Oxford Medical

What is the Person Specification?

With each advertised NHS Consultant post there should be two very important documents. One is the job description and the second in the person specification. The person specification details the exact requirements for a successful candidate to be appointed. They are broken down into separate categories and then again into essential and desirable columns.

The person specification sets the criteria for which applicants are assessed. Currently in today’s cash strapped NHS climate there is vast competition for NHS consultant posts. Some specialities are more competitive than others but we are yet to find a speciality in which there isn’t a fierce competitive process. There is also increased demand from European Union doctors who want to work in the UK. The net result is there may be on average 50 applicants for each advertised position and I have known it to be as high as 80 in some geographical areas.
Interviewing 50 or even 80 candidates simply isn’t an option so they must be assessed against a common process in order to rank them in order of suitability for the advertised post. The person specification forms the benchmark to which all applicants are compared.

No trust has actually published the scoring system they use. These are typically drawn up depending on what the job actually entails. If it is heavily research and teaching based then these categories will have a greater weighting against the others. If it is a typical clinical service post then they will not have the same degree of weight.

You will need to read the person specification carefully. If you do not fulfil all the essential criteria then your application will only find the clinical directors bin. Due to the volume of applicants it is not typical either for unsuccessful candidates to be told they have not progressed to the interview and no feedback is formally given to these candidates.

 Some person specifications will provide information as to when and how they will assess the candidates in any specific area. This will be indicated by either CV (curriculum vitae) or IV (at interview) being marked after the appropriate requirement. It is always good to demonstrate in your CV that you have the set requirements however the indication that they will be assessing a particular area at the interview will give you some prior warning as to the category/types of questions that you may be asked.

What categories do they assess?

Typically these include

·        Qualifications

·        Clinical experience

·        Management and administrative experience

·        Teaching experience

·        Research experience

·        Personal attributes

·        Information technology

·        Any other requirements

What is the difference between essential and desirable criteria?

The essential criteria must be demonstrated in order for an application to be considered for interview. There are two important aspects here. Firstly you must have obtained the wanted criteria and secondly it must easily be demonstrated in your application. For example,  good communication skills. Most of you reading through a person specification will immediately say that you have this attribute. However how many of you have clearly indicated this in you curriculum vitae or application form? If it is not apparent when reviewing your application that you have this essential skill then your application will not progress. The lesson from this is to pay attention to the specifics and make sure that they are READILY displayed in your application.

Desirable criteria: Due to the level of competition most applicants have a vast selection of these. It is not compulsory that you have all of these however the best candidates will have all the essential and the majority of the desirable.

What about being within 3 or 6 months of my CCT?

This refers to the time period between the date of the consultant interview and the date of your CCT. If you already have your CCT then this does not apply to you. If you are not within this time period but will almost be eligible it is worthwhile asking when the HR department of the clinical director when the interview is scheduled for so you will know if you are eligible. We know of examples where the interview has been postponed to enable some attractive candidates to be eligible.

Unusual Person Specifications?

We’ve pretty much seen it all before and we know of examples where person specifications have been written around an in house candidates CV. In some extreme circumstances person specifications have actually been given to prospective in house candidates to write. It is therefore no surprise to find essential criteria such as holding valid provider certificates for ALS, ATLS, EPLS being advertised. Our professional experience is that this is not common practice and such person specifications are typically toned down by clinical directors. They are after the best candidate after all and competition is healthy.

CONSULTANT -  Person Specification Example