Making yourself employable

In our roles as educators, we are often asked the questions: “How do I get a job?” and “How can I become more employable?”

What makes someone employable is highly subjective and you will find that people’s perspectives vary. One thing we cannot emphasise enough, is that anyone qualifying as a diagnostic or therapeutic radiographer will have developed significantly employable skills over the course of their educational journey.

Graduate employability is consistently embedded throughout pre-registration courses and apprenticeships, often personalised and reflecting the learner’s personality, skills and interests. Today’s education providers are often assessed on the employability of their graduates, so it is in everyone’s interests to help you get the job of your dreams as well as support you as alumni. 

Clinical placements develop your professional clinical skills ready for employment. However, your employability can take many directions so being prepared and taking ownership of your career should be encouraged and supported. Throughout your education you will be gaining personalised learning opportunities, developing your skills, abilities, attitudes and behaviour, and it is imperative to ensure your employability evolves along with your career and future aspirations.

Career opportunities are vast and can also be found outside of clinical practice. You may have heard of a “squiggly career path” – a career trajectory that is not linear or confined to one specific area or speciality. Fortunately, this is more common now than in previous years, offering much more flexibility and greater job satisfaction.

Many AHPs are now working at a level of practice where they can make a greater impact on patient pathways. This can mean learning and developing skills, attributes and capabilities that lie in the four core pillars associated with enhanced, advanced and consultant levels of practice. These pillars are clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research, and the autonomous roles that encompass them are developing rapidly. In the future, you could identify an innovative solution that will improve patient health outcomes.

If you do decide to work outside clinical practice, there is always the opportunity to return in the future. The Health Education England Return to Practice programme offers guidance and support to help you regain professional registration if it has lapsed, update your skills and give you information on placements and/or employment.

There has never been a better time to graduate as an AHP. We hope this has given you some inspiration and awareness of just a few of the opportunities to consider. Good luck and let us know how you get on! 

Top tips for interviews

• Read the job description and your personal statement and think of examples of how you could demonstrate skills, knowledge and abilities.

• Have a drink or, if you are offered a drink, accept it so you can take a sip to help you gather your thoughts.

• Think about your body language and eye contact. Even if the interview is being held virtually, this is really important.

• Breathe – this is not to be underestimated. Taking time to take a breath can help you gather your thoughts and slow down your responses.

• It is OK to take a pen and paper in with you. Writing down some of the key parts of the question will ensure you are clear about exactly what is being asked.

• Wait until the interviewers have finished asking the question before you answer. This sounds a bit silly, and rather obvious, but many people tend to rush in as soon as they think they know what the question is about. This can be frustrating for both parties and often the question is not answered in its entirety, which, sadly, loses vital points for the candidate.

• It is fine to ask to come back to a question later in the interview rather than give a panicked and ill-thought-out answer. You may also wish to ask the interviewer to rephrase or reiterate the question if you do not fully understand or appreciate what they are asking.

• Think about what you will wear – you want to feel comfortable sitting down and in view of a panel.

• Practice, practice, practice! You cannot over prepare. Just keep getting friends and family to ask you questions and consider how you might answer them. Say it out loud, because writing something and articulating it are very different.

• If you have not visited the department before, ask to be shown around before or after the interview – this will display your careful consideration of the role. You might also then have an opportunity to ask questions to inform your decision about accepting the job, if you are offered it, or have questions to ask in the interview based on what you have seen.

• If you cannot attend an interview or you decide to withdraw, please let human resources and the department know, ideally before the day. It is extremely frustrating when applicants don’t attend an interview and you might wish to apply again in the future.

• Have some pre-prepared questions to ask, ideally not questions that you can find out from the job advert, such as working hours, pay and holiday entitlement. Common questions may be around supporting students, CPD opportunities, opportunities to engage in research, funding support for MSc modules/further training, preceptorship programmes, etc.

• Let your personality shine through. Interviewers love it when they see a smile or you refer to something that is unique to you, such as a hobby or interest. The workforce is the biggest investment and so it is really important for them to see you as a whole person and not just a potential employee.

• As soon as the interview is over, write down the questions you were asked. Spend time preparing some model answers in case you are asked similar questions in the future.

Top tips to stand out

• Consider gaining international experience. Some HEIs offer globalisation funding, so you might be able to access financial support.

• As well as being highly rewarding, charity work gives you lots of experience in the charitable sector.

• Working on radiography recruitment and raising its profile is a great way to network nationally. Why not consider joining the SoR’s Careers Promotion and Outreach Special Interest Group?

• Social media engagement. There is a great community of professionals on Twitter and you can also find educational accounts on Instagram and TikTok. It is important to maintain professionalism and confidentiality at all times. The Health and Care Professions Council offers social media guidelines to help you navigate safe usage.

• Consider becoming a course, clinical and/or university representative. These roles often provide lots of opportunities to gain transferable skills, including leadership.

• Part-time work in any sector can give you the opportunity to gain transferable skills and get used to managing your time working additional hours in a week.

• Engage with national AHPs Day (14 October) or World Radiography Day (8 November) and help set up some kind of career promotion or departmental activity to help celebrate allied health professions. This is a great way to engage with colleagues outside your department and develop your networking skills across the organisation.

• If you have an interest in research, seek out opportunities to attend trust and/or HEI research meetings. This will enable you to develop your knowledge and skills in this area and could potentially provide you with opportunities to collaborate or become involved in research.

• Attending staff meetings will give you insight into the department and provide you with information about error reporting, CPD opportunities and workforce issues.

• Engage with student liaison meetings and use your experiences to help improve practice education within your department.

• Engage with departmental service improvements. If you see any areas of practice that could be improved, speak to your mentors and practice educators about it. Could you undertake a project to bring about change?

• Undertake extra curricular learning. Future Learn and eLearning for Healthcare often have free courses.

• Maintain attendance wherever possible. This cannot be underestimated because we have witnessed job offers being retracted when poor attendance without good reason has been highlighted in a reference.