Help to apply

Read our step by step recruitment guide. We’ll keep you informed at every stage of the process by email or telephone.

We want to be sure that all of our prospective candidates have a great experience when applying for a position at our Trust and that the recruitment process is as smooth and efficient as possible. Your journey with us starts once you have viewed our vacancies and found a role that you would like to apply for. All you need to do is follow the guidance on this page to support you in making a good application and being successful in obtaining employment with us.

View our vacancies

You can view current vacancies here on our website. We promote roles through LinkedIn and Twitter so you can keep up to date with new opportunities while you’re on the move. Our jobs are also advertised on the NHS Jobs website and the Find a Job website. If you wish you can set up alerts that go to your own email account so that you are immediately made aware of any new jobs recently advertised.

It’s always helpful to find out as much as you can before you fill out an application form. Every job advert includes a detailed job description and a person specification, so you can see if the role is right for you. You’ll always find a named member of staff who you can contact for more information at the bottom of our job adverts.

Creating an account

Once you have searched our vacancies and found a job that you would like to apply for, your next step is to complete an online application form. It is always helpful to find out as much as you can before you fill out an application form. Every job advert includes a detailed job description and a person specification, so you can see if the role is right for you. There is always a contact name and details in the advert if you wish to find out more information about the role.

At the bottom of each of our online adverts, you have the option to click on the blue ‘apply’ button. This will direct you to create an account and use an email address. This account will be the one you will use to apply for any future roles at Imperial College Healthcare. You will also use this account to log in and view your submitted applications and any correspondence sent from us. This is known as the Application Centre and your log in and account is unique to you.

Once you have created your account you can start completing your application form. You will need to enter your personal details, qualifications, employment history, referee contact details and a supporting statement explaining why you are best suited to the role. If you are submitting a CV application, you will also need to enter your personal details and contact information on a shorter version of our application form. Try to complete the sections of the application form as fully and accurately as possible to ensure the best possible chance of being shortlisted. If any areas to do not apply to you enter NA (not applicable) in the spaces provided.

Job description, person specification and Trust values

Please read the job description and person specification carefully as this lists the main duties and responsibilities of the role and outlines the skills, qualifications, experience and knowledge that you will need to have to carry out the job. We are looking for people that will join us and live our Trust values, which will contribute to developing and defining the respect and integrity of our culture at Imperial College Healthcare. We expect any prospective/current employee to accept our values and reflect them through their work. Our vision is to make a difference to the many patients that visit us and ensure that every one of our staff feel valued and respected. We shortlist applicants against the criteria in the job description and person specification, so aim to give examples that demonstrate how your skills and experience are relevant to the role you applying for and how you have used them while incorporating our Trust values.

Referee contact details

When completing the referencing section you should provide accurate details for your referees. Your first referee should be your current employer if you are in employment or educational institution. Please do not provide personal email accounts. It is advisable to inform your referees that you will be using them as a referee. Most of our referencing is done through email communication so accurate emails are essential to avoid delays. If you have not been in employment for a while then we will request other forms of evidence to cover any gaps you have had during your employment history.

Disclosing information and safeguarding

Within the application form, we ask you to declare certain information relating to convictions, cautions or reprimands, dismissals by previous employers, and whether you are related to or have a relationship with a director or an existing member of staff. It is important that you respond to these questions honestly. Where a role involves working with or around patients, we will apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service check on you if you are formally offered the position.

Equal opportunities and monitoring section

We are a committed equal opportunities employer and endeavour to ensure that no applicant is subject to less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, age, sexual orientation, responsibilities for dependants, physical or mental disability. We select candidates for interview based on their skills, qualifications and experience.

We ask that you complete this section as the information collected is used for anonymised monitoring purposes to help the organisation look at the profile of individuals who apply, are shortlisted for and appointed to each vacancy. In this way, they can check that they are complying with the Equality Act (2010). Your answers will be treated confidentially and will not affect your application in any way.

Supporting information

This an important part of the application form. If you wish, you can upload part of your CV to save time. Do not include any personal or identifiable details in this section. This section is for you to tell us about yourself and your work experience and skills. We encourage you to spell check all sections of your application before submitting it.

Make sure you submit your application before the closing deadline. The deadline appears in the job advert. It is advisable to submit your application as early possible as occasionally we close job adverts before the advertised closing date if we have received a sufficient number of applications.

Once you have submitted your application, you will be sent an automated email to advise you that we have received your application form. If you wish to view your submitted application you can log back into the application centre. The application centre will keep a record of all of the positions, applications and correspondence sent to you.

Good luck and we look forward to receiving your application.

Shortlisting and booking your interview

Once the closing date has passed for the vacancy that you applied for, applications are ready to be shortlisted. Hiring managers will review all applications and complete the scoring process. We aim to shortlist and send out invitations to interview within five working days however if you have not heard from us within two weeks, please assume your application has not been successful. However, we do encourage you to keep looking for further opportunities on our website.

If you are shortlisted, you will receive an automated email to confirm that you are through to the next stage in the recruitment journey. The email will ask you to log into the Application Centre using the same details you registered with previously. Here you will be asked to upload your identity documents such as, a passport, driving licence or EU card, as well as two proofs of address. Once you have done this you will be able to book a time slot for your interview. Interviews are at pre-allocated times and are offered on a first come, first served basis, so if you would like an early time slot it is best to book as soon as possible.

Your interview may take place using a videoconferencing system called Teams, and for this we will provide you with the link will to participate in the interview, or you may be asked to visit one of the hospital venues for a face-to-face interview. We encourage you to check both your inbox and junk mail folder regularly as most of our communication is done through email.

