NHS Person Specification Explained: How Shortlisting Really Works for IMGs

If you are an international medical graduate applying for NHS jobs, the most important document in any job advert is not the job description. It is the person specification. Shortlisters score your application against it, criterion by criterion, and only the highest-scoring applicants are invited to interview. Understanding how it works is the quickest way to improve your shortlisting rate.

Quick answer

An NHS person specification lists the essential and desirable criteria for a job. Shortlisters score your application against each criterion, usually from your supporting information. Meet every essential criterion with clear evidence, use the same wording, and give a real example for each one.

What is a person specification?

A person specification is a list of the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience the employer needs for the post. You will usually find it attached to the advert on NHS Jobs or Trac. Each criterion is marked as either essential or desirable, and many also say how it will be assessed, for example "application form", "interview" or "references".

Essential and desirable criteria

Essential criteria are the minimum requirements. If your application does not show clear evidence for every essential criterion, you are usually not shortlisted, however experienced you are. Common essential criteria include full GMC registration with a licence to practise, a primary medical qualification, relevant clinical experience and good communication skills.

Desirable criteria are what separate applicants who all meet the essentials. This is where most shortlisting decisions are really made. Common desirable criteria include evidence of teaching, audit or quality improvement, leadership, research, reflective practice and relevant courses such as ALS.

How shortlisting works in practice

Most trusts use a scoring sheet. A shortlister reads your application and gives a score for each criterion based on the evidence you provide, often without any extra knowledge about you. They do not guess what you meant. If the evidence is not written clearly in your application, it usually scores nothing.

That is why strong doctors are often not shortlisted. Their experience is real, but their application does not show it against each criterion in a way a busy shortlister can find quickly.

How to match your evidence to each criterion

Make a list. Copy every criterion from the person specification into a document.

Find one example for each. Next to each criterion, write a real example from your practice: a teaching session, an audit, a difficult conversation, a safeguarding concern you raised.

Use their words. In your supporting information, use the same wording as the person specification, for example "evidence of teaching experience", so the shortlister can match your evidence easily.

Show what you did and what changed. For each example, explain your action and the result. A certificate on its own earns few marks; a short paragraph showing what you learned and how you applied it earns far more.

Be honest. Only write what is true for you. Interview panels ask follow-up questions, and overstating your experience is a probity issue.

Filling gaps in your evidence

If you find criteria where you have little or no evidence, you can start to fill them through structured learning and then applying it at work. Our free online CPD courses are built around the criteria that appear most often on NHS person specifications, including Teaching Skills, Leadership and Management, Clinical Audit and QIP, Research and Critical Appraisal, Reflective Practice, Safeguarding Adults and Good Medical Practice.

Each course is free to study, includes a slide showing how to write that criterion in your supporting statement, and gives you a verifiable certificate of completion when you pass. You can see them all on our CPD courses page.

Applying in surgery? Surgical person specifications add their own criteria, such as MRCS, a validated logbook and evidence of commitment to surgery. Our guide to surgical careers in the NHS for IMGs explains what each route asks for.

Key points

The person specification is the scoring sheet for your application. Meet every essential criterion clearly, give specific evidence for as many desirable criteria as you honestly can, and use the employer's own wording. If you would like your application checked against a person specification before you apply, contact CareerPro UK.

Frequently asked questions

What is a person specification?

A list of the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience needed for an NHS job, split into essential and desirable criteria.

What is the difference between essential and desirable criteria?

Essential criteria are the minimum: miss one and you are usually not shortlisted. Desirable criteria separate applicants who all meet the essentials.

How are NHS applications shortlisted?

Most trusts use a scoring sheet. A shortlister reads your application and scores how well you meet each criterion, so evidence they can't find scores nothing.

How can I fill gaps in my evidence?

Start building the missing evidence, for example teaching, an audit or a relevant course, and describe what you have done honestly.

Last reviewed: October 2026. Read how we research and update our guides.