Being Put on Hold

Posted by: Emily Spottiswoode - Posted on:

You will all by now have found out the outcome of your interview with the scheme. This time last year, my application had been put on hold. This meant that at any time between then and the dates of the assessment centres, I could be called up and invited to attend one of the days in Leeds. I kept my phone within eyesight, everywhere I went for the best part of 3 weeks. I won’t sugar coat it, it was awful.

One time my Mum rang me in the middle of the day and I jumped out of my skin thinking it was the phone call. When I saw it was her I picked up and told her in a very disgruntled tone that we couldn’t talk for long because I needed my phone to be free.

I was half way through writing my dissertation but kept finding myself distracted by reading articles about assessment centres, just in case. During this time, I spent a lot of time on online forums where candidates from previous years talked about their experiences of being put on hold.

After the assessment centres began I decided to give up hope. I had tortured myself enough; it was time to accept that I hadn’t made the cut this year. Sure enough, the Friday of that week I got a phone call inviting me to attend the assessment centre on the following Tuesday. Of course I jumped at the chance and the rest is history.

I very nearly didn’t get the chance to attend the assessment centre but if that had been the case then I had a plan for the next year. I was going to get an entry level job in the NHS and gain more experience and exposure and then I was going to reapply for the scheme. My point is that if being on the scheme is what you really want then don’t let one set back stop you from achieving that goal. Take the time to develop yourself so that if you do reapply you are bringing something new to the process. I know many wonderful people who have got onto the scheme on their second or third attempt.

Good luck!

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