Once you have booked your interview slot you will be able to view your interview details by clicking on the Interview link under your vacancies in the application centre. Please read your interview invitation carefully, checking the date, location and time and looking out for details such as presentations or special instructions. If you need to change your interview, date or cannot attend please contact the recruitment team as soon as possible.

If you are visiting the hospital for a face-to-face interview, you should bring your identity documents and proofs of address with you and present these to the panel. This is so we can verify the ones you previously uploaded to the application centre. Failure to do so may result in you having to visit the recruitment centre at a later date to undergo a full ID check.

Online assessments and tests

We run assessment centres and testing for a range of our jobs. This information is specified on our adverts will let you know whether the position you are applying for will require you to attend an assessment event or complete tests. Currently all of our testing is done online either as part of the shortlisting process or once you have been shortlisted. This can include one or all of the below, depending on what job you have applied for, however not all roles may involve a test.

• Band 2/3 healthcare/nursing/support workers – literacy and numeracy tests
• Band 5/6 and above nursing roles – drug calculation tests
• Band 2/3/4 administrative roles – literacy/numeracy/ICT tests
• Band 8a and above – psychometric tests

If you are required to complete an online test, please make sure that you complete this as early as possible so you do not miss the deadline. Successful candidates may then either go through a further round of shortlisting or automatically be invited for an interview. Interviews are based on our Trust values and behaviours, as well as identifying your strengths and competency for the role.

Occasionally we may ask candidates to prepare and deliver a presentation on the day of interview however, this is specified in the interview invite.

Preparing for your interview

To prepare for your interview it is recommended that you do your research. Read all about our hospitals here on our website and the department you are being interview for. All of our interviews use value-based questions focusing on our Trust values. Revisit the job description and person specification and try to prepare any answers to questions you think you may be asked on the day.

Make sure you dress smartly for your interview. First impressions are important and show that you are genuinely interested in the position. Try to plan your journey if you are coming to the hospital to pre-empt any problems with transport. If you are going to be late, make sure you call to let the interviewers or the recruitment team know.

After your interview

After the panel have interviewed all of candidates, they will deliberate and make a decision as to who is the best candidate for the job based on a combination of scores and test results (where applicable). Whether successful or not, you should request feedback so you can understand where you can learn from your interview experience and apply your learning to your next interview. Please use feedback in a constructive way and remember you can apply again to any of our roles that interest you.

If we find that you interviewed well and met expectations of the Trust but were not necessarily the strongest candidate on the day, or we only had one position to offer, we will offer you the opportunity of joining our Talent Bank. If a position arises that may be suited to your skills, qualifications and experience, we can automatically put your application forward to the hiring manager. If you think this would be something that you would be interested in then please let the panel know during your interview. Normally we keep candidates on the talent bank for a period of six months.

If you are successful at interview, you will move onto the next stage of the recruitment journey, which involves the offer of employment and on-boarding checks.

Receiving an offer of employment

If you are successful following an interview, you will receive a phone call from the hiring manager with a verbal offer. Once you verbally confirm that, you wish to take up the position you will receive a formal offer along with your terms and conditions of employment from the recruitment team. Your offer is subject to satisfactory pre-employment clearances.

A notification email about our employment offer is sent to you, advising you to log in to the application centre to be able to view your offer letter and your terms and conditions. You will then need to accept the offer by clicking on the button 'accept offer'. Once you have done this a number of forms will appear for you to complete and submit online. These will usually include an occupational health form, a new starter form and, if applicable to the role, a DBS form.

References

At this stage, we will request your references, therefore it is advisable to let your referees know that we will be contacting them so that they can respond back to us as soon as possible. If you do not currently work in the NHS, we will request two to three references depending on the job role.

Right to work

We will need to see evidence that you have right to work. If you will require sponsorship to work in the UK we will request this only if it meets the appropriate home office requirements. For further information, please visit the Home Office website. The Trust will cover the cost of a certificate of sponsorship but not the visa. Please note that presenting a valid visa in an expired passport is no longer acceptable as right to work.

Disclosure and barring service

While making recruitment decisions, we must ensure that patients at risk are safeguarded from harm. A key part of the safer recruitment process is the use of DBS checks. If the position that you have applied for involves working with children, young people or adults at risk then you will be required to complete this pre-employment check. There are two levels of DBS disclosure checks available:

• standard disclosure: checks national police records, such as convictions, warnings and reprimands
• enhanced disclosure: as well as the standard checks, it checks local police records and information held on the DBS Barred Lists, if requested. A person's barring status is checked if the role involves working in certain roles with children or adults, to make sure they are not barred from working with these groups
• if you are coming from overseas, we will require a recent police check.

Occupational health

All prospective employees of the Trust require an occupational health check and must be health cleared before commencing employment. You should complete and submit the health declaration form through the application centre. Our Trust is committed to encouraging all people with a disability to apply for a job with us. If you declare a health condition or disability on your form, you may be contacted by the occupational health team to discuss where they can help to support you with any reasonable adjustments.

Qualifications and registration checks

You will be required to provide us with evidence of your qualifications or statutory registration as outlined in the person specification under the essential criteria, before commencing employment.

Confirming a start date

This is the final step in the recruitment journey. Once we have completed all of your pre-employment checks you will be ready to start working with us. We will contact you and the hiring manager to confirm your start date and then submit your joining forms to the necessary team to ensure you are added on to our payroll system as an employee. You will be booked onto the Trust induction programme and sent the necessary information.

Overseas applicants

There are several roles where we would provide a certificate of sponsorship for a visa:

• Trust grade doctors
• nurses and midwives band 6 and above
• allied health professionals and healthcare scientists band 6 and above
• admin and clerical roles band 7 and above