Consultant Interview Questions & Answers

Download PDF

This is a very critical question. Don't bad mouth your previous employer or co-workers or sound too opportunistic. It's fine to mention major problems, a buy-out or a shutdown. You may want to state that after long personal consideration, your chance to make a contribution is very low due to extensive company-wide changes.

The interviewer is trying to determine your goal orientation, work ethic, personal commitment and integrity. Prepare a good example where you overcame difficulties and succeeded. Prove that you're not a quitter.

A good answer to this question can get you the job. Prepare extensively-discuss hard work, long hours, pressure and important company issues at stake. You may want to tell a two minute detailed story, discussing personal involvement.

Debt and equity finance are the two main ways by which a business can raise money.

Equity finance means raising money by selling shares - that is, stakes in the company - either privately to investors or on the stock markets. Debt finance means raising money through taking out loans or by issuing bonds - pieces of tradeable debt - on the markets.

Sometimes this question might be phrased as "What does team work mean to you?" You could answer it along the following lines: "I work well in a team: I'm a good listener and can take account of different perspectives and empathise with others. I'm a good communicator and hope I'm a positive role model. I encourage colleagues to engage in the clinical process. I respect the contributions and expertise of others."

High achievers tend to perform well in high-pressure situations. Conversely, these questions could imply that the open position is pressure-packed and out of control. Know what you're getting into. If you do perform well under stress, provide a good, detailed example. Be descriptive.

Patient safety is paramount here. You should also make sure that you back up your answers with examples from your own practice, your specialty, or your local area. For instance, you might say, "Any service improvement would put patient safety first, as well as providing a higher quality and more sustainable service. The change would be clinically led, using evidence based medicine. The service would be tailored to local circumstances using national frameworks. Patients, the public, and staff would be engaged throughout."

Pick two or three main factors about the job and about yourself that are most relevant. Discuss for two minutes, including specific details. You may mention a technical skill, a management skill and/or a personal success story.

Knowing what's being written about in the business press is a big part of commercial awareness, but it's important that you demonstrate you know there's more to it than that.

Commercial awareness is also about understanding the fundamentals of how businesses work and having the skills to function effectively in the business world.

The interviewer is trying to determine compatibility with the open position. Be careful; don't say you dislike overtime, like management, or get too detailed. It's safe to say that you like challenges, pressure situations, opportunities to grow, or that you dislike bureaucracy and frustrating situations.

You could answer this question, and other similar ones, along these lines: "When planning the new service I would assess how it fits into the trust both physically and financially. I would approach senior managers to assess its sustainability, as well as gathering feedback from patients, service users, and colleagues. I would appraise the options in terms of benefits and risks.

"I would then identify the level and type of resources needed to deliver a safe and effective service. I would also minimise waste by using resources efficiently and effectively. Ensuring that my team is onside would be paramount. I would use their skills to ensure that outcomes are met and support my team to develop their roles. I would finally analyse performance using a range of sources. I would take responsibility for tackling difficult issues and build on my experience for future developments."

Maturation, increased technical skills and increased self-confidence are important developmental aspects. To discuss these effectively is indicative of a well-balanced, intelligent individual. Overcoming personal obstacles or recognising manageable weaknesses can help identify you as an approachable and desirable employee.

Sometimes this question is phrased as, "What would your worst critic say about you?" It is important to state a weakness that is either a positive or a negative that you have overcome. This could include "not being assertive enough, so I took assertiveness training and had discussions with senior colleagues," "I used to leave work late but I have now taken steps to improve my work-life balance and try to finish on time," or perhaps "I take on too much work but I have learnt to delegate and manage others."

A potential employee needs a strong level of technical competence. Most strong managers have good technical backgrounds. Describe specific examples of your technical abilities, and how you resolved a technical issue.

Know your key five or six strengths-the ones most compatible with the job opening. Discuss each with specific examples. Don't include your management or interpersonal skills unless you can describe specific examples of good management, or how your relationship skills have been critical to your success.

This is a common opener, which is intended to allow the candidate to relax and start talking. Don't ramble. Follow the personal, academic, clinical, and external (PACE) format.

A good answer would be: "I feel I am a good doctor because, personally, I am affable and polite. I am not judgmental, and I get on well with my colleagues. This can be supported by evidence from my multi-source feedback, comments made by colleagues and consultants, and from my references. Academically, I have passed all my exams well and have prizes in [. . . ]. I have published X number of articles in peer reviewed journals and presented X times nationally and X times internationally. I enjoy teaching by the bedside in small group tutorials and in larger lectures. Clinically, I have been told by my colleagues and supervisors that my clinical acumen is good and my operative skill is appropriate for a consultant. My logbook shows that I have been involved in X index cases, having been primary surgeon in X cases. Externally, I enjoy sport and can play the piano to grade seven."

Your answer to this will need to cover a number of issues. You might say, "Initially, I would assess how the program fits into the trust's values and vision. With the input of financial and clinical colleagues I would draw up a detailed plan, including five-year forecasts. I would ensure that everyone involved in the plan had clear responsibilities and appropriate deadlines. The performance improvement would allow savings to be removed from departmental budgets. I would manage a risk register for the program. Once delivered, I would ensure regular monitoring and reporting using financial and non-financial indicators. I would also ensure regular audit."

Your interviewer wants to know how introspective you are, and to see if you can learn from your mistakes. Don't be afraid to talk candidly about your failures, especially if you learned something significant from them.

Employers like this question as it tests whether you understand some key business concepts like stock exchanges, the workings of corporations, and economic fluctuations, and whether you can look at the big picture for businesses as well as zoom in on particular stories.

The proactive, results-oriented person doesn't have to be told what to do. To convince the interviewer you possess this trait, give a series of short examples describing your self-motivation. Discuss one example in-depth, describing the extra effort, your strong work ethic and your creative, resourceful side.

Think on your feet. Ask questions to get more details and break the problem into subsections. It is highly likely that you will have had some experience dealing with the subsections. Answer these and summarise the total. If you can't answer directly, state how you would go about solving the problem. Be specific and show your organisational and analytical skills.

Any question about difficult doctors requires a set answer that addresses the problem as well as the consequences for patients and the trust. You could answer along the following lines: "I would talk to my colleague and try to ascertain what the underlying problem was. I also would investigate any complaints. My primary concern would be patient safety and I would arrange cover for the doctor so that the trust's commitments are met. Either I or a senior colleague would check the doctor's decisions to ensure safety was not compromised. I would escalate the matter within the trust, using trust guidelines. I would ask for advice from senior colleagues, the clinical director, or the medical director, human resources, or the General Medical Council. I would ensure that support was provided for the doctor."

Most companies, unfortunately, face these problems daily. If you can't deal with petty problems, you'll be seen as uncooperative. How you overcome these are important. Diplomacy, perseverance and common sense will prevail in difficult circumstances.

Your interviewer is looking for strong management skills. You need to be creative and describe your toughest management task, even if it doesn't meet all the criteria. Most situations don't. Organisational and interpersonal skills, handling pressure and good handling of this question are indicative of effective management skills.

☛ What is the difference between clinical governance and clinical effectiveness?
☛ Describe an audit which you have done.
☛ Where do you see your role given the planned restructuring of pathology services (Carter report) and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the proposals.
☛ What makes a good leader!
☛ Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
☛ What advancements do you think you will have made to the department and how do you plan to develop the service over the next 5 years?
☛ Are you happy just giving clinical advice (as a consult) without full responsibility of the patient? What do you do if the advice is then ignored?
☛ How would you save costs in pathology?