Is It Hard To Get A Job In The NHS?

It depends on the role. Many NHS roles need specific qualifications, and graduate schemes such as the Graduate Management Training Scheme receive many applications each year, so preparing for each stage of the process is worthwhile.

How Long Does NHS Jobs Take To Reply?

It depends on the employer and the role. Each advert on NHS Jobs is handled by the employer that posted it. On the Graduate Management Training Scheme, you can take the Stage 2 assessment as soon as you are told you have passed Stage 1, and every candidate receives a feedback report after each stage.

Is The NHS A Good Employer?

Most NHS staff are paid on the national Agenda for Change pay bands, and many roles include training and development. Career progression is an important part of many roles, with internal transfers and promotions on offer to employees.

How Long Do NHS Jobs Take To Shortlist?

The time taken to shortlist depends on the role and the employer, as each employer runs its own recruitment for the jobs it advertises. Your NHS Jobs account shows the applications you have submitted, and NHS Jobs sends updates by email, with some, such as interview invitations, also sent by text message.

NHS Assessments

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Online Psychometric Assessments
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Published 25 August 2021 · Updated 13 October 2026

The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded health service that offers free healthcare at the point of use, funded mainly through national taxation. It was set up in 1948. Health services in England, Scotland and Wales are run separately, as the NHS in England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales, and Northern Ireland has its own Health and Social Care service. This page focuses on the NHS in England.

Careers In The NHS

The NHS is one of the largest employers in Europe, and NHS Health Careers lists 350 different careers, with routes in for experienced professionals, clinical staff, apprentices and graduates.

Pay for most NHS staff, other than doctors, dentists and very senior managers, is set by the national Agenda for Change system of nine pay bands.

Types Of NHS Jobs

Aside from the obvious medical professionals like doctors and dentists, nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, roles in the NHS often involve non-clinical staff like administrators, HR, legal, researchers and other executive positions too. The NHS also has biomedical and research scientists as part of their staff.

Many of these careers need specific qualifications. To become a nurse, for example, you need a nursing degree.

For non-medical or clinical roles, applications are welcomed from career changers and experienced professionals, and there are a range of opportunities for apprentices and graduates, too.

NHS Graduate Opportunities

The best known route for graduates is the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme, which accepts a 2:2 or above in any subject for most of its pathways.

The scheme is a fixed-term, salaried role in England that lasts two to two and a half years, depending on specialism. The current pathways are General Management, Finance, Human Resources, Digital-Health Informatics and Estates Engineering Management.

During the scheme you work in placements with NHS organisations while completing leadership training and study towards a professional or postgraduate qualification.

How To Get A Job In The NHS

NHS Jobs (https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/) is the official online recruitment service for the NHS in England and Wales, where you can search for roles, create an account and manage your applications. Some schemes, including the Graduate Management Training Scheme, have their own application systems.

All employees, no matter the career path, need to demonstrate the Values of the NHS Constitution which govern the way the NHS is run. These are:

Working together for patients
Respect and dignity
Commitment to quality of care
Compassion
Improving lives
Everyone counts

Throughout the application process, consider these values and how they apply to you and your experiences so that you can demonstrate that you share these values.

NHS Application Process

The application process varies depending on the role, and some roles have extra interviews or skills tests. The steps below are for the Graduate Management Training Scheme.

NHS Online Application

The first stage is to register and complete an application form on the scheme's own application site, which you reach from the Apply page on the Graduate Management Training Scheme website. Before you apply, check the entry requirements on the scheme website. For most pathways you need a degree at 2:2 or above in any subject, and Estates Engineering Management needs an accredited engineering degree. Your final degree result must be confirmed by mid-August before the scheme starts.

The scheme says its process assesses your strengths and potential, not what you studied, where you studied or your work experience. Thinking about the NHS values before you start can help you explain why you want to join.

NHS Online Psychometric Assessments

The scheme uses two online assessments, both focused on your strengths and potential rather than your degree subject or work experience. Stage 1 is the Future Potential Assessment, which takes about 45 minutes and is not time limited. Stage 2 is the NHS GMTS Alignment Assessment, which takes about 60 minutes and includes recorded video answers; only the video questions are timed. You can practise each question type before you start, and every candidate gets a feedback report after each stage.

NHS Video Interview

The video interview is part of Stage 2. You record answers to questions that let you show more about yourself, with time to prepare before each recording. The team reviews every video response manually rather than using artificial intelligence.

It can help to read the NHS Healthcare Leadership Model, which sets out nine dimensions of leadership behaviour used across the NHS:

Inspiring shared purpose
Leading with care
Evaluating information
Connecting our service
Sharing the vision
Engaging the team
Holding to account
Developing capability
Influencing for results

Thinking of examples from your own experience, paid or unpaid, that show some of these behaviours can help you prepare.

