Interview
Following submission, once forms have been verified for eligibility in long-listing then assessed in short-listing, candidates whose applications score highly enough within the deanery will then be invited to interview.
It is possible for a candidate who has submitted more than one application in total to be invited to interview more than once (although never more than one interview per application); although the level of competition for ST3 posts means that this may be unlikely.
Interviews dates have not yet been confirmed, but will likely take place in late September/early October. Deanery/Specialty-specific interview dates will be added to this website as they become available – please visit the About ST3 page and click on the relevant specialty to view the interview dates.
Invitation to interview
Deaneries will be sending invitations to interview to candidates during September/October. Please note - one deanery/specialty may invite candidates to interview at a different time to a different deanery/specialty, as their processes of long- and short-listing will take place at different speeds; due to factors such as numbers of applications received, differing interview timelines, etc.
Should you be invited to interview by a deanery, you will be invited to access the application system (through this website – the same system through which you submitted your application, and are able to track its progress) to book yourself onto an interview slot. Please do take into account service and rota considerations when booking your interview; if you have any concerns regarding this, please contact the deanery/UoA which has invited you.
Booking a slot is very straightforward; upon logging in to your candidate portal, you will be presented with a choice of available dates and times within the deanery, from which you can select and submit your preference. You will then receive an email to confirm you have booked your interview slot, along with some information on preparation for the interview.
If you do receive an invitation to interview, please note that you must book your interview place by the deadline stated in the invitation. If you do not, your place will be offered to someone else. Should you have any difficulties booking online, please either try an alternative web browser, or contact the deanery/UoA at which you are trying to book your interview.
If you find that you are unable to attend your interview at your scheduled date/time, you must immediately contact the deanery/UoA at which the interview is scheduled to inform them of this.
The Interview
Preparation
Certain questions at the interview will involve discussion of particular scenarios - however, information on these will be provided to candidates on the day. (NB - Gastroenterology applicants will be required to give a short presentation as part of their interview, more information on this can be viewed on the Gastroenterology page of this website.)
Beyond 'generic' interview preparation, candidates can prepare by reviewing the below information:
Timings & Venue
When a candidate books an interview slot, their interviewing deanery will inform them of the appropriate time to arrive at the interview venue for registration. It is essential that candidates arrive on time.
Travel to the venue should be planned in advance, with plenty of time allowed for travelling, parking (if applicable), and contingency (in case of any difficulties).
The exact time each interview will last will vary between different specialties (see formats/structures below), but in general candidates should expect to be at the selection centre for a couple of hours.
Each interviewing deanery will provide all candidates with full address details of the interview venue, and will provide a link from which a map and travel instructions to there can be downloaded.
Format & Structure
The format, structure and content of the interview will vary slightly depending upon the specialty concerned. Please see the individual specialty pages of this website for more information on the structure of each interview (near the foot of each page):
Documentation
In addition to the above preparation, in all cases candidates will also be required to take with them to interview an amount of documentation to verify and support their applications.
This will take two forms - 'Eligibility' documentation and 'Evidence' documentation.
It is advised that candidates place the different types of information into separate folders to keep them apart. These will be referred to here as the 'Eligibility Folder' and 'Evidence Folder'. On the front of each folder, each candidate should mark clearly their full name, GMC number and Application ID number.
Information on these two folders can be found at the pages below:
Other documentation
Some deaneries may require that candidates bring additional evidence beyond that described above. In this case, deaneries will notify candidates of this in advance.
Expenses
Candidates are eligible to claim reasonable travel expenses, based on the cheapest mode of transport available. Unreasonable expenses will not be reimbursed. For more information on this, candidates should liaise with their interviewing deanery.
To claim expenses, candidates will be provided with a claim form on the day of their interview, or will be able to download one from the website of their interviewing deanery.