Interview Tips

(As per the heads of department of a district-level hospital in the Western Cape)

Tips on questions or topics often discussed at interviews:

1. Describe yourself, and/or how would others describe you?
2. What are some of your strengths and weaknesses?

• Try to turn your weaknesses into things that might also be positive, like that you sometimes tend to be a bit too perfectionistic and stay late to make sure all the work is done to the best degree possible.

3. Your past experience.

• Even though this information is available on your CV, an interview presumes that the interviewer has never seen your CV. So if you do not list all your past experiences in your interview when asked, then it does not get taken into consideration during the interview.

4. Clinical skills that you have experience in.

• This can seem vague, but make sure you include the basics like resuscitation according to the ACLS principles, venepuncture, lumbar puncture, CVP insertion, etc. However, also try to keep it department-specific by listing the procedures most applicable to the post you are interviewing for first, i.e., listing previous surgical procedures done if applying for a surgical post.

5. They will usually also include 2-3 clinical questions.

• The questions will likely depend on the department you are applying for, as well as the level of the post (e.g., medical officer vs registrar).

6. They will also likely ask you a question about how to manage a difficult situation.

• Examples include conflict management with a difficult patient or patient’s relative, dealing with conflict amongst colleagues, noticing that a colleague is neglectful in their practice, disagreeing with your superior’s clinical management plan, etc.

7. Try to find out what specific areas of interest the interviewer might have since they are likely to bring it up.

• For e.g., breastfeeding-only initiatives, burn wound management, or previous research articles written by the interviewer.

8. Do not ask about the job itself during the interview, like when you can expect to get feedback.

• You can call HR at a later point to ask these kinds of questions.

9. Rather ask questions about access to courses, or discuss any research ideas or proposals you have.

Registrar interviews

The following topics are taken into greater consideration and will likely come up during the interview:

1. Your past experiences (see above).
2. Clinical skills (see above).
3. Previous research done.

• If you have not done any research yet, then talk about your interests for potential future research.

4. Previous teaching and leadership experience.
5. The interview, as above, will also likely include clinical questions and a question on managing a difficult situation.

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