National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved three steps: an initial call, a second call, and then a half-day assessment. The assessment day consisted of a group task designed to see how people work together in a team (the result wasn't the main focus), and a technical task focused on economics.

The interview process involved a scenario assessment and a panel interview. I found the panel chair to be a pleasure to interact with, but one clinician on the panel displayed behaviors that made me question whether I wanted to work with them. The questions were mostly standard, with the exception of a pair that required specific clinical knowledge. This was unexpected, as these requirements weren't mentioned in the job advertisement or description, despite my advancing past the initial screening. When I inquired about this, I was told this knowledge would be necessary. This fundamental disconnect was puzzling, and the overall experience was quite concerning.

I applied online and got short listed. About a week later, I got an email for a telephone screening. Three days after that, I had the telephone screen. Then the interview happened within 3 days, first with the Manager and then the Director. I sent a thank you email right after. Within 48 hours, the recruiter told me I was one of two people selected and a decision would be made soon. I didn't get the job, but the recruiter is still in touch about other roles.

I had a Zoom interview with three people, two of whom were senior from the comms department, for about an hour. Then I was given a written assignment with a two-hour deadline. The questions were standard, competency-based, and also tested my knowledge of NICE and the organisation's media presence. The interview itself went well and was very professional, but the pre and post-interview organization was messy and poorly planned. Less than a day before, one interviewer changed my interview time by 45 minutes and moved my half-hour pre-interview written test to another day, making it two hours long, with no explanation or apology, which was bad form. I had to take another afternoon off work for the test. After the interview, I didn't hear back from NICE for two weeks, which was confusing given their reputation. I emailed HR about not hearing back, and a few days later, one of the main interviewers said they'd tried calling me multiple times about the outcome. I found this odd as I didn't get any calls from unknown numbers or NICE. I also wondered why none of the interviewers or HR emailed me if that was the case. It felt unfair to be blamed for their lack of communication. The interviewer mentioned a family bereavement, which I sympathize with, but it still seemed strange that the other two interviewers and HR didn't get in touch during that time. Honestly, the disorganization and apparent dishonesty make me question the bereavement claim. My main frustration is that NICE seemed incredibly disorganized and didn't value the effort candidates put into preparing. Being made to feel responsible for their failure to contact me, and potentially being told an untruth, was the final straw. They should have apologized for the delay and owned their lack of communication.