It’s that time of year, when your first potential radiographer post is being advertised at many hospitals across the UK.
Job advertisements and interviews can be quite daunting as well, as exciting as you will finally be able to put all of your hard training to use in your new healthcare professional role.
The first hurdle you will encounter is the personal statement for an online application. This can seem like quite a big obstacle, almost like you’re reapplying for your university course all over again.
Just remember to be yourself and to highlight your strengths and skills; even if you’ve worked in that department throughout your degree, always write your statement as if you’re telling someone you’ve just met all about you for the first time. Be concise and specific; it’s great to highlight the areas you’ve worked in and how your confidence has grown over the past three years of training.
Next comes the interview, which is an excellent achievement as it shows that you fit the criteria for the post and that the interviewers are interested in who you are. The interview may incorporate many elements such as a standard interview, a trust-values based interview and even an image interpretation session. These will assess your suitability for the post and whether you’re suitable to work for that specific trust.
Remember to always ask questions at the end of the interview when prompted; it shows that you’re interested in the department and gives you a chance to give the interviewers extra information should you need to.
The SCoR website has guidelines available on both your personal statement and the interview process online which can be accessed here:
https://www.sor.org/learning/student-zone/preparing-work
https://www.sor.org/ezines/studenttalk/issue-40/how-shine-interviews
Use them to your advantage, they are invaluable.
Finally, all that’s left to say is ‘good luck!’