: D
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