Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)
The Last Question Every Candidate Gets Wrong.
The last clinical question is answered.
The last STAR story has been told.
The panel chair looks up from their scoring sheet and says:
Do you have any questions for us?
And the candidate — exhausted, relieved it is nearly over, desperate not to say the wrong thing — says:
No, I think you have covered everything. Thank you.
And in that moment, they left points on the table they had already earned.
Because "Do you have any questions for us?" is not a courtesy close. It is a scored assessment opportunity. And it is the one that almost every candidate wastes.
Here is what the panel is actually evaluating when they ask it.
They are assessing whether you have done the depth of research on this Trust, this department, and this role that a genuinely motivated, values-aligned candidate would have done before sitting down in front of them.
They are assessing whether you think at the level of the service — not just the job. And they are assessing whether you are already invested in the work before you have been offered it.
A candidate who says No, I think you have covered everything,
communicates — unintentionally but clearly — that their preparation ended at the person specification. That is Band 5 thinking presented at the wrong moment.
A candidate who asks one specific, researched, clinically engaged question communicates something completely different. It signals that they have read the Trust's CQC report.
They understand the Trust's strategic priorities. That they are thinking about the ward as a place they are already committed to — not a position they are hoping to secure.
Here is the formula. Three versions — one for each band:
Band 5: I reviewed your most recent CQC report before today and I was struck by [specific finding — Outstanding rating, Requires Improvement area, specific patient outcome]. I would love to understand how the ward I would be joining contributes to that — and what the biggest clinical priority for the team is right now.
Band 6: I noticed in your Quality Account that [specific service improvement priority] is a key focus this year. If I am successful in this role, what would my most significant contribution to that priority be in the first six months?
Band 7: I have been reading about [specific Trust initiative — digital transformation, integrated care strategy, workforce development]. I am interested in how this post interfaces with that agenda. What does success look like for this role in year one?
Each of these questions does four things simultaneously. It demonstrates research. It signals genuine commitment. It positions you as a long-term asset. And it gives the panel one final opportunity to tell you something that confirms — in your mind and in theirs — that this is exactly the right appointment.
One question. Specific. Researched. Forward-looking.
That is the close that earns the offer.
📩 As part of my personalised interview preparation, I research your specific target Trust before every coaching session — CQC report, Quality Account, recent news, current service priorities — and we build your closing question together from that intelligence.
DM me "READY" if your interview is approaching.
The final post of Day 7 — and of the entire NHS Nursing Interview Masterclass — lands at 5:00 PM. I have been saving the most important thing for last.
Not a framework. Not a script. Something more personal — and more honest — than anything I have shared across seven days.
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