NHS Assessment Centre

The final assessment stage is a half-day Virtual Assessment Centre held online, where you complete several exercises and meet the NHS team and other candidates.

Afterwards you will hear one of three outcomes: an offer, a place on the reserve list, or an unsuccessful result. Every candidate gets a feedback report.

The scheme encourages candidates to be themselves at the VAC, and offers coaching calls, hints and tips and platform familiarisation videos beforehand.

Successful candidates are then matched to placements across England, using their assessment scores and stated preferences. This matching is not part of the assessment.

Tips To Get Hired At The NHS

Provide Good Supporting Information In Your Application

The Graduate Management Training Scheme receives many applications each year, so take care over every part of yours. Any offer depends on pre-employment checks, including verification of your qualifications and right to work. Be sure to provide everything that you are asked for.

Prepare For The Interview

Research the NHS, the role and the NHS Constitution values, and read the Healthcare Leadership Model. Giving examples is much easier if you have thought of some in advance.

Practise Aptitude Tests

Practice helps you get used to the question styles and to recording answers on video. Once you apply, the scheme also provides preparation materials at each stage, including practice tests for the two online assessments.

Does The Role Match Your Skills?

It is really important that the career you choose matches your interests, but also your skills. To be confident that you are going to be successful in the role, you want to be sure that you are skilled and qualified.

A short quiz on the NHS Careers site can help you find which of the 350 careers it lists might suit you.

More Employer Tests

Sample practice question Test your knowledge!

Score: /3

After reading the passage, what conclusion can be drawn regarding the relationship between exercise habits and the frequency of healthcare facility visits?

In a recent health survey, a group of participants was asked about their exercise habits and the frequency with which they visit healthcare facilities. It was found that those who exercise regularly tend to visit healthcare facilities less often than those who do not exercise regularly.

Exercise has no impact on the frequency of healthcare facility visits.
Regular exercise is linked to reduced frequency of healthcare facility visits.
People who visit healthcare facilities often do not have time to exercise.
The frequency of healthcare facility visits increases individual exercise habits.

A medical study is evaluating the effectiveness of a new treatment. The pattern of participants responding positively to the treatment over the first five months is as follows: 3, 6, 11, 18, 27. Based on this pattern, how many participants are expected to respond positively in the sixth month?

A dataset shows that the average patient waiting time during the first quarter was 25 minutes. In the second quarter, the waiting time increased by 20%. What was the average waiting time in the second quarter?

30 minutes
28 minutes
45 minutes
50 minutes

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NHS Assessments Tips

Understand the NHS Framework: Read about how the NHS is organised and the six values in the NHS Constitution, which include respect and dignity, compassion and everyone counts. Knowing them gives you useful context for questions about how you would act at work.
Simulate Testing Conditions: Practise somewhere quiet, in one sitting, so you get used to concentrating for the length of an assessment. Check your equipment and internet connection too, since the scheme's online tests and video answers are taken at home.
Time Management is Key: The Graduate Management Training Scheme's first online assessment is not time limited, and in the second only the video questions are timed. Set aside enough time to finish without rushing, and use the practice questions to get used to recording your answers.
Review The Basics: Public sector assessments can cover a range of skills, such as numerical and verbal reasoning or judgement in work situations. Practising basic maths, reading comprehension and critical thinking can help you feel more prepared.
Reflect on Past Experiences: Before the assessments, think about times you have shown leadership, teamwork and problem solving, in work, study, volunteering or everyday life. Having real examples ready helps you give honest answers, especially in the recorded video questions.

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NHS Assessments FAQs

Is It Hard To Get A Job In The NHS?: It depends on the role. Many NHS roles need specific qualifications, and graduate schemes such as the Graduate Management Training Scheme receive many applications each year, so preparing for each stage of the process is worthwhile.
How Long Does NHS Jobs Take To Reply?: It depends on the employer and the role. Each advert on NHS Jobs is handled by the employer that posted it. On the Graduate Management Training Scheme, you can take the Stage 2 assessment as soon as you are told you have passed Stage 1, and every candidate receives a feedback report after each stage.
Is The NHS A Good Employer?: Most NHS staff are paid on the national Agenda for Change pay bands, and many roles include training and development.
Career progression is an important part of many roles, with internal transfers and promotions on offer to employees.
How Long Do NHS Jobs Take To Shortlist?: The time taken to shortlist depends on the role and the employer, as each employer runs its own recruitment for the jobs it advertises.
Your NHS Jobs account shows the applications you have submitted, and NHS Jobs sends updates by email, with some, such as interview invitations, also sent by text message.