Prospect was commissioned by NHS England and Improvement to design and deliver a pilot programme of webinars to support delegates in presenting themselves in writing for NHS jobs.
The webinars were aimed at those staff aspiring to band 8a posts who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds with the aim of increasing ethnic diversity within 8a and above positions.
The pilot was aimed at staff from Manchester University NHS foundation Trusts and other organisations across the Northwest as part of the Northwest talent team.
The two hour interactive webinars were run through May and June. The aims were as follows:
To allow delegates the opportunity to determine best practices for selling themselves through NHS job applications
To review their understanding of how to develop their personal statements, supportive information specific to NHS job applications, and where applicable, their CVs.
To review and develop their achievement statements, discuss transferable skills, and how to capture these within their applications
To discuss and review in peer groups best practices and how to take this forward to ensure they are presenting themselves in the best way possible
With over 60 delegates in attendance, the initial evaluation showed that all either agreed or strongly agreed that the webinar aims were met and there had been lots of learning taken from the webinars.
Delegates from Manchester University NHS foundation Trusts were also asked to complete a follow up evaluation about how they had found the webinar and their what their learnings were, with the following results:
Almost all participants reported greater post-event knowledge and understanding
All participants reported feeling more confident when presenting themselves in writing
All participants reported that the sessions were engaging and inclusive
Participants valued the informative and well-structured content
Programme Lead Jackie Barringer said “It was good to meet all the delegates and work with them on the webinars. Putting the preparation into their future job applications and looking at our key action words, our transferable skills, and how we can promote ourselves in the best way is essential to get to the point of being shortlisted. It is fantastic to see how delegates felt they learnt from the webinar and increased understanding of how best to promote themselves.”
Should you wish to discuss how Prospect can support your organisation and your workforce to be more successful in either presenting themselves in writing or in interviews, please contact jackie@weareprospect.com