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Writing a great NHS job application: the insider’s guide (updated September 2025)
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Can you negotiate your salary in the NHS?

Administrator - November 1, 2025November 1, 2025

One of the many confusing elements of applying for a job in the NHS (especially if you're applying for a job without prior NHS experience) is understanding why NHS jobs are normally advertised with a salary range, rather than a specific salary.

On the most basic level, these salary ranges represent the lowest to highest salaries within an Agenda for Change pay band. Agenda for Change is a standardised set of pay points used for the majority of NHS jobs, with ranges from Band 2 for the most junior staff to Band 9 for the most senior staff.

For example, using 2025/26 pay scales, a Band 5 salary could range from £31,049 to £37,796. Staff within Band 5 can be paid at one of three different rates or pay points (before taking into account High Cost Area Supplements):

£31,049
£33,487
£37,796

Band 2 only has one pay point. Bands 3 and 4 have two pay points each. All other bands have three pay points.

Understanding how much control you have over the salary you are paid does have some complexities - as we'll explain in this article.

Can I negotiate my salary as a new starter in the NHS?

Normally, new starters in the NHS begin on the bottom of the range of the advertised salary. Progression through the pay points (also sometimes called increments) is based on time in post and satisfactory yearly reviews, with a first pay increase taking place after two or three years, depending on the band.

However, there is scope to start on one of the middle or top points immediately in some circumstances. The key concept here is the idea of equivalent experience; if you can show that you have experience working at the same level of expertise and responsibility (or higher) for the length of time corresponding to progression to a higher pay point, you might be eligible to be paid at one of those higher pay points.

If you're moving from one NHS job to another at the same band, your equivalent experience should be automatically taken into account when your salary is agreed in your new role - although it is worth checking that this has taken place!

Policies about increased starting salaries for new joiners without NHS experience vary between organisations. Some organisations have a blanket policy that all non-NHS new starters start at the bottom of the salary range. Most organisations allow hiring managers to make a business case for new starters joining on a higher pay point if there is potentially equivalent experience to consider.

If you think you have relevant equivalent experience that should be taken into account, you should speak to your hiring manager as soon as possible once you have been offered the job - or even during the interview process, if you feel comfortable doing so. If they agree you have relevant equivalent experience, the hiring manager will then work with you to create a business case for approval by the organisation's HR department. Generally speaking, if you've made it as far as the business case being submitted, there is a good chance of it being approved.

It is also worth noting that some organisations extend this policy beyond the moment of joining, meaning that new starters can still try and negotiate a higher starting salary for a period of time after their start date, and receive back pay if successful. This period can be up to three months.

What is NHS rebanding?

Once you've started your role, pay progression will usually be limited to annual pay increases (applied to all NHS staff once the annual pay award is agreed) and movement through the pay points within your band based on years of experience.

There are some exceptional circumstances where the whole band of your role can be changed, leading to significant changes in pay.

This process - called "rebanding" - happens when the responsibilities of your job have shifted significantly from what is in your job description. For example, you may have taken on new clinical responsibilities, or begun line managing someone where that was previously not the case.

In these circumstances, you will usually need to speak to your line manager and HR team about whether rebanding your role is a possibility. This is a formal process where your current job responsibilities are evaluated (with the help of senior HR staff and trade union representatives) and a judgement is made about the appropriate Agenda for Change band for your role. You can find out more about rebanding on the Royal College of Nursing website.

How to get a job in the NHS without experience

Administrator - October 14, 2025November 1, 2025

About 125,000 people join the NHS each year without any prior experience of working for an NHS organisation, according to figures from NHS England.

Many of these new joiners will be entering established clinical career pathways following training - such as newly qualified nurses or doctors.

However, thousands of others will be entering into general administration, support or management roles which do not require NHS-specific training. With good job security, reasonable pay and progression and the chance to work as part of a team that saves and changes lives, it isn't difficult to see why people might want to join the NHS.

Competition for jobs within the NHS is at an all-time high, and for "outsiders" it can see an almost impossible task to make it through to the interview stage of recruitment, let alone securing a role.

