Physiotherapy Careers Pack - Canvas

Physiotherapy Careers Pack

Careers Network support to help you make the transition from student

to professional

Introduction

This careers guide has been written as a one stop resource to support you as you near the end of your

studies in the first year after graduation. Whether it’s targeting employers with speculative applications

or applying online, this guide includes:

Wishing you all every success in your future

The LES Careers team

Sarah Robinson Careers Consultant

Julie Wainwright Careers Consultant

Amy Haworth Careers Adviser

Jim Reali Careers Adviser

Carl Jukes Applications Adviser

Kam Manku Internship Officer

Kay Bevan Careers Information Officer

Careers Network support for physiotherapists

You might be leaving the University this year, but you can still gain support from the careers team at

Careers Network up to 2 years after graduation. Careers appointments will be available throughout the

term; whether it’s an application check, mock interview or even change of direction you can get in touch

with us.

To find out how to book an appointment for careers advice or applications and CV support go to: www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers

Appointments take place in:

• Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences building: Atrium

• Biosciences Undercroft: careers hub to the right of the cafe.

You can book up to 7 days in advance.

If you are unable to come in you can email your queries via the website.

Finding physiotherapy job vacancies

Some of the areas where you could work as a physiotherapist are:

outpatients, intensive care, women’s health, care of the elderly, stroke patients, terminally ill,

orthopaedics, paediatrics, mental illness, learning difficulties, occupational health.

Typical employers of physiotherapists include:

acute and primary care trusts of NHS

private/sports clinics

private hospitals and GP practices

charities

industrial organisations

special schools

the armed services

Useful websites

Working in the UK

http://www.csp.org.uk/ - register with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)

http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ - perform a job search and find jobs that match your skills, and apply

for NHS jobs online. Sign up to Jobs by Email to receive new vacancies to suit your job search

every day

http://www.healthjobsuk.com/jobs search UK’s largest independent database of jobs in the

health sector

http://www.jobescalator.com/ - information on all types of current vacancies.

http://www.army.mod.uk/join/ - As a Physiotherapist in the Army, you could be working in

basic field hospitals or in the best rehabilitation centers in the country

http://www.raf.mod.uk/careers/ - The Royal Air Force : Physiotherapist (mainly musculoskeletal

but also in other fields - e.g. intensive care/trauma/ orthopaedics)

http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/ - job opportunities at NHS Education for Scotland (NES) advertised

here

https://jobs.scot.nhs.uk/(S(115nb345ipwfwhmpadtyzibj))/list.aspx - Search for vacancies by

region, employer and category within NHS Scotland

http://www.hscni.net/ - official gateway for Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland

http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/ - includes a ‘Looking for a Job’ section

http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/ - includes a ‘Health Jobs’ section

http://www.spirehealthcare.com/ - Spire Healthcare Vacancies at hospitals previously owned by

BUPA

http://www.physiofirst.org.uk/ - Physio First (Formerly known as the Organisation of Chartered

Physiotherapists in Private Practice.

http://ukactive.com - UK Active (Formerly known as the Fitness Industry Association) vacancies

section

http://www.bases.org.uk/ - British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences (job vacancies

section)

http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/ - Sport Scotland (jobs section/ careers in sport)

http://www.icnm.org.uk/ - Institute of Complimentary Medicine, information on complimentary

medicine through its practitioners, therapists, courses and research

http://massagetherapy.co.uk/ - Massage Therapy provides details of over 160 massage and

holistic complementary therapy courses, schools, colleges and 50 professional associations

http://www.physiobob.com/ - vacancies in the UK, Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New

Zealand and USA.

Working Overseas

If working overseas appeals to you, you must ensure that you register in the UK with the Health

Professions Council (HPC) as the license to practice is needed, and join the Chartered Society of

Physiotherapy (CSP). Find more information on the CSP website or relevant websites below:

http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/Jobs - opportunities worldwide

http://www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/careers-development/employment/ - for

information on working in the UK, Europe and beyond

http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/jobs - Health Service Executive, information on careers and jobs in

Ireland

http://www.apta.org - American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) job vacancies section

http://www.physiotherapy.asn.au - Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), job vacancies

section

http://www.ameliashealthcare.com.au – Australian recruitment agency interested in new

graduate Physiotherapists to work in Australia on a permanent full time basis

http://www.thesehands.ca - Canadian Physiotherapy Association

http://www.physio-europe.org - European Region of the World Confederation for Physical

Therapy (ER-WCPT)

http://www.physiosa.org.za - The South African Society of Physiotherapy

http://www.vso.org.uk/volunteer - looking for experienced physiotherapists to develop

rehabilitation services in hospitals and community-based clinics.

