NHS Values-Based Interview Questions, Explained

What makes an NHS interview a "values-based" interview

Many NHS trusts use values-based recruitment (VBR) alongside or instead of purely competency-based interviewing. Where a competency question asks what you did in a past situation, a values-based question probes what you believe and how you'd naturally react - the idea being that skills can be taught, but a genuine alignment with the NHS's values is harder to train into someone after the fact. This matters for every role, not just clinical ones: administrative, estates, and support staff are assessed against the same values as doctors and nurses.

The six NHS Constitution values

Values-based questions are built around the six values set out in the NHS Constitution:

• Working together for patients. Putting patients first, working across boundaries (teams, services, organisations) rather than in a silo.
• Respect and dignity. Valuing every person - patients, families, and colleagues - as an individual.
• Commitment to quality of care. Taking pride in your work and striving to do it well, not just adequately.
• Compassion. Genuine care and empathy, especially at moments that matter most to someone.
• Improving lives. A commitment to getting the small things right as well as delivering major improvements.
• Everyone counts. Using resources fairly and avoiding discrimination, valuing every contribution.

How a values-based question is actually phrased

Rather than "Tell us about a time you showed compassion", a values-based question is often more scenario-based and immediate: "A patient's relative is upset and raising their voice at reception. What would you do?" or "Describe what respect and dignity means to you in practice." These are designed to surface genuine instinct rather than a rehearsed story, so interviewers are often trained to probe follow-up questions ("why did you choose to do that?") to check the answer is authentic rather than scripted.

How to prepare without over-rehearsing

The honest preparation for values-based interviews is different from STAR-method drilling: read the NHS Constitution itself (it's short and freely available), and genuinely reflect on real moments - from any job, volunteering, or life experience - where you've lived out each value, rather than memorising a polished script. If you do have a strong past example for a value, it's fine to use it, structured loosely like STAR, but let your answer breathe rather than reciting it word-for-word. Interviewers are listening for genuine reflection as much as a good outcome.

A worked example

For "Everyone counts", a strong answer might come from a completely unrelated job - explaining how you made sure every member of a team got equal opportunity to contribute in a meeting, or how you handled a situation where limited resources had to be shared fairly. The value being tested is about fairness and inclusion in principle, not about NHS-specific experience.

Common mistakes

• Giving generic, textbook-sounding answers. "I would treat everyone with kindness and respect" without a real example or genuine reflection reads as rehearsed.
• Assuming only clinical experience counts. Values-based questions are about who you are, not your job history - a retail, hospitality, or caring-responsibility example can be just as strong as a clinical one.
• Not engaging with follow-up questions. If an interviewer probes deeper, that's often a good sign - it means they want to hear more, not that your first answer was wrong.

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