However, hope is not lost! Working with a panel of experienced recruiting managers, we've developed four top tips to help people without NHS experience ace their application and secure their first role:

1. Don't think that applications are just a "numbers game"

NHS job applications are notoriously time consuming, with the two main application platforms (NHS Jobs and TRAC) requiring users to manually input their job and educational history and write a lengthy supporting statement. Because the platforms save these entries after they have been inputted, it can be tempting to just re-use the same application for different roles - or ask AI tools to do a quick rewrite of the personal statement and submit the application.

Unfortunately, the reality is that roles in the NHS now average hundreds of applications. Generic applications and applications which are mostly the product of AI don't do enough to stand out from the crowd. You need to tailor applications carefully to show that you understand the role and the organisation you are applying for, particularly within your supporting statement. Simply submitting hundreds of the same application won't get you anywhere.

2. Clearly demonstrate how your skills and expertise can be adapted to NHS environments

An obvious advantage for candidates who are already working within the NHS is that they can contextualise their experiences to the unique environment of the NHS in their application.

If you're applying to the NHS without having worked there already, you need to show the recruiting manager that you are well-prepared to fit into busy working life within an NHS organisation.

Within your supporting statement, make sure you "join the dots" between your work and educational background and the requirements set out in the person specification and job description.

For example, if you were applying for a receptionist position with a background of working in retail, you should make sure that you outline how you think interacting with customers has helped you prepare for working with patients.

For more specialised roles, try and do some research about how your skills or qualifications might be transferrable. Many systems or processes within the NHS are unique (for example Electronic Patient Record systems), but if you can mention how you have learned to use similar systems or processes in current or past roles, this might help to reassure the hiring manager that you are likely to pick up the needs of this new role more quickly.

It's also worth noting that if you do have genuinely equivalent experience at the same level as your new NHS job, you might be able to negotiate a higher starting salary.

3. Show that you understand the basic structure of the NHS

One of the most common failings we see in job applications from candidates without NHS experience is the failure to recognise the NHS is not a single body.

The NHS is made up of thousands of different organisations - from hospital trusts, to regional and national bodies, and a vast range of organisations providing specialist services or support.

Each of these bodies is unique, with their own priorities and organisational culture. If your job description talks solely about the NHS as if it is a single entity, you are showing the hiring manager you don't really understand the organisation you are applying for.

Have a look at the organisation you are applying for's website and social media channels. These should be able to give you information you can reference in your supporting statement - for example their strategic priorities or in relation to their latest news.

4. Be curious at interview stage

If you've made it to the interview stage - congratulations! Your odds of securing that dream job in the NHS have just got significantly better.

NHS interviews tend to be quite structured and formal. Often, candidates feel that they find it properly engage with their interviewers, and might leave disappointed about not building a positive relationship during the interview.

NHS interviews always include time for the candidate to ask questions, and this is the key section for really having a conversation with the interviewers.

Your interviewers will know you're from outside the NHS, so asking intelligent questions about the role shows that you're a proactive person who is already considering what they will need to learn and understand to be successful. The questions from the candidate are usually are usually also the final part of the interview, and so they are your final chance to leave a good impression on the interview panel.

5. Get an expert guide

Yes, we're biased - but we think you'll agree that understanding the recruitment process in the NHS is a difficult task. From oddly-worded job descriptions to application forms which take hours to complete and weeks spent hanging around waiting for progress updates, there is a lot to get your head around.

Our team collectively review thousands of applications each year, and it is frustrating to see so many candidates misunderstanding what is required or making errors in their application forms which mean they can't even make it to interview.

We've developed our insider's guide to writing a great NHS job application to give candidates the absolute best chance of scoring well on their application. We hope that it helps more talented and passionate people without NHS experience get the jobs they deserve.

How long does NHS shortlisting take?

Administrator - October 5, 2025October 5, 2025

Shortlisting refers to the process of scoring all applications that have been received for a job, and choosing which of the highest-scoring applications will be taken through to the interview stage of the recruitment.

