If you are successful in your interview, one of our Recruiting Managers will contact you and offer you the position.

Once you have accepted the position, we will process your offer details. All our official job offers are generated by our Employment Services or Medical Personnel teams.

Pre-employment checks

Your offer of employment will be subject to whether you can provide us with satisfactory references, health clearance, and DBS (where appropriate). We may also need to carry out some other checks, depending on the nature of the role. These may include qualification checks, driving licence checks, and registration checks. We will also carry out identity and eligibility to work checks.

References and employment history

Your job offer will only remain valid if you provide acceptable references. Please be aware that if you are a new (non-NHS) employee, we will want to see at least three years of continuous employment, education, and/or training.

Existing NHS employees who want to work for us will receive offers subject to their current employer’s reference. However, we may ask for further references to cover the last three years of unbroken service. If you have not worked within the last three years, we will need a personal statement from you using a standard template provided by our Employment Services team. We will also need two personal references from respected and well-known individuals in your community who have known you for at least three years. These could include a GP, a lawyer, an MP, a minister of religion, a teacher and so on. The personal reference should clearly state your chosen referee’s name, job title, company, address, and the length of time that they have known you for.

We will give you dedicated contact to get in touch with if you have any questions during your employment checks.

After we have approved your pre-employment checks, we will arrange your start date.
Your start date will be arranged with your Recruiting Manager and the Employment Services or Medical Personnel lead coordinating your employment checks. This start date will most likely be on the same day as one of our Corporate Inductions.

Once you have agreed a start date, we will send you a Contract of Employment. This outlines all of the terms and conditions of your employment with us. Please read it thoroughly. You will need to sign this Contract and return it to us before you start working.

Detailed arrangements for your working hours will be confirmed by your manager. This will include any shift patterns. The hours of work stated may be an average weekly amount, but this depends on rostering patterns. Therefore you may occasionally need to work more than this average amount.

We run our Corporate Induction twice a month to welcome new staff to North Bristol NHS Trust. It runs over two working days and also covers key information for non-medical staff. This includes information about health and safety, safeguarding, fire safety, and patient experience.

Your induction with us will ensure that you get the support, training, and skills you need to do your new job. It is also a great opportunity for you to hear from senior leaders within our organisation, while you familiarise yourself with our award-winning Learning & Research facilities and meet other people who are starting their career with us, just like you.

Once you have completed your induction, you will be ready to start in your department, where you will be guided through a local induction.

Preparation for your interview is important; a large part of your success on the day will be determined by how well you prepare beforehand. The following tips will help you prepare for a more successful interview.

If successfully shortlisted, you will receive an email which will give you a list of options available to book your interview. These may include an on-site face-to-face interview or an online interview via Microsoft Teams. The structure of your interview will depend on the role and may be a standard panel interview or an assessment centre. 

Assessment centres are organised for a variety of posts and can range in duration from a couple of hours to a full day. 

Each of our assessment centres will be different. This is because we design them around our values and the specific requirements of the role. Assessment centres will usually have at least three elements, which will be explained in your interview invitation. 

Examples of the types of exercises you may be required to do in an assessment centre:

• Situational judgement tests - these show us how you would behave in situations you might encounter in the role you applied for.
• In-tray activities - a paper-based simulation used to assess your organisation and prioritisation skills. Tasks include managing an in-tray, phone calls, emails and complaints.
• Group exercises - these are designed to assess your communication and team working skills whilst working through a work-based scenario.
• Presentations - these show us how well you research, present and communicate information on a specific topic.
• Simulation exercise - this will simulate certain aspects of the role you are applying for. Examples include: mock lectures, phone tasks, and leading multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Written tests - these provide an assessment of your written ability in certain areas. Examples include: numeracy, literacy, IT skills and clinical skills tests.
• Psychometrics - these help identify working-style strengths based on key competencies. We use the results to help us focus on certain interview questions or exercises.

Top tips before the day

• Research: Make sure you are familiar with the role you are applying for, the department, North Bristol NHS Trust, and our values. If you are applying for a role in a particular speciality, ensure that you have a thorough understanding of this.
• Anticipate the interview questions: The advert, job description, and person specification will give you a lot of clues to the interview questions we'll be using. It would be worthwhile revising for any tests and preparing answers for expected interview questions.
• Consider your appearance: Make sure you are dressed smartly for your interview. The way you present yourself is important whether you’re coming to an interview or an assessment centre.
• Plan your journey: Aim to arrive early as this will give you time to settle down before the interview. Check where your interview is being held, so you know where to go when you arrive. Make sure you are familiar with how to find our hospitals. If you do get delayed make sure you call ahead to let your interviewers know. Saving their contact details in your phone will make this easier.

Reasonable adjustments 

We will accommodate reasonable adjustments for Disabled/Neurodiverse applicants.  Please let us know in advance so we can make any necessary adjustments or arrangements.  

If you have dyslexia and are taking a written assessment, please let us know as soon as possible before the assessment. This will give us time to make the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, we cannot adjust the timetable on the day without prior notice. 

Identification Documents

We need proof of your identify before we interview you, therefore please make sure you bring ID with you on the day. Your invitation will tell you which identification documents to your interview. 
For further information on identity checks, visit 

We use structured interviews where each interviewer will ask you a number of competency-based questions or values-based questions. These are designed to allow you to demonstrate your skills and abilities in line with the job you are applying for.

