After submission | IMT Recruitment - Full, comprehensive guidance on applying to IMT posts in UK ACCS-AM and CMT training programmes

Applying

After submission

After submission the next stages of the process are longlisting and shortlisting. The points below explain the steps and order in which this will happen, and the above tabs detail how your application will be assessed against the eligibility criteria, ranked and assigned to interview.

Checking number of IMT applications - within one day of applications closing, any applicants that have live applications (i.e. not withdrawn) to both the England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and Scotland vacancies, will have their first submitted application withdrawn.
Longlisting - following shortlisting until mid-December, applications will be screened against the person specification eligibility criteria.
Shortlisting - once longlisting is completed, it will be confirmed to the eligible applicants whether they will be shortlisted and receive an invitation to interview, be on the reserve list pending interview slots becoming available, or will not be shortlisted and their application proceed no further.

How do I know if my application has been submitted?

There are three ways by which you can confirm that your application has been submitted:

You will receive an automatic email confirming submission. Please note that the email may not arrive immediately upon submission of your application. In busy times, particularly near the application closing date, there can be a significant delay in when this email is received.
Check your messages in your Oriel account. Any emails sent to you via the application system will be stored in your candidate portal on Oriel (ie your 'account') in the 'My Messages' section of your Dashboard.
Check that your application status has been updated from 'In progress' to 'Applied'. This can be seen in the 'My Applications' area of your Dashboard.

If you have still not received an email the day after submitting your application, please contact the IMT helpdesk.

Longlisting

Applications will be allocated to a team from one of the UK regions, who will check your application and any information accompanying it against the eligibility criteria (as described within the person specifications, and detailed on the am I eligible? section of this website). Longlisting will not start until after applications close and will be completed by the date published on the timeline section of the website.

There are three possible outcomes during longlisting:

Your application is found to be eligible and you can proceed to the next stage (see below).
Your application is found not to be eligible, you will be emailed confirmation of this as soon as it is confirmed.
More information is required to establish your eligibility. Where this is the case you will be given a deadline by which to repsond, most commonly 72 hours from when the request was sent. It is highly important to respond by the deadline as otherwise your application is likely to be rejected. Upon receipt of the requested information it will be decided whether or not you can proceed.

Please monitor your emails during this period and you can double check your messages area within Oriel to ensure you have not missed an email, as a copy of all messages sent via the system can be found there.

Completion of longlisting

Once longlisting has been completed it will be confirmed to candidates that they can proceed to the shortlisting stage. This is not a guarantee of eligibility and it is common that some applications will not have their eligibility checked before shortlisting due to the large numbers received. Additionally, if information arises later in the process showing that you are not eligible, your application can still be rejected at that point.

For more information on the eligibility criteria and the process by which you can demonstrate that you meet them, please see the am I eligible? section of this website.

Shortlisting

As noted in the application scoring section of the website, shortlisting scores are generated via your self-assessment in the scoring section of the application form. This is used, alongside your prioritisation status and the interview capacity to determine who is invited to interview; interview capacity was approximately 3,800-3,900 in 2026 and is anticipated to be similar. Applicants will be contacted with the outcome of shortlisting and receive one of three statuses:

Shortlisted - you ranked within the available capacity and will be invited to interview. Your application status will be updated to 'Interview'.
Reserve list - you ranked just outside the interview capacity and are on a reserve list; your application status will be updated to 'Shortlist reserve'. Those on the reserve list can be considered if spaces become available. It is common that a small proportion of the shortlisted candidates will not take up their invitation and these places will be offered to the next ranked candidates on the reserve list. This will take place to a timeframe specified in the timeline for the round. Subsequent to this, places can become available on an ad hoc basis and the PSRO will make efforts to fill every space possible. It is common for spaces to become available at short notice and you may be notified of a slot at short notice.
Not shortlisted - your application has not scored highly enough to be considered for an interview this round and will proceed no further. Your application status will be updated to 'Shortlist unsuccessful'.

Shortlisting takes place soon after longlisting and is expected to be confirmed by Tuesday 5 January 2027. All shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview; information about the interview invites can be found on the invitation and booking page.

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act

Shortlisting is the first stage where your priority status will be taken into account. Details of the criteria to be given priority status can be found on the Medical Training Recruitment website.

It is not possible to advise on the likelihood that candidates without priority status will be shortlisted. Data has been published by NHS England from 2026 recruitment which details the application numbers and percentage that had priority status. Please note that, whilst previous application numbers and interview capacity may provide useful context, they should not be regarded as a reliable predictor of future application levels.