Useful resources

www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers - vacancies and careers support for up to two years

after graduation

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/country_profiles.htm - search the country profiles to start your

journey

http://physiotherapygraduate.co.uk/ - This physiotherapy graduate blog gives some really useful

insights the profession along with highlighting some useful events.

Creating an Effective Physiotherapy CV

A CV may be required at any part of your physiotherapy career; from applying for your elective through

to a senior position. Your CV is your personal record of your achievements, skills and experiences and is

designed to convince the recruiter that you are the right person for that opportunity. See your CV as the

opportunity to target your experiences; the most effective CVs stand out when they clearly identify the

way in which they match the criteria for the opportunity. A long list of achievements on its own will not

do; tailoring it to the opportunity is key.

Creating a successful CV

Your CV should be viewed as a successful marketing tool and not merely a long list of achievements. To

prove that you match the criteria that a recruiter is asking for, you must:

Analyse the opportunity and identify exactly what experience and skills are required. You can

do this by looking at the person specification for that opportunity. It is likely to be organised into

essential and desirable criteria. You must evidence all of the essential criteria, or you will not

proceed through to the next stage, no matter how good your CV looks.

If it is for an elective opportunity, look at the information provided; show your research on the

opportunity and organisation.

Analyse yourself and match your achievements, experience and skills to those that are required

for this opportunity. These skills can be gained from different aspects of your life, including:

Clinical skills

Academic

Previous Employment and work experience

Voluntary work

Leisure activities and Interests

Home life

The anatomy of a successful CV

Your CV and covering letter needs to be Clear, Concise, Complete, Consistent, Current.

It does not have to be an exhaustive list of everything that you have done but must be designed to

show that it is clearly targeted to a specific opportunity. Whilst there is not a set format to your CV,

the following headings are useful in structuring your information.

Personal Details: Name, address, telephone numbers and email address (avoid jokey sounding ones)

Date of birth, nationality and marital status are not necessary for UK CVs.

Personal Profile/Career Objective: this is optional, however is a good opportunity to summarise

your key experiences, skills and “make your pitch” from the outset.

Professional Education and Qualifications Start with the most recent first, including dates and

institutions. Focus particularly on your course including academic awards and opportunities to stand

out, including your dissertation. GCSES can be summarised.

Professional Experience

Include here clinical experiences gained as well as your elective; highlight key skills and experiences

gained that the recruiter will be interested in.

Employment and Work Experience This can include permanent, temporary, full time, part time and

voluntary work (if you have extensive voluntary experience and it is health/fitness related you may

wish to have this under a separate heading and to prioritise it accordingly). Your experience can be

prioritised according to relevance, or starting with the most recent first. Ensure that key skills and

experiences are identified; bullet pointing can work well here.

Additional Skills and Achievements This could include IT skills, languages spoken, driving licence,

etc.

Interests and Leisure Activities Avoid a long list, but do focus on any membership or positions of

responsibility, e.g. MedSoc

References It is usual to include two, ideally one academic and one clinician. Get their permission

first and include their contact details.

Top tips

Before you start to write your CV, identify exactly what the recruiter is looking for and ensure

that your CV clearly provides evidence; if someone picked up your CV would they be able to

identify straightaway what you were applying for?

Aim to keep your CV to 2 pages of A4 (if for an academic position you may wish to attach

additional information to a third page)

Keep the presentation clear; choose a font 11-12 points. Your name can be in slightly larger font.

Bold can work well, but try to avoid distracting the reader’s eyes with underlining and fussy

fonts. Tables can also break the flow of the CV and best avoided.

Avoid large blocks of text; bullet pointing works well.

Focus on the positive and use active words to identify skills.

Use the space well; avoid cramping sections but don’t leave too much white space. The average

amount time a recruiter first reads a CV is just 20 seconds, so it needs to be easy to read and

succinct in its presentation of evidence to match the criteria.

Specialist resources

http://targetjobs.co.uk/medicine-nursing-and-healthcare-graduate-jobs

www.nhscareers.nhs.uk

www.csp.org.uk

Further support

You can book an appointment online at www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers for advice or

to get your CV checked. Careers appointments are available at either of our two careers hubs:

o School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Science’s Atrium

o Biosciences Undercroft, to the right hand side of the café.

Email us with your CV –Go to www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers and follow the

instructions for submitting email enquiries. Upload your CV as a word document and we will

review it and return comments.

Writing a covering letter

The covering letter is used to accompany your CV when you apply for jobs that are either advertised or

speculatively (contact an employer to ask if there is any opportunity within their organisation).

