Blog / Writing your application

How to write your employment history on an NHS application

By the Health Job Scout team · 5 min read · Fact-checked 22 October 2026

The employment history section looks like paperwork, so it is easy to rush. It is also one of the sections that is checked later, so careless dates and unexplained gaps cause more trouble than a modest career. This guide covers what NHS employers are expected to ask, how it is verified, and how to write it as an overseas-trained doctor.

What NHS employers are expected to ask for

NHS Employers publishes an employment history and reference checks standard that employers follow. It says the application form should require you to outline your full employment and training history, and to explain any gaps between periods of employment and training. It also says unexplained gaps or discrepancies should be explored during the interview process.

For new appointments from outside the NHS, it says employers should seek references to validate three consecutive years of employment or training immediately before the application. The number and type of references can vary, depending on how many separate jobs or periods of study that covers. Individual employers can add their own rules, so read the advert and the application pack.

List it all, as it was

• Include every job, internship and period of training in the period the form asks for, with accurate start and end dates.
• Use the job title you actually held. Don't translate it into an NHS grade. Our post on describing a home-country house job covers how to explain what you did in NHS terms without renaming it.
• Put the hospital, country and department so a reference request can be sent to the right place.
• Check each date against a certificate, contract or letter. These are the details a referee will be asked to confirm.

Explain gaps plainly

A gap is not a problem in itself. An unexplained one is. Give the dates and the real reason in a sentence. Here are examples of the level of detail that works:

March to September 2025: full-time preparation for PLAB part 2, which I passed in September.

January to April 2024: caring for a family member. No clinical work during this period.

Don't stretch a job's end date to hide a gap, and don't call preparation time a "clinical role". If you did observe in a hospital, list it as a clinical attachment, which is what the BMA calls an observation placement where you have no responsibility for patient care. We cover how to describe that in our post on clinical attachments and NHS experience.

Plan for references early

Because employers seek references to validate your recent history, you'll need a contact for each employer or training body, ideally with a work email or phone number and the name of someone who can confirm your dates. Overseas employers can take longer to reply. That's practical advice, not a rule. Ask people in advance and tell them to expect a request.

Exams, courses and training

Time spent on a degree, an internship or a formal course belongs in the history, since the standard refers to employment and training. Preparing for an exam may not count as training in that sense, so treat it as a period to be explained and say what you were doing. If you sat an exam, give the exam and the date.

Keep everything consistent

Your CV, the application form, your supporting statement and your GMC registration application should all tell the same story. A discrepancy is the thing the standard says should be explored. If a date has to be different on two documents for a real reason, explain it. And remember that the application is a statement you sign. Our post on why honesty matters covers what that means.

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