PhD/PsyD Did you contact internship directors prior to applying?

[spector0]

I am planning on applying to APA accredited internships this cycle, and would like to reach out to one of the directors to break the ice. On one hand, I feel it's a good idea, as I know my current DCT looks for applications from individuals she has interacted with in the past. On the other hand, I'm afraid of "jumping the gun".

My question to SDN is, did you contact directors to introduce yourself and your intention to apply? Why or why not, and if so, what was the response like?

Thanks!

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[AcronymAllergy]

Nope, honestly didn't even think of it. Heck, I don't even think I emailed most of my postdoc sites ahead of time unless I needed to see if they were accepting fellows, and there were significantly fewer of those.

Given how many applications they receive, I really don't know that an email would put you on their radar. And I can say that I've never heard a DCT or other committee member mention prior email contact with an applicant during application review meetings.

I'd imagine if you'd met the person before at a convention, then that could be a small positive. But I wouldn't trouble yourself with emailing folks ahead of time. Unlikely to be worth the effort.

The exception, of course, would be if you had a question about the site itself or their application materials.

 

[WisNeuro]

Yeah, I wouldn't do this, unless as AA mentioned, you had a specific question that could not be answered through other means. Many internship directors still have clinical and admin duties, and I'm sure they would not be happy with 100+ e-mails from every person who is applying to their site added to their e-mail burden. My vote is no, it would just annoy me, personally.

 

[PsychPsyance]

However, if you are applying to a research intensive program, I would recommend contacting your planned research mentor (assuming they use a mentorship model). I emailed people at several sites, and I think that played a role in the number of interviews I got and ultimately in my match (which was at Brown).

 

[deleted343839]

No, I didn't. In fact, I was explicitly advised not to by a person in APPIC leadership at the time. If you go to the APA Convention there are some "meet the training director" type sessions that would be a good forum to introduce yourself, but don't feel obligated. For most of us the first contact with the training director is the interview, and that's OK. Though I agree that at very research-intensive sites a bit of networking in advance (ideally well before deadlines) could be to your advantage.

 

[temppsych123]

IMHO, I wouldn't email training directors unless you have a specific question, because they're busy and your reaching out isn't going to make much of a difference. If you're applying to a place with built-in postdocs or a major research component and you want to know something about a particular person's research work, that might be reasonable.

 

[spector0]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll hold off.

 

[ClinicalABA]

One of the advantages of a mentor model, with a "connected" mentor who took seriously her responsibility to position her students well for their futures, was that I was introduced to, invited to dinner with, participated in SIGS with, etc., the directors and players at the internships I was being "groomed' for (post docs and jobs as well. This occurred at primarily at national conferences (at the time it was AABT, now called ABCT). Her networking and including her students in the process was one of the greatest things she did for her students (and other students in the program with similar interests), and one of the reasons I strongly encourage prospective students to position themselves for admission to mentor model programs (that usually come with funding, as an added benefit).

 

[DRMomma]

I contacted two programs because I wasn't able to defend my proposal prior to application deadlines and emailed them to ask if they would consider my application. I received a quick response from both. Other than asking a specific and very relevant question, I would advise against contacting them.