A week in the life of a psychology placement studentBehind the Scenes of Recruitment: My Journey as a PPI Group Member for the BART II Trial A week in the life of a psychology placement student
Let’s take a look into my experience with being part of the BART II trial recruitment process. As a member of the PPI group, I knew inclusivity was key – not just in the research, but in the hiring process, too.
Being part of the PPI group for the BART II trial that makes sure the research is as inclusive as possible; I felt and knew that the same inclusivity should be considered when recruiting research staff for the trial. However, this was my first time being involved in recruitment and conducting job interviews so I was not too sure what it would be like or how the day would go! By the end of the interviews, I felt like I could do it all over again…
I was interviewing alongside the Director of the Youth Mental Health Research Unit (also a Consultant Clinical Psychologist), and a Research Associate/Trial Manager, so I had knowledgeable, experienced people around me which made me feel supported. We started the day by quickly summarising who we would be interviewing, going over the interview questions and which ones I would feel comfortable asking. This was nice because I was not thrown into the deep end, and I later ended up asking more questions after feeling more confident with interviewing.
From the get-go, I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of the candidates, there was such a range of backgrounds including ethnicities, education, and work experiences. It really reflected what we wanted in our group, it is important to have diverse candidates because it reflects the population and makes the job opportunity fair for everyone, especially for those may usually be at a disadvantage or underrepresented. It is also important for this specific study because the BART II trial focuses on inclusivity, and this should be represented in the research team too! It was difficult to make an ultimate choice because each candidate had such great qualities.
During the interviews, we were making notes throughout on the candidates’ answers, and after each interview, we discussed as a team how we thought each candidate did for each criterion, gave each criteria a score, then counted all the points up for an overall score.
It was really interesting to see the behind the scenes of recruiting new research staff and be part of it. I felt like I was standing for our PPI group and contributing to the wider success of the study. I’ve learnt so many techniques that I can use and replicate to be successful in interviews, such as keeping my answer relevant and focused on the question, actually asking ‘have I answered your question?’ if I’m unsure and to not be humble about amazing experiences that would help you excel in the role. It’s also natural to be nervous, it is the answers that really count. It has been such a valuable experience to add to my CV too and I am so glad I got to be involved!
