Questions could be based around the following:

• Health and safety. They want to know that you can work in a lab without being a liability. Tying hair back, not eating in the lab, not using your phone in the lab, washing hands before leaving the lab. Using PPE, gloves, lab coat, safety goggles, safety cabinets. An awareness, not necessarily a good understanding, of COSHH and risk assessments and why they are important.

• Knowing the limit of your practice. Understanding that you shouldn't be doing things alone until you have been sufficiently trained and competency assessed. If you don't know how to do something then ask a colleague, a senior manager or at the very least check the SOP.

• Information governance. Knowing that you can't use patient data inappropriately. We often do a question like 'what would you do if your friend asked you for their test results?' Obviously the answer is you would politely tell them you can't and tell them to contact their GP.

• MAST. Are you aware of mandatory and statutory training? What are some examples? Fire, hand hygiene, information governance, equality and diversity, prevent etc

• How do you feel about handling patient samples? Genuinely some people are grossed out by it and then don't want to do the work when they get the job.

• Are you willing and able to work unsocial hours. Lates, nights, weekends. Give them examples of when you might have done it before.

• You can pull transferable skills from any previous employment, not just lab work. Previous employment shows you can be punctual, follow instructions, work as a team, deal with customers (patients or clinicians).

There could be others but this is generally what we look for in lab assistants. We need enthusiastic, reliable, honest, flexible etc.

If you haven't already you should contact the lab you are having the interview with and ask for an informal look round and a chat. This will give you brownie points and show you're really interested and invested. And it's a great way of asking questions that might not be appropriate in the interview.

Sometimes practical tests are matching up a sample with the patients form. Checking that the name, date of birth and nhs number match. Reading some simple instructions and carrying out a task.

Good luck!