With the rise of AI making it much faster to write supporting statements, application volumes for NHS jobs have rapidly increased in recent years. It is not uncommon for NHS jobs to receive well in excess of 100 applications, with some examples of single jobs receiving more than 300 applications.

The shortlisting process is completely manual, requiring each application to be carefully reviewed. Given the length of the application, even an experienced shortlister is likely to take at least 5 minutes per application for scoring. At a rate of 5 minutes per application, 100 applications would take more than a full day of work to score - without considering the "day job" that the hiring manager and other shortlisters will also be juggling.

With this in mind, it is unusual for shortlisting to take less than a week from the advert closing for applications - although some NHS organisations do allow shortlisting to take place while the advert is still live, which can speed up the process. On average, a wait of 1-2 weeks for shortlisting to be completed is normal. Entry-level jobs (which receive higher application volumes) may take even longer.

Who scores NHS job applications?

Shortlisting is almost always completed by a panel of two people. Usually, this will be the recruiting manager and one of their colleagues (e.g. someone else from the same team). Occasionally, it will be an HR representative, although our experience is that this is quite rare except for entry-level, non-specialist roles.

The shortlisting panel will review the applications separately, with each panel member scoring each application. Once both panel members have completed their scoring, the applicant tracking system will allow them to see their combined scores. The shortlisting panel will then use these scores to help decide how many people to take through to the interview process.

How does NHS shortlisting scoring work?

Shortlisting varies slightly between organisations. Normally, the shortlisting panel will be scoring applications against a selection of elements of the person specification. Scoring for each element tends to be between 0 (no evidence of meeting the criteria) and 3 (exceptional).

How many candidates are shortlisted for NHS interviews?

Administrator - September 29, 2025September 29, 2025

Did you know that many NHS jobs now receive more than 100 applications? With the odds of making it through to interview now arguably tougher than ever, it can be difficult to know how to set expectations in terms of what proportion of candidates should make it to interview, and how good your chances are if you are shortlisted.

How does NHS shortlisting work?

Shortlisting is almost always completed by a panel of two people. Usually this will be the recruiting manager and one of their colleagues (e.g. someone else from the same team). Occasionally, it will be an HR representative, although our experience is that this is quite rare except for entry-level, non-specialist roles.

Shortlisting varies slightly between organisations; as with many elements of recruitment such as advertising or probation periods, there is no set protocol within the NHS Agenda for Change contract and no national policy. Normally, the shortlisting panel will be scoring applications against a selection of elements of the person specification. Scoring for each element is often on a short scale, such as between 0 (no evidence of meeting the criteria) and 3 (exceptional).

How many candidates are taken to interview?

There are no NHS-wide rules on how many candidates should be interviewed as part of the hiring process. Usually, hiring managers will choose between 3-8 candidates they think have a realistic chance of being appointed based on their job application.

Sometimes, this number may be less. In rare cases, hiring managers may only take one candidate to interview, if they feel they are the only potentially appointable candidate.

Some organisations have policies that applicants with a disability who meet the “minimum criteria” for the role should always be invited to interview. The application of this policy is very inconsistent. However, if you do consider yourself to have a disability, it is worth indicating this in your application – you won’t be scored down because of any disability and you might have a slightly better chance of being shortlisted.

Can NHS jobs close early?

Administrator - August 31, 2025October 5, 2025

NHS jobs are usually advertised with a specific closing date. However, it is not uncommon for jobs to close or be removed before this date.

In the experience of the NHS Payscales team as hiring managers, the single biggest reason for this is sheer volume of applications. The use of AI in NHS job applications has meant that many vacancies now get more than 100 applications; in some cases application numbers can exceed 300.

Each application must be manually reviewed by the hiring manager and normally a second shortlister. Even if each application review only takes 5 minutes, reviewing 100 applications means dedicating an entire day to shortlisting for each of the managers involved in the shortlisting process. Given hiring managers also have their busy "day job" to take care of, spending vast amounts of time shortlisting applications is simply unsustainable and can lead to long waits for candidates.

Often, hiring managers will keep an eye on applications as they come in and work with HR colleagues to close the vacancy early if they feel they have enough strong candidates.