The tips below should be used only as guidelines only. Each covering letter that you write should be

targeted to the job and organisation that you are applying for. You must never use the same text twice!

Formatting tips

No more than one side of A4

Keep it formal - use the correct modes of address – ‘Dear Sir / Madam’ signs off with ‘Yours faithfully’ and ‘Dear Mrs Jones’ with ‘Yours sincerely’

Avoid jargon, clichés and unsupported claims

Write positively and enthusiastically about the role and the organisation

Check very carefully for spelling and grammar mistakes

Check instructions for sending – email attachment or pasted into the body of the email?

Content

The following paragraphs would help you to structure the covering letter:

Paragraph 1: introduce yourself and explain why you are writing, use a formal and positive

language. Mention the job title and reference number and where you saw it if applying for a

specific advert and what documents you have enclosed (such as your CV).

Paragraph 2: show your enthusiasm and interest for the role, the employer and demonstrate you have done your research. Write about your knowledge and understanding of physiotherapy as a profession, your career ambitions. Focus on your dissertation topic and what have you learned from your research.

Paragraph 3: highlight your key skills and experiences. Demonstrate how your skills and experience, strengths and qualities match those required in the job description or person specification. Draw out specific examples from your CV which identify what they are looking for.

Paragraph 4: focus on what distinguishes you from other candidates

Paragraph 5: conclude with a thank you for their time, identify that you are available to discuss your suitability and that you hope to hear from them soon.

Careers resources available:

You can have your covering letter reviewed by a careers adviser by emailing it via the careers website: www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers

For tips and examples of covering letters visit Graduate Prospects website: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/covering_letters.htm

Application forms - writing supporting information

General advice

The supporting information section is a very important part of your application form. In this section you

are required to provide details of relevant skills, experience and knowledge demonstrating with

examples how you meet the requirements of the position for which you have applied. It is your

opportunity to market your skills and experience effectively by demonstrating with examples that you

have the qualities and competences that they are looking for.

To write an effective supporting information section, you must read carefully the job description (JD)

and person specification (PS). Make sure that you demonstrate your understanding of the post, that you

have researched the hospital/trust or organization that you are applying to thoroughly and that you

highlight all the skills and qualities that are mentioned in the JD or PS by providing examples.

We have been advised through NHS Jobs that there have been some changes made to the application

form and the requirements needed. Detailed guidelines on this can be found at:

http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/news/latest32.html

Please note that:

1) You will need to include a full employment history. Where there are gaps, these must be explained in the additional information (also referred to as the supporting information section) of the application form.

2) Under the supporting information section, you will need to demonstrate that you can provide examples of how you meet the criteria from the person specification. You are advised to list each of the essential skills as sub headings within this section and put examples. If you have any of the desired skills, please use these as sub headings too.

3) There have been some textual changes made within the Monitoring Information section regarding the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

It is important that you pitch each supporting information section to the specific role. Based on a person

specification for a Band 5 physiotherapist role you must make sure that the following sections are

covered: introduction, your experience and skills, knowledge of the sector and personal qualities needed

for the role.

I. Introduction

This is the first paragraph of your supporting information. It is crucial at the very start you clearly demonstrate your interest & enthusiasm for your profession and the specific post (why this hospital/organisation, why this job role). Introduce yourself, your degree and the name of institution.

II. Experience and Skills

This section is very important for you to make a case for why you are the best candidate for the job. Highlight your experience and draw the skills you have gained from your relevant and other experience (match the skills required in the JD/PS with your personal examples)

You may choose to organise your information in two sub headers (clinical placements and other experience)

Clinical Placement Experience If you did your placement in their hospital make sure to mention it. Focus on your most relevant experience. Write about your clinical experience by focusing on what you did, what you learned and more importantly what skills did you develop/gain as a result of this experience. Consider highlighting different skills and knowledge gained from different placement experiences.

Other Relevant Employment/Experience Describe what you have gained from work experience or voluntary work that you have done prior to joining your course or during your course. Keep it brief. Highlight transferable skills/experience such as team work, time management, and qualities such as reliable, confident and flexible.

Typical skills for a physiotherapist job include:

good interpersonal and communication skills

self directed learning

ability to work independently as well as part of a multidisciplinary team

working under pressure, time management,

ability to maintain accurate and up to date records and IT skills.

III. Knowledge of the sector

Show that you can demonstrate good awareness of NHS strategies by providing specific examples, provide evidence of having developed a wide clinical knowledge base within student placements.

Specify what your dissertation topic and areas of professional interests are and show commitment to professional development.

