What NHS values-based interviews assess

NHS recruitment across clinical and non-clinical roles commonly uses values-based interviewing, built directly around the six values in the NHS Constitution: working together for patients, respect and dignity, commitment to quality of care, compassion, improving lives, and everyone counts. Interviewers assess whether your genuine instincts and past behaviour align with these values, not just whether you can recite them.

How the questions are typically structured

Expect scenario-based and behavioural questions tied directly to specific values, such as "tell me about a time you showed compassion to someone under pressure" or "describe how you would ensure a patient felt respected and involved in a decision." Structure your answers using a clear example (similar to the STAR method) rather than describing the value abstractly, since interviewers want evidence of the value in genuine practice, not just agreement with it in principle.

How to prepare

Read the NHS Constitution values directly and prepare a genuine, specific example for each one from your own experience, whether clinical, voluntary, or from another customer or care-facing role. Reflect honestly on situations where you demonstrated compassion, respect, or commitment to quality specifically, since generic customer service examples often do not translate convincingly without a values-specific framing.

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Frequently asked questions

Do values-based interviews apply to non-clinical NHS roles too?
Yes, values-based interviewing is used across clinical, administrative, and support roles throughout the NHS, since the Constitution's values are intended to apply to everyone working within the health service, not only patient-facing clinical staff.
How is a values-based interview different from a standard competency interview?
The underlying STAR-based answer structure is similar, but values-based questions are explicitly tied to the NHS Constitution's specific stated values rather than generic workplace competencies, so tailoring your examples to those specific values, using the NHS's own language where genuine, strengthens your answers.