It is worth noting that like many other matters related to recruitment (such as probation periods), policies on closing vacancies early vary between NHS organisations - there is no single policy applied across the NHS. Some organisations have a policy to never close vacancies early because of concerns that this disadvantages people who may not be able to easily find the time to apply in a timely fashion (such as working parents).

Unfortunately, for applicants, there is no real way around the fact that the longer you leave it to apply for an NHS role, the higher the chances of the advert closing and you missing your chance.

Do short closing dates mean an internal candidate has already been earmarked for the role?

It is sometimes perceived that internal candidates are pre-selected for many NHS jobs, with the recruitment process being a mere formality.

While some jobs are only advertised internally, short closing dates don't necessarily correlate with having a preferred internal candidate. It is more likely that the hiring manager thinks they are likely to receive a large volume of high quality applicants - and that they want someone in post quickly!

Do NHS jobs have a probation period?

Administrator - August 30, 2025August 30, 2025

Probationary periods (periods after starting a new job where notice periods are shortened) are not standardised under the Agenda for Change contract used by most NHS organisations for most staff (except doctors).

During a probationary period, it is usual that staff will have their performance monitored closely. If there are serious concerns about performance, the staff member may be dismissed during their probationary period with a shorter notice period (usually one or two weeks).

Because there is no NHS-wide policy on probation periods, whether jobs within the NHS come with a probation period depends on the organisation. Broadly speaking, there are three possible approaches to probation periods within the NHS:

No probation period. An increasing number of NHS organisations no longer have any probation period for staff. This is because adding a probation period increases legal complexity and (in practice) dismissing a member of staff during their probationary period may not be any easier than if they were an established member of staff.
3 months. Some NHS organisations use a 3-month probation period - which is a typical probationary period in the private sector.
6 months. Other NHS organisations use a 6-month probationary period. This longer notice period tends to be more common for clinical staff.

The length of your probationary period (if you have one) will be explained to you during the process of being offered a job. If you are in the process of applying for a job within the NHS, you should be able to ask your recruitment HR contact about the details of any probation period.

Do NHS jobs have to be advertised?

Administrator - August 30, 2025September 1, 2025

A frustration among candidates for NHS jobs is the perception that some of the "best" jobs never make it to being advertised externally. It is often suggested that managers find ways of giving jobs to preferred internal candidates without going through a fair and competitive recruitment process.

In reality, as with many recruitment-related issues, whether NHS jobs have to be advertised varies significantly based on organisational policies. There is no specific policy within Agenda for Change or other nationally-recognised policy documents about how jobs should be advertised.

Although normal practice is advertise all roles externally for two weeks, it is not uncommon for roles to only be advertised internally, and sometimes only to specific groups of internal staff.

Some of the scenarios where NHS jobs would not be advertised externally include:

Organisations undergoing redundancy or restructuring programmes. Often large NHS organisations in the process of making significant numbers of staff redundant will insist that all vacancies are circulated to staff "at risk" before they are advertised any further. This gives staff who may otherwise be leaving the organisation the chance to apply for the vacancy.
Organisations under financial pressure. When NHS trusts or other organisations are experiencing challenging financial environments, they may alter their recruitment policies to reduce the time and expenses related to external recruitment. This is sometimes called a "recruitment freeze", where vacancies are often left unfilled if they are deemed non-essential. However, in circumstances where a vacancy must be filled, these organisations may choose advertise internally first.
Organisations with discretionary policies around internal recruitment. Because external recruitment takes a significant amount of time and effort to organise, some NHS organisations have policies (whether formal or informal) allowing managers to advertise vacancies internally if they feel there are likely to be good candidates within the organisation. In these cases, hiring managers will work with HR colleagues to decide if this is the best course of action. This is more likely to be possible for semi-junior positions where there are many internal staff looking to progress.

However, it is extremely uncommon for a manager to be allowed to simply "give" a job to an internal candidate without some form of recruitment process taking place. Managers only have limited control of the recruitment process within NHS organisations, and HR colleagues tend to be highly aware of recruitment processes that could be deemed to be unfair, opening the organisation up to potential employment tribunals or other legal challenges.