IV. Personal Qualities

Identify and highlight your personal qualities that match those required in the job specification (enthusiastic, motivated and flexible).

At the end, confirm your interest in the post and finish in a positive way. For example, “I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you at interview to discuss my application in more depth”. Top Tips

Check out the Careers presentations on Canvas on making successful applications.

Keep your supporting information section concise and at 1 – 2 pages of A4 long.

Make sure that there are no spelling or grammar mistakes.

Cover all the areas and criteria mentioned in the job description and person specification.

Use subheadings, bullet points and/or short paragraphs.

Preparing for interview questions

Overview

An interview follows a successful application. It is a process in which you are evaluated by an employer

on your suitability for the role and the organisation. The interview enables you to demonstrate your

professional knowledge, key skills and competences by responding to a set of questions asked by the

interviewer.

Typical physiotherapy interview questions include:

General/career motivation questions where the interviewer would like to obtain information

about you and your career motivation to become a physiotherapist, and your enthusiasm to join

their organisation.

Clinical questions/scenarios where you would be asked to demonstrate clinical skills and

knowledge or respond to a specific clinical scenario

Knowledge questions usually test the level of professional knowledge about organisation or

Trust, the role and what you have learned from your studies and placements.

Competency questions where you are required to provide examples to demonstrate skills and

qualities described in the person specification and job description.

Example interview questions

General questions/career motivation:

1. Tell us what attracted you to Physiotherapy as a career?

2. What aspect of your degree have you enjoyed the most - why?

3. What are you strengths/weaknesses (clinical or non clinical)?

4. You have applied for a rotational band 5 job, what skills do you think you could bring to this

role?

5. How do you cope with change?

6. Tell me about your dissertation. –why did you choose that topic? Do you think that the

sample size was adequate?

7. Why do you want to work for this Trust and how did you prepare for this interview?

8. What are your objectives and aims for the first year as a Band 5

9. What do you think you would find most challenging in this role?

10. How would your friends describe you?

Clinical questions/scenarios

1. Young male tennis player, twisted knee 3/52, swelling present. Talk through assessment (Make

sure you are specific to the scenario...not just saying all assessment, but instead what you are

specifically looking for in order to reach a diagnosis).

2. You have 5 new stroke patients on Friday afternoon- how do you prioritise them? What info

would you want to find out from nurses in order to help you make this decision (think they

wanted you to mention prioritise/delegate)

3. You see a PTA doing something wrong/unsafe on the ward. What do you do? Who else would

you tell? Would you report to senior?

4. You have a patient who has just come into IMC who has had a TKR and another patient referred

to you in the community with reduced mobility. Which one do you see first?

5. Tell me about some outcome measures/ tests specific to COPD. What would you need to do

before assessing this patient? How would you assess this patient? – explain possible findings. -

What else would you need to look at? (i.e. CXR/ ABG’s/ lung function…) Tell me as many

treatment techniques as you can that you might use to treat this patient.

6. Case study. In outpatients – 70 year old male with Tx pain. Talk me through your assessment.

(They were looking mainly for subjective questions and how to rule out differential diagnosis like

Ca/ lung/ heart/ cord compression…)

7. Case study. Patient admitted with a stroke causing a right hemiplegia. Talk me through your

assessment.

8. Case study. A nurse comes to you on a ward saying that a patient has complained that you did

not take notice of her pain and ‘made’ her mobilise on the ward. What do you do?

9. What would you do if you were in an MDT meeting and you felt a patient was ready to be

discharged home and the OT disagreed?

10. PMH – Diet controlled diabetes, Bipolar disorder, CVA – R sided weakness DH – Co-codamol. SH –

lives with husband in bungalow, mobilising with Z/F at home and automatic W/C for outside use.

What would your assessment involve? What are the patient’s main problems? What is the cause

of the patient’s pain following the fall? What factors would need to be taken into consideration

on D/C?

Knowledge questions

1. What are red flags- name them. What are yellow flags, name some signs in patients?

2. What do you know about ‘Contraindications for Interferential Therapy’?

3. What is the difference between KSF and CPD?

4. What do you understand by the term EBP?

5. How does Clinical governance affect your practice?

6. What is clinical excellence and how do we make sure we are achieving it in clinical practice?

7. What is lean? How do we make sure we are being lean?

8. Who is the CEO of the trust?

9. What directorate is the physiotherapy department in?

10. Why is community and intermediate care Physiotherapy important?

11. Describe the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease. What treatments would you use

for initiating movement? How would the MDT be involved in this patient's management?

