Practice your interview skills with us
Interview Skills Workshop
This workshop is designed for Foundation Doctors applying for Core Surgical Training to help you prepare for your upcoming NHS England Core Surgical Training interviews. It offers a mock interview experience with structured feedback. Interview skills workshops will take place on Thursday 19 February and Wednesday 25 February 2026. Tickets will be available to book in January 2026. To be eligible to book a place, you must have joined RCS England as an affiliate by 19 January 2026.
Ensure you are an affiliate member and your email address is up to date on your account to receive the invitation to future interview skills workshops. Having an online account with RCS England does not make you an affiliate member. For any membership queries, please contact membership@rcseng.ac.uk.
Programme highlights
- Practise your responses on management and ethics and clinical scenarios.
- Rehearse your virtual interview techniques.
- Gain one-to-one feedback from experienced panellists who can provide you with key insight
Format
- Interviews will be group-based.
- One interview candidate will be interviewed while two candidates will observe only. Observers will not be actively interviewed.
- The interview panel will comprise one or two panellists.
Eligibility and cost
Eligibility
- Places are exclusively available to RCS England affiliate members. Having an online account with RCS England does not make you an affiliate member. You must have joined by 19 January 2026 to be eligible. For membership queries, please contact membership@rcseng.ac.uk.
- Places are only available to candidates with a confirmed NHS England interview offer for Core Surgical Training. NHS England interview offers will be released on 13 February.
- You must provide evidence of your interview offer by Sunday 15 February. If you do not provide evidence, your deposit will be refunded and your place will be offered to another candidate.
Cost and booking information
- A £50 deposit is required to secure your place. This deposit will be refunded to candidates who attend the workshop.
- Submitting an application and deposit does not guarantee a place. We will offer waitlist places and if you book one of these slots, we will contact you if a place becomes available at the workshops.
- Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis to eligible candidates.
Important information and Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply?
1. Choose your preferred date (19 or 25 February).
2. Pay the £50 deposit.
3. Submit evidence of NHS England interview offer by 15 February.
Can I choose to be an observer instead of being interviewed?
You can choose to be either an interview candidate or an observer candidate.
If the interview candidate places are full and you select a place as an observer, you will have the option to indicate if you would prefer an interview candidate place if one becomes available.
Interview candidates will be interviewed, whereas observer candidates will observe another candidate being interviewed.
Is there a wait list?
Wait list places will be available to purchase.
If you book a wait list place, you are not guaranteed a place on the workshop. However, if there is a cancellation, the College will be in touch to offer you a place and to confirm verification of your NHS England interview offer.
If you are not allocated a place, you will receive a full refund.
Why do you accept more applications than places?
To ensure all 75 places are filled. Some applicants will not have an NHS England interview offer and will not be eligible to take part.
When will I know if I have a confirmed mock interview?
Once evidence of your NHS England interview offer is verified, you will be notified by email by 17 February.
Joining instructions will be sent with the Microsoft Teams link by 18 February for interviews taking place on 19 February and by 24 February for interviews taking place on 25 February.
What if I can no longer attend?
Please tell us as soon as possible by emailing us at OutreachNorth@rcsengland.ac.uk. We anticipate there will be a wait list in place and your slot will be filled.
A refund may be provided for cancellation up to 48 hours before you interview. If you do not provide adequate notice, you will forfeit your deposit.
By applying for a mock interview, candidates agree to provide a mobile telephone number and receive a text reminder the day before their scheduled interview. All participants must reply to confirm their attendance or we may offer the place to another candidate.
How does the £50 deposit work?
We require a £50 deposit for everybody who books a place on the workshop, including the wait list.
We will issue a refund providing you attend and complete a feedback survey. Refunds are processed within 10 working days after attendance at the workshop or 48 hours’ notice of cancellation. No refund will be issued if you do not provide notice that you are unable to attend.
Volunteer and give back to the profession
Do you want to volunteer and make a valuable contribution?
We are looking for volunteers across all career grades to help run our virtual interview skills workshops on Thursday 19 February 2026 and Wednesday 25 February 2026*.
Volunteers will support the online mock interview panels and provide a realistic experience for delegates in our new group workshops. Your assistance with the workshop will be greatly appreciated by both the College and the attendees, who will be this year's core surgical training candidates. Volunteers will be briefed in advance of the workshop, and you will receive a certificate of participation.
Eligibility to volunteer
To volunteer you must be:
- Substantive consultants, Specialty or Associate Specialist (SAS) surgeons, or ST6+ surgical trainees working in the NHS, in the UK.
- A member/fellow of RCS England.
- In the UK on the day of the workshop.
*Dates are subject to change and will run according to NHS England recruitment timelines.
Get involved
If you would like to offer your expertise and get involved, please volunteer at the Interview Skills Workshop.
Interview Skills Masterclass
Join us for the Interview Skills Masterclass on Wednesday 10 December, 5.30 – 7.30pm, which focuses on the interview process for Core Surgical Training. The Masterclass is chaired by RCS England Council member Ian Kamaly-Asl, and includes sessions on:
- optimising performance for surgical interviews
- understanding the interview process
- clinical scenarios
- management and ethics
- the MSRA and what to expect in core surgical training
- panel Q&A
The masterclass is open to all and is free to RCS England members.
Not able to attend on this date? Register for the webinar and you’ll be able to access the recording at any time.
Keep up to date with us
Follow us on X, Instagram, and Facebook to keep up to date with communications about the Interview Skills Masterclass and Workshops, as well as other events and webinars available throughout the year.
Not an affiliate member? Find out more about how to join.