When answering these questions you will be expected to provide examples of how you have demonstrated particular skills and behaviours in the past. 

It is important that you keep to the point and provide direct answers to the interview questions.

You could suggest what you would do in a particular situation in the hospital or think of another way you could demonstrate a skill or ability that we are looking for in potential candidates.

An interview with us at North Bristol NHS Trust also gives you the opportunity to find out if your chosen role is right for you. You are very welcome to ask us questions about the job, the department it is in, and our organisation as a whole.

Even with good preparation, it’s likely that you’ll be nervous on the day. However, it’s important to remember to be friendly and professional, as this gives a good impression in your interview.

Once you have found a vacancy with us that you are interested in, you can start your application.

Read the job advert, job description and person specification thoroughly before starting. Make sure the role is everything you expect it to be so you know that you are the right fit for the job description. You will also have a better idea of what kind of questions you might be asked during the interview.

Take your time with your application. You can complete it in stages and save as you go. Once you are ready to submit, check that you have answered all the questions on the application form. If you do not, your application may not be considered.

Make sure you submit before any closing date. Be aware that some job adverts may close early, so it is best to submit your application as soon as possible. 

If you would like more information about the role, contact the Recruitment Manager by using the contact details provided in the advert.

View our jobs board to find details on the latest job listings.

• Give details - You will be asked to provide information about your education and qualifications including your employment history and your personal information. Include as much information as possible and write things out in full (the shortlisters might not understand abbreviations). 
• Tailor your application - Use the Person Specification and Job Description documents to tailor your answers and supporting information to the specific vacancy you are applying for. This shows your interest in the job and demonstrates to the hiring manager that you have understood the role. 
• Supporting information - Be sure to spend time completing the supporting information in your application. This part of the application form is your opportunity to explain how your experience makes you worth considering for the role. We want you to tell us how you think you meet the criteria for the role. You could use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to do this.
• Tell us about you! Include in your supporting information your reasons for applying. Take the opportunity to highlight your particular strengths, motivations and relevant experiences. If you don’t have direct experience, you could explain how your skills and experience are transferrable. You might find it easiest if you use the criteria within the person specification as headings and provide examples of how you meet these criteria underneath those headings.
• Grammar check! Be sure to do a final spelling and grammar check for any mistakes before submitting your application.

North Bristol NHS Trust currently recruits overseas Nursing staff through an NHS Trust Supplier and we adhere to the NHSE Code of Practice in relation to applicants from Red List countries. This means we cannot accept any direct applications from candidates who are not already based in the UK.

If you do not have right to work in the UK and require sponsorship via a tier 2 visa, we can only accept your application if you apply for a role on the Skilled Worker visa, shortage occupations list and meet all eligibility criteria. Visit Gov.UK Skilled Worker visa: shortage occupations to see the list of relevant occupations.

Once a vacancy closes, all applications are sent to the Recruiting Manager to review and shortlist. At this stage, the Recruiting Manager will review each application against the person specification. We will keep your personal information anonymous to ensure we maintain a fair recruitment process for all candidates.

If we shortlist you, we will invite you for an interview. 

We aim to contact all of our candidates with an outcome of their application, however there are times when this is not possible. If you do not hear from us within three weeks of the application closing date this means that you have not been successful in your application. If you would like feedback on your application, please contact the Recruiting Manager listed on the advert.

At the bottom of every advert, you will find a section called “Person specification”. This section will give you a good indication of the criteria that Recruiting Managers will be scoring against when shortlisting candidates applying for the job role. See example below:

You will notice that these are split into Essential criteria and Desirable criteria. Based on these, you will need to tailor your application and specifically highlight those criteria on your Supporting Information section of your application. 

For example, if the job role requests for a “Full UK Driving License” as an Essential criteria and you do not currently possess one, it would be advisable to consider whether this would be the right role for you, as there would be a high chance that you would not be successfully shortlisted.

When criteria are marked as desirable, these are a “nice to have” for the recruiting Managers. Try to explain how you meet these criteria as they will help to support your application further.

You should use examples of how you match these criteria to give the best chance of being successfully shortlisted. For example, the essential criteria above “Experience of working in an admin role” – simply stating you have worked in an admin role might not be adequate for you to be successfully shortlisted. However, explaining what your previous admin duties were and what admin experience you gained in these roles will give you a higher chance of being shortlisted for the role.

View our current vacancies where you will find details on the latest careers we have available. All our job adverts include contact details for informal enquiries regarding specific roles. 

Employment Services

For non-medical recruitment enquiries, please contact our Employment Services team.
Telephone: 0117 414 1151
Email: employment.services@nbt.nhs.uk

Medical Recruitment

For medical recruitment enquiries, please contact our Medical Personnel team.
Telephone: 0117 414 5959
Email: MedicalPersonnel@nbt.nhs.uk

NBTeXtra (Temporary Bank Staff)

For temporary roles with our trust bank, please contact our NBTeXtra team.
Telephone: 0117 414 6000
Email: nbtextrarecruitment2@nbt.nhs.uk

Disabled access, assistance or advice

If you are disabled and have queries about access or need assistance or advice, please telephone 0117 4141151 or email employment.services@nbt.nhs.uk.