Competency questions

1. What tools/strategies would you use to help manage your own caseload?

2. On a busy ward how would you prioritise your case load to meet deadlines or target? (give an

example from your placement)

1. Discuss a situation where you have had to overcome communication barriers, how did you

overcome them?

2. Tell me about a time you have demonstrated initiative.

3. Why do you think you could fit well into a multidisciplinary team - what makes a good team?

4. Tell us about a patient you treated successfully? What did you do? What was the outcome?

5. Describe a time when you led a team to success. What did this involve? What key skills did you

use?

6. Give an example of a time when you had to apply your existing knowledge to solve a problem?

7. Give an example of how you delegated during clinical placement?

8. What coping strategies have you developed for working under pressure?

Exploring Your Personality with the MBTI

What is the MBTI? The MBTI (The Myers Briggs Type Indicator) is the most widely used personality

instrument in the world. It is very also widely used in the NHS, both by health professionals and

administrative staff. It gives you a framework for individual and group development, and aids your

self-awareness by looking at how you perceive the world and how you prefer to interact with

colleagues, patients and others. The instrument identifies an individual's psychological 'type' (made up

of four basic preferences) and provides a common language for how we interact with the world and

each other. MBTI can help you identify how you are similar to some people and different from

others, and give you the tools to improve working and personal relationships in a positive and

constructive way.

If you would like to talk it through with someone, please book an appointment with the careers team

at www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers

It can help you to develop

Communication Do you ever feel you aren’t getting through to someone, no matter how hard you try? Knowledge of the MBTI can help you to communicate effectively with others.

Teamwork In the NHS, you will find yourself working in a team of other health professionals and administrative staff. Learning how you can work together and value your differences can help greatly and improve your service to patients.

Handling Conflict Understanding others’ perspectives can help you to adapt your approach to be more effective with patients and colleagues.

Managing Stress and Dealing with Change Change is a common feature of the NHS now and learning how to adapt and to deal with the pressures can help you to minimise stress.

Leadership and Decision Making Understanding your and others’ leadership style and decision making process can help to identify challenges and areas for development. It is useful to know how your style might be perceived by others.

To access a Type Dynamics questionnaire for free, you will need to go to http://www.profilingforsuccess.com/take-an-assessment.php You will need to use the following codes: Client Code: tflhe Access Code: bham Password: bham060515 The questionnaire should take no more than 20 minutes to take and afterwards the report will be

emailed to you.

Select “Type Dynamics Indicator” (personality Questionnaire) You will need to include an email

address for the report to be emailed to you; please do NOT use hotmail.

A Guide to creating a LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn – Getting Started

This quick guide will demonstrate how to register with LinkedIn, create a profile and join a group. To

register simply visit www.linkedin.com and click “Join Today” at the top bar. You will then be prompted

with your name, E-mail address and a chosen password.

Following this you are prompted for additional details on your Job title and organisation.

You will then be asked whether you would like the Basic or Premium account. For free services it is

recommended you use the Basic option.

Once you have confirmed your e-mail address and completed the registration process you will be able to

view and edit your profile. Initially the information displayed will be your name, job role and company.

There are 5 standard sections (Summary, Experience, Education, Personal Info and Skills).

Your basic information here includes

your current job title, company, number

of connections, University, past

occupations (if applicable) and

website/twitter accounts (if applicable).

The summary is much like a Personal Profile

on your CV. It is a snapshot of your existing

skills and experience and any career ambitions.

Keep it snappy and concise!

This is your work experience section and can

include any full-time/part-time work or

internships you have done. Like your CV these

should highlight important skills and be

relevant to your career goal of interest. This is your

University/School

education Here you can include a date of birth,

phone number marital status and

address if you would like.

You can use this section to highlight specialist or

unique skills you possess. Your skills can range

from languages, research, event management,

social media to softer skills like analytical

thinking, creativity and problem solving.

To edit sections on your profile simply hover over “Profile” at the top and then choose the “Edit Profile

option”. You will remain on your profile page but you will now see little “edit” buttons next to each

section and piece of information. You can see below that you can also add further job titles and

educational institutions to your profile.

Groups

You can search for groups using the Search option or follow a direct link to a group if you have been

given one. You can click “join group” to send a request to the moderator. Once the moderator has

approved your request you will be able to access the group. You can then participate in discussions and

network with fellow group members!

For a really useful overview about how to maximize LinkedIn for raising your professional profile and networking, take a look at the Guide from Facebook to LinkedIn - http://issuu.com/careerseditor/docs/from_facebook_to_linkedin_hres?e=2084169/2707217.

Careers Network contact details

Email – [email protected] Website – www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/careers

Twitter - @lescareers

Facebook - www.facebook.com/lescareers