Physiotherapy Careers Pack Careers Network support to help you make the transition from student to professional
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