Everything you need, to prepare for your Physician Associate interview!

By Jasmine Kaur

Preparing for an interview can be daunting, whether it’s your first, third or sixth time! It’s normal to feel nervous, but here are some simple steps you can take to help give yourself the best chance of success.

The interview stage is a fundamental part of your job search – so it’s important to get it right as it could be the difference between you securing your dream job or not!

But first and foremost, congratulations in securing an interview for a Physician Associate role! Getting to this part of the process is by no means easy so well done.

Or perhaps you haven’t and still waiting to find that perfect role, if so, do not hesitate to get in touch with us today to discuss new and upcoming opportunities! (For CV tips keep an eye out for our next article!)

The interview is an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, knowledge, and research whilst also offering the chance for you to gauge an insight into the role, the practice, team and thus carefully determining how the role fits your career aspirations.

Interviews will most likely provide you with enough time to prepare so utilising this time effectively is crucial.

Preparation

When it comes to preparing for an interview, research is key. Taking the time to understand the company’s vision, mission, and ethics and how they align with yours is essential. You’ll also want to review the job advert and job description.

Prepare answers to clinical scenarios you may be faced with. Competency-based questions usually start with ‘give me a time when’ or ‘how would you deal with’. Taking the time to prepare informed answers for an interview can help you make a great first impression and give you the confidence to succeed! Make sure to familiarize yourself with your CV as you may be asked questions in relation to your work experience.

Scenario-related questions are devised to analyse how you react in key situations, your problem-solving skills and your approach to addressing challenges. Aim to use personal examples from your placements or past/current work experiences of when you excelled to further strengthen your answers.

Research the interview panel – the likelihood is that there will be more than one person interviewing! This equips you with more knowledge going into the interview. If one member of the panel has a specialist interest for example – make note of it!

Arrange an informal visit. This demonstrates to the employer your enthusiasm. It might also help you understand the workload and your potential future working relationships.

The Interview

Things to bear in mind during the interview:

1. Focus on providing concise, relevant, and thoughtful answers to all questions.
2. Talk about your strengths (and weaknesses).
3. By this point, you will have reviewed the Job description, so align your skills to the role and expectations of the post. For example, if you are applying for a PCN position, you will have exposure to a fast-paced environment, and responsible for ensuring a continuity of patient care. Therefore, concentrate on the skills that correspond to this environment. E.g., Your efficiency in communicating with fellow colleagues and ability to build relationships quickly – a positive trait when dealing with the same patients.
4. Ask the interviewer questions. This shows there is genuine interest and that you are keen. For example, asking if the practice has previously recruited PAs or whether they support specialist interests or if progression opportunities are available.

The next steps

You’ve made it to the end! Well done.

Now what happens?

Firstly, you want to create a lasting and positive impression so thank the interviewers for their time, regardless of whether you think the interview has gone well or not.

In a competitive job market, you want to stand out and ultimately increase the chance of getting an offer. So, ensure you embed these tips into your process when searching and applying for a role. The likelihood is the best researched and presented person will get the job.

And remember…always stay true to who you are. Don’t be afraid to showcase your abilities and experiences because you are the best person to do so.

Good Luck!

Looking for more help?

If you would like to speak to us about your job search, you can contact us on 0113 350 1308. You can also use our contact form and we can call you at a time that suits you!

We have also been sharing some great Physician Associate vlogs. View Uche’s first vlog for Menlo Park below! Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss future vlogs.

View our Physician Associate roles!

View all our physician associate roles here.