What happens after applying for a vacancy?
Your application should include the following sections, personal information, academic qualifications, work experience, professional references, and a supporting statement.
When you click to apply for a role, you may be asked a small number of pre application questions. These are designed to ensure you are only able to apply for a position that is right for you. An example of this would be our Qualified Paramedic vacancy which will ask you to confirm that you are indeed a qualified paramedic before you can begin your application. If you are not able to proceed, you should look for other vacancies that you may be more suited to.
Your application will ask for personal details, qualifications, employment history, references, equality monitoring information and an opportunity for you to write a supporting statement. It is important that you complete all these fields. Failure to complete, could result in the application being rejected at shortlisting. Equality monitoring information is not mandatory, but it does help us to understand our staff and applicants to ensure we continue to be a diverse employer and equal opportunities are given to all who wish to apply. This information is not visible upon shortlisting and is therefore not taken into account during your application.
Upon submitting your application, it will be held until the vacancy closes and is moved to the shortlisting stage, all applicant identifiable information is removed, and each part of the application is considered against set criteria for that role and scored accordingly. You should not include your name in the supporting statement.
It can take a couple of weeks for a vacancy to be shortlisted once closed. If you have not heard anything after a couple of weeks following closure, please email recruitment@eastamb.nhs.uk.
Examples of shortlisting rejection
Qualifications
An apprenticeship or qualified application must clearly document core education to be mapped across to the person specification. Apprenticeships require GCSE education or equivalent (for example, Functional Skills Level 2 or a CSE at Level 1). If the applicant fails to document their full education, the staff member shortlisting will be unable to guarantee that the applicant will meet the education criteria. Do not summarise; stating GCSEs x8 A-E will not be clear enough for shortlisting.
A declaration of a higher form of education such as a diploma for example, does not necessarily mean that the applicant has the required GCSEs in Maths and English to enter an apprenticeship. Therefore, if this is all that is listed in qualifications, the application will be rejected. Any education or qualification mandated for the role will need to be evidenced as part of your pre-employment checks.
International qualifications must go through a formal conversion process and certificates issued by the organisation will be required.
Other common causes applications are not shortlisted
Duplicate application - the applicant has applied for the same vacancy in multiple sectors within the same recruitment period. Greater than 3 points declared on a driving licence, or no driving licence documented when required.
Employment history shows significant employment gaps, which are not then declared or elaborated on further on in the application.
A vague application - minimal supporting information mapped against the person specification and job description or a very standardised supporting document which does not seem to have been tailored to the role being applied to. Not enough detail on roles and responsibilities within employment history.
Finally, if you are rejected at shortlisting, use it as an opportunity to review your application before re submitting it if the opportunity comes back out to advert.
