In this interview, Sandi explains why she chose the Academy’s cohort‑based platform, praising its responsive team, free webinars, and the supportive Circle community where participants share the same interview journey. She describes practical preparation tactics she adopted: recording answers on camera despite initial discomfort, using a TED Talk on power poses, taking a restful night away from family before the interview, and rehearsing her “tell me about yourself” response. Sandi also discusses the anxiety surrounding post‑CCT unemployment in the NHS, noting that the Academy’s curriculum covered essential topics such as NHS governance, structure, and the differences between registrar and consultant roles, which gave her confidence to apply for a substantive position she had never worked in before. She highlights the flexibility of staying in a cohort until a job is secured, allowing learners to dip in and out of material as needed. Concluding with a strong endorsement, Sandi urges anyone on the fence to sign up, assuring them they won’t regret it.
Chapters
I knew how dedicated and reliable you all were. You're very responsive with your messages. I know that you deliver content really, really well. And so I knew that you would put on a good course. I also liked the little snippets that you gave in terms of free content. So you'd put on the odd webinar. Um, and from that I thought, wow, okay, this, this is what I need. And I think the ability to do that on a platform like Circle where you're with like-minded people who are all going through the same thing at the same time, and to be able to connect with them when needed is just so valuable. It's really, really vulnerable. So, practicing on camera and recording answers is horrid, but it's so necessary. And actually, the more you do it, the better you become and the more— and the slicker you become. And my husband would be sat next to me, and, you know, as the weeks would go on, he would say, you're getting better at this, you know, your answers are getting better. And so, you just have to let those insecurities go, and you have to realise that everybody else is doing the same thing. And when you watch people's answers, other people's answers, you're not watching them to scrutinise them and laugh at them. You're watching them to, well, hopefully provide constructive feedback, but also, you're drawing out the strengths in their answers, hopefully to strengthen your own. So, once I'd let those insecurities go, after the first few days, it was absolutely fine, and I found it a really valuable learning tool. So, the night before I took on the Academy's advice and other colleagues' advice to completely switch off. So, the thing that I did was watch that TED Talk about power poses.
Ah, love it.
So, I watched the TED Talk about power poses, and I stayed in a hotel away from the family, away from the children, and it was a beautiful sunny day, and I took myself for a walk around Hereford. I found myself a nice restaurant. I had a nice meal. I had a nice drink. I had a bath. Completely switched off, and I think that was Really beneficial because actually by that point, you're not going to learn anything new. The only thing was on the car journey on the way up, I was rehearsing my, um, tell me about yourself, just to make sure it was all slick and in my mind. Um, but, but by the time you're, you're there the evening before, you just need to let your brain have it, have that rest, I think.
I love that. That's like the model of what you should do the night before. That's why I always try to encourage people to do, but I never know if anyone actually does it. But, uh, yeah, I think that's— it definitely makes a difference.
I've always had job security because I've just been in run-through training, so I can go off and do my various bits, go off on mat leave and things. So I haven't had to think about it. And then the prospect of being faced with unemployment, and I know that a lot of my colleagues have found themselves post-CCT with no jobs, which I just think is an absolute travesty and must just be terrifying. And others also coming up to CCT with no jobs. I I'm utterly grateful that I found the Academy, prepped through the Academy, went for a substantive job and managed to get it. I don't think I would've been able to or would've had the confidence to have been able to apply for a place that I'd never worked at before without the Academy and without the direction, all that sort of course content that covers your pre-interview meets, applying for the job, what you've got to think about, even things about NHS governance and structure and all of those other things that you might not know as a registrar versus a consultant or somebody that's done a senior job. So, I am utterly grateful and just so relieved, and I really hope it works out. But, you know, if it doesn't, I know where to come to again if I need a new job.
Yeah, we're here.
Yeah, yeah. If anybody's on the fence, I would say don't. don't hesitate. I don't think you'd regret it. The thing that I found that sealed the deal for me was the fact that you can stay in cohorts. So, even if you think, oh, well, actually, the job hasn't been released yet, or the job might not be released, just sign up and stay in cohorts. And you can become more active as your interview approaches. Just take on the learning material in your own time, at your leisure, and then become active as your date approaches. The The beauty of the Academy is being able to stay until you've got your job, I think. So it's not like a one-off course where you've got to be in that mode of thinking, you know, well, I've got my interview date, I've got to concentrate. You know, you can dip in and out as you wish, and I think that is the wonderful thing about it. So, you know, don't hesitate, please sign on. You won't regret it.
