ABSTRACT
Applying for academic training posts – academic clinical fellowship (ACF) or clinical lectureship (CL) or others – can seem to be a ‘leap of faith’ at times, with applications and interviews for such posts being distinct from the mainstream speciality job selection process. However, common themes are repeated during the academic application/interview process across the specialities, with the speciality-specifi c questions being entwined with questions relating to the applicant’s prior academic career and achievements, their current career plans and aims, and academic plans for the future. Th e aim is to identify those who will be most capable of balancing the stresses and strains of an academic career with the clinical demands of these posts, and those most likely to become high-quality research active academic clinicians and ultimately senior lecturers or professors!