Do NHS job applications check for AI? (updated September 2025)

Administrator - August 25, 2025October 27, 2025

As of September 2025, NHS job application platforms (such as Trac and NHS Jobs) do not automatically check whether tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini have been used by candidates to write their applications. From speaking to NHS HR professionals, we understand that this is because there is no proven method for automatically detecting AI-generated applications.

Some NHS organisations do ask candidates to declare whether they have used AI tools to help them craft their supporting statement or application. However, declaring that you have used AI tools does not directly impact your application score. Some of these declarations suggest that applications are "monitored" for the use of AI.

We are aware of one NHS organisation (Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust) who claim to screen for AI use in applications.

We have no evidence to suggest any NHS organisation has a reliable, automated method for checking for AI content in applications.

Should I use AI to write my NHS job application?

The NHS Payscales team are experienced NHS hiring managers - we review thousands of job applications each year.

We believe that the majority of NHS job applications are now written using AI. The logic for candidates using AI is understandable; NHS job applications are notoriously long and complex, and using AI can turn a task that might take hours into the work of a few minutes.

Unfortunately, we feel that the reality is that too many applications rely on using AI with very little actual human input, damaging the quality of the application. Supporting statements created solely using AI tend to be easy to spot as they follow similar structures, lack compelling arguments for why the candidate wants the role, and talk about the job in a very generic sense. This is especially true for candidates without existing NHS experience.

More than anything else, if the hiring manager thinks you have used AI to generate your application or personal statement, they will probably think you are lazy and the type of person who tries to cut corners. It's unlikely that is what they are looking for in their team!

By all means, use AI to proofread your application, or to research the role or organisation to inform your application - but our strong advice is not to rely on AI to do the actual writing.

How to write a good NHS job application

admin - June 10, 2025August 31, 2025

Getting the job you want in the NHS has arguably never been more difficult. Many NHS jobs (especially non-clinical roles) now receive more than 100 applications, making competition fierce for roles at every level.

At the same time, the NHS is in desperate need of skilled and enthusiastic staff. Many professions have significant vacancy rates; about 1 in 12 nursing roles are vacant at any one time.

Applying for NHS jobs is not necessarily a simple task. From complex applications using clunky platforms such as NHS Jobs or Trac, to demystifying jargon used in person specifications, it can be difficult to know how to approach NHS job applications.

We recently spoke to a group NHS hiring managers with experience hiring at a variety of levels to get the inside track on what makes an NHS job application good (and bad):

Writing a good NHS supporting statement

Supporting statements (sometimes also called personal statements or supporting information) can be make or break for NHS job applications. These are the main part of the job application where you can demonstrate your passion for the role and the reasons why you should stand out against the many other applicants who might have similar qualifications or experience.

Our managers gave us a clear list of "do's and don'ts" for supporting information:

Do make sure your supporting statement clearly shows how you meet every part of the person specification. The person specification (usually part of the job description) is the key list of skills that the hiring manager will be using to score your application against. Work through each section of the "essential" and "desirable" elements of the person specification and check your personal statement demonstrates how you meet each criteria, including examples where possible.
Do talk about where you're applying for. One of the biggest mistakes our managers mentioned was focusing the supporting information purely on the candidate. Your personal statement gives you a chance to show that you have properly researched the job and organisation you are planning to join. Has the hospital you've applied for recently won an award? Is there a particular specialty at the hospital you're passionate about? Mentioning these kind of details is a great way to show that you are a self-starter and enthusiastic about this particular role.
Do properly check and proof-read your supporting statement. Not very surprising advice, but our managers were shocked at how many supporting statements had poor grammar, spelling, or included other blunders such as getting organisation names wrong. Get someone else to check your statement before you submit it!
Don't rely on AI to write your supporting statement. Easy access to tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini has made it tempting to hand over the hard work of writing personal statements to AI, but our managers told us they generally found AI-generated supporting statements easy to spot. In particular, they found AI-generated statements tended to be vague on detail, formulaic in structure and full of cliched expressions. Some managers estimated up to 80% of the applications they saw were obviously constructed using ChatGPT. By all means, use these tools to help research roles - but our advice is to stick to doing the writing yourself, even though NHS job platforms don't check for AI content.
Don't include external links. Some application systems remove external links or email addresses automatically. Most of the managers we spoke to said they simply didn't have time to visit external websites such as LinkedIn when reviewing applications, unless the application form specifically asked for them.

