Preparing for An Interview

What healthcare employers ask, how to answer with examples, and the questions worth asking back.

They are hiring for values, not experience

For an apprenticeship the employer expects you to know little about the clinical side. That is what the training is for. What they are testing is whether you will turn up, treat people well, stay calm and keep learning. Prepare for that and the rest follows.

What employers look for

Why this role, why here
A real reason, in your own words. “I want to help people” is where everyone starts; say what you have done that shows it.
What you understand about the job
The shifts, the physical side, the paperwork, the difficult days. Showing you know the hard parts is more convincing than enthusiasm.
Commitment, reliability and willingness to learn
This is a 12 to 24 month programme with assessments. Employers want to know you will finish.

Values-based questions

NHS, ambulance and most care employers use values-based recruitment. Expect questions that start “Tell me about a time when” and map to the NHS values:

Compassion
Tell me about a time you supported someone who was upset or frightened.
Working together
Describe a time you had to rely on a team to get something done.
Respect and dignity
Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone and how you handled it.
Commitment to quality
Describe a time you noticed something was wrong and what you did.
Everyone counts
Tell me about working with someone very different from you.
Improving lives
When have you gone beyond what was expected of you?

Answer with STAR

For every “tell me about a time” question, structure the answer in four parts. It keeps you concise and gives the interviewer what they score on.

Part 1
Situation
One sentence of context. Where, when, who.
Part 2
Task
What you had to do or decide.
Part 3
Action
What you did, in the first person. This is most of the answer.
Part 4
Result
What happened, and what you learned or would do differently.

Prepare six examples before the day, drawn from work, study, volunteering or home life. Most can be bent to fit more than one question.

Discover your next career.

We work with many employers who are looking for people just like you. Once employed you will be trained to complete your apprenticeship programme with us at Medipro. Click below to view the vacancies available.   Browse Vacancies

Before the interview

Do your research
Read the employer’s values page and recent news. Ambulance services publish their strategy and CQC rating; a sentence showing you have read them stands out.
Know your application
Review your CV and application form so you can speak about every line. Re-read the person specification: every essential criterion is a likely question.
Practise out loud
With someone, or record yourself. Answers that sound fine in your head often run long.
Plan the day
In person: know where you are going and arrive early. Online: test your video, audio and connection. Ambulance roles may include a fitness test and a driving assessment, so ask what to expect and what to wear.

Know the system you are joining

Employers notice candidates who understand the service they are applying to, not just the job. Four things to read before any NHS, ambulance, dental, pharmacy or care interview.

Current national plans
Read the summary of the 10 Year Health Plan for England (July 2025) and be able to name its three shifts: hospital to community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention. For ambulance roles add the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26. For dental, pharmacy and care roles, read the latest national plan for that sector and your employer’s own strategy page. One sentence showing you have read them stands out.
The regulator: CQC
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. It registers providers, inspects them and rates them Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate against five questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Look up your employer’s rating and latest report before the interview.
Your professional regulator
If the role leads to professional registration, know who the regulator is and what its standards say about conduct: the HCPC for paramedics, the GDC for dental nurses, the GPhC for pharmacy technicians and the NMC for nurses. You will have to register with them when you qualify, and employers may ask what the standards mean to you.
The role and the undertaking
Read the apprenticeship standard for the role, the programme length, the off-the-job learning you will do each week and how the end-point assessment works. Our apprenticeship pages set these out for each programme. Be able to say how you will fit the study and the shifts around your life. Employers want to know you will finish.

During the interview

  • Dress appropriately: professional but comfortable.
  • Make eye contact, smile, listen carefully and take your time answering.
  • If you do not understand a question, ask for it to be repeated. If you have no example, say so and explain what you would do.
  • Safeguarding comes up in some form in most healthcare interviews. The right answer always includes reporting it, not handling it alone.
  • Ask questions. It shows interest.

Questions worth asking

  • What support will I get during the apprenticeship?
  • What does a typical day look like?
  • How is the apprenticeship structured, and how much time is protected for off-the-job learning?
  • Who will my workplace mentor be?
  • What do people who complete the apprenticeship usually go on to do here?

Afterwards: stay calm, be yourself, and follow up with a short thank-you message if it feels appropriate.

Useful resources

Interview advice
National Careers Service
Common interview questions with example answers
National Careers Service
Applications and interviews
NHS Health Careers
The NHS Constitution values
GOV.UK

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Training Courses

We have a number of approved courses delivered across the UK from one of our centres, or we can travel to your place of work.

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How to Write a CV

Keeping things simple, clear and succinct can create you a great CV. Click to see our step-by-step guidance..

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Applying for an Apprenticeship

With apprenticeships across many clinical disciplines, we are sure to have one suitable for you.

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Find Out More

Applying to the NHS is a route many of our learners pursue. If you would like some NHS specific hints and tips when applying, please click the link below for more info.

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