Our recruitment process
The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Resourcing team deal with all aspects of recruitment for all staff groups which it employs, including medically qualified professionals. As such, recruitment for all Trust vacancies is undertaken centrally via NHS Jobs and NHS Professionals respectively.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust only accepts applications completed via NHS Jobs.
Application forms submitted via any third party recruitment agency or website will not be accepted and the Trust will not make any arbitrary offers of employment in response to such applications.
If you have received any such offer of employment, please contact the local counter fraud specialist, Gemma Higginson at gemma.higginson1@nhs.net.
Work permits
Foreign nationals who want to work in the UK need to have a work permit. For more information about work permits please go to the Home Office's Working in the UK website.
Top tips for completing an NHS job application
Qualifications and employment history
The first section of the form covers your education, professional qualifications and employment history.
For your qualifications, make sure the dates provided are accurate as you will be asked to provide evidence of these qualifications.
When completing your work experience, ensure your working dates are correct and as much detail regarding your duties and responsibilities are provided – think about your day to day activities plus anything you’ve had to learn from; detailing this as if you are explaining it to somebody with no experience in the field.
If you have gaps in employment you will need to enter details of these in the ‘Gaps in Employment’ section.
Person Specification
Read all points and questions thoroughly and detail in full why you would fit that criteria – referencing past experience and growth. It is your chance to shine.
All vacancies are different, it is rare that the same job shall continue to be available therefore consider what the application is looking for from your application and adapt each time.
Use examples effectively
Use specific examples of your previous experiences to demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria for the role.
To help you describe your examples, follow the STAR method:
Situation/Task Set the context/introduction
Action What you did, when, where, why, and who was involved?
Result What was the outcome of your action?
Reflection Alternative action/result– how could things be done differently?
Recruitment process
See below for more information on each of the steps in our recruitment process.
All our vacancies are advertised via the NHS Jobs website and can be found on our latest vacancies page.
You can also follow all vacancies via X (formerly Twitter) @EKHUFTJOBS.
Vacancies will normally close on the stated closing date, however we reserve the right to close vacancies early depending on the response that we receive. Therefore, please submit your application promptly to ensure that you are considered for any vacancy you wish to apply for.
Applications for posts are submitted via the online process on the NHS Jobs website. Offline or paper copy applications can only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and with prior agreement from the Resourcing Management team.
Recruitment managers will carry out a review of all applications made to a post based on the criteria listed with the Person Specification for the post.
You should expect to hear the outcome of your application within 2 weeks of the advert closing. This is communicated via receiving a message in your NHS Jobs account. To gain this information, you will need to log into your NHS Jobs account and read any pending notifications.
However, if you have not heard from us within 6 weeks then you can assume that you have been unsuccessful. If you require feedback you can contact the Resourcing Team via email at Resourcing@nhs.net
If you are successful in gaining an interview for the post you will receive an email from Advorto, with all your interview details.
You will be requested to either confirm or decline acceptance via a provided link.
You will be prompted to view your email from a text message, if you have provided your mobile number as part of your application form.
If you require any special arrangements, for example an alternative venue to allow wheelchair access, please contact the Resourcing Team to arrange this before confirming your attendance to interview.
You will also be required to complete an attachment titled “Model Declaration”, sign and return in the post to the Resourcing Team, prior to your interview date.
Model Declaration B information is required as any position within the Trust that provides direct patient care, or manages individuals that provide care are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended)(the Exemptions Order).
Model Declaration A should be completed for positions that are not exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended)(the Exemptions Order).
On the 29 May 2013 the Home Office introduced a filtering system for disclosing information on criminal convictions and cautions. This means that that the type of information which is disclosed on a Disclosure and Barring Certificate will be filtered in line with a strict set of rules. Some offences will never be filtered.
See list of offences that will never be filtered
You will be given the opportunity to discuss any unfiltered offences with the interview panel on the interview day or at a later day prior to any agreed commencement date.
From the returned “Model Declaration Form”, relevant information will be verbally and confidentially passed onto the Recruitment Manager for discussion with yourself. The Line Manager will then make a decision based on the information provided, and will confirm if it is deemed as passing the Disclosure and Barring Service pre-employment clearance. The successful candidate will have a note added onto the payroll system that information had been discussed, but no information regarding the offence will be recorded.
Please note that if you fail to confirm your attendance for the interview slot you are allocated, it may be offered to another applicant. Future applications from individuals who fail to attend for interview without explanation may not be considered.
Everyone who attended an interview will receive an email informing them of the outcome of the interview.
Recruitment to many of our posts will also involve a selection test. This could be in the form of a written or computer test, a presentation or the assessment of a task. Full details will be provided to you with your interview letter.
Occupational Health
If you are successful, you will be emailed an Occupational Health questionnaire with your conditional offer letter which you should complete and emailed directly to the Occupational Health Department to the email address provided on the questionnaire.
Right to Work and Verification of Identity
For verification purposes you will also be required to bring an original passport, driving licence and a utility bill that has been issued within the last 3 months. If the post requires a Disclosure and Barring Check you may also be asked to bring further identification, of which you will be informed of in your interview letter. Please ensure you read the attachment called “ID Information for Candidates”. Please also ensure you bring any certificates or evidence of qualification relevant to the post.
References
All offers of employment are made subject to gaining satisfactory clearances. Therefore please ensure that you provide us with details of three years’ worth of referee details. If you have had any gaps in employment or education within the last three years, you will be requested to provide two additional character referees. A referee who can provide you with a character references is classed as someone who have known you for over 3 years and is regarded as an upstanding member of the community. To speed up the process it is helpful if you can provide full contact details including a telephone number and email address for each referee.
If you are successful at interview, the Recruiting Manager will contact you to make a verbal offer of employment.
This offer will be subject to satisfactory references, occupational health clearance and Disclosure and Barring check where appropriate, and will be confirmed to you in writing.
Once these pre-employment clearances are complete, you will be required to confirm your start date with your new line manager at the Trust and a final confirmation of employment including your Contract will be issued to you.