Understanding the NHS application process

Almost all NHS job applications are reviewed by managers who are working full-time in busy roles. Reviewing applications is a time-consuming process, especially when managers are being asked to review potentially hundreds of applications; one manager we spoke to said they regularly receive more than 300 applications for entry-level roles.

You can make your application more likely to succeed by understanding some key elements of the process and making your application as easy to score as possible:

Applications are usually anonymous. Most modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) anonymise applications to avoid bias - so the hiring manager doesn't know whose application they are scoring. If you're an internal candidate, bear this in mind if you've got a relationship with the hiring manager already; they won't necessarily know who you are, and as such you need to imagine you are writing your application to someone you've never met before. If you're an external candidate, trying to build a relationship with a hiring manager through requesting phone calls is usually not a good use of time (unless you have genuine questions).
Applications are scored using a strict and inflexible scoring system. Applications are usually scored against some or all of the criteria in the person specification section of the job description. Usually the scoring is from 0 (no evidence) to 3 (exceptional) for each criteria. Missing any element of the person specification can cost you big marks against your competition.
Equality, diversity and inclusion and values are important. In today's NHS, understanding concepts such as equity and diversity are vital. Many of the biggest challenges facing NHS services are related to health inequalities, and managers want staff who are conscious of these types of issue. Many NHS organisations also have their own values, and it can be useful for scoring to mention these values by name.
Using technical and unfamiliar terms. Don't make any assumptions about what the person scoring your application will or won't know. Spell out acronyms and explain every element of your application. In particular, our managers mentioned that many applicants educated outside the UK include references to grading or educational attainment which are unfamiliar - and which they don't have time to look up themselves. Make sure that you explain these terms in ways that are more familiar to British reviewers, e.g. "equivalent to an A-level".

When will the NHS pay rise be paid for 2025?

admin - June 1, 2025August 13, 2025

In May 2025, a new NHS pay rise was announced, with all staff on the Agenda for Change pay scale being awarded a 3.6% pay rise.

As with previous years, this pay agreement was not announced in time for the new financial year, which begins on April 1st. Initially it was not clear when NHS staff would actually receive updated pay in their monthly pay packets.

However, in June 2025 the government announced that pay increases will be implemented in time for August's monthly pay.

Staff will receive their new pay and pay backdated to April on their normal monthly pay day.

Find the answers to some FAQs about backdated pay below:

Will the NHS pay rise be paid in August?

Yes, the NHS pay rise for 2025/26 will be paid (including backdated pay for April, May, June and July) in line with normal monthly pay arrangements in August 2025.

Because of the August bank holiday, this pay might arrive earlier in the month than usual. If your normal pay day is the 23rd, 24th or 25th of the month, you will receive all your pay on Friday 22nd August.

Will the NHS pay rise be taxed?

Yes, the NHS pay rise will be taxed normally. You won't pay any more tax compared to if the pay had been included in your monthly pay between April-July.

Will I pay pension contributions on my backdated pay?

Yes, you will pay pension contributions on backdated pay. This is likely to significantly reduce the total amount of backdated pay you actually receive, given NHS pension contributions can be up to 12.5% of total pay. This year's bands for pension contributions have already been adjusted for inflation, but they will change again slightly to reflect this years above-inflation pay rise.

This could mean a very slightly higher (or lower) contribution "in arrears" to pension contributions for staff in the following groups:

Band 4 staff with less than 3 years of experience
Band 8a staff with at least 5 years of experience

These contribution changes will be confirmed before August 2025.

Writing a great NHS job application: the insider’s guide (updated September 2025)