2013-2014 APPIC (internship) Phase II

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Aussiejd said:
Due to geographic restraints, I applied 6 places in Phase II and received 3 interview invites. I had two interviews today, one last week, and believe I am now finished (no rejections received, but my other sites have extended interview invites). After one of my interviews today, I am considering not ranking one of the sites at all. It's an APPIC member, not APA accredited, and I am just not excited about it at all. But I also want to move on with my life. I read a lot of posts on the interview invite thread about people not being excited with where they matched - and I didn't understand because I would have been happy anywhere that I had ranked in Phase I. But that is not the case with one of my three options this phase. However, I do just want to get this behind me. Anyone else out there going through a similar dilemma?
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For me, it depends. If it was something fairly minor (e.g., bad location, nothing too new or exciting), I would probably rank it last. However, if it was a more major concern (e.g., questions about the quality of the training, bad reputation, lack of rotations that fit with my interests, population I don't want to work with, etc.), I would probably not rank it - even if it means possibly going through this again next year. So I guess I think that a "meh" internship > no internship, but no internship > bad internship.
 
Healthpoint in Renton - it was already on last week, sorry, didn't mean to leave you hanging!
 
doasisay said:
For me, it depends. If it was something fairly minor (e.g., bad location, nothing too new or exciting), I would probably rank it last. However, if it was a more major concern (e.g., questions about the quality of the training, bad reputation, lack of rotations that fit with my interests, population I don't want to work with, etc.), I would probably not rank it - even if it means possibly going through this again next year. So I guess I think that a "meh" internship > no internship, but no internship > bad internship.
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Pretty much all of the major concerns you listed (quality of training, population I don't want to work with, rotations don't fit my interests) are reasons I am considering not ranking the site. I didn't mean to waste their or my time when I applied, but at the time I felt pretty desperate to find anything. I am reconsidering. Thanks for your thoughts!
 
Aussiejd said:
Due to geographic restraints, I applied 6 places in Phase II and received 3 interview invites. I had two interviews today, one last week, and believe I am now finished (no rejections received, but my other sites have extended interview invites). After one of my interviews today, I am considering not ranking one of the sites at all. It's an APPIC member, not APA accredited, and I am just not excited about it at all. But I also want to move on with my life. I read a lot of posts on the interview invite thread about people not being excited with where they matched - and I didn't understand because I would have been happy anywhere that I had ranked in Phase I. But that is not the case with one of my three options this phase. However, I do just want to get this behind me. Anyone else out there going through a similar dilemma?
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I find myself going through this because one of my sites is APPIC accredited (although they may get their APA site visit next spring so I could be grandfathered into it), and the other is brand new and completely unaccredited - if I got the spot I would be one of the first interns they've ever had (it's within the VA, so I would have that reciprocity for my next steps...which is great if I like working in the VA). Both are relatively convenient location-wise, but that's entirely coincidental - something about me has just turned off sites left and right. There are upsides and downsides to both sites and part of me questions whether it's worth the risk of a non-accredited internship if I do match, or if I should try again next year for an APA spot.

On the other hand, I can't imagine that I can do much in the next year that's going to improve my application. I might be able to add a publication or two to my CV to improve on my current zero, but that isn't much. For now, I'm just going to focus on getting through the two interviews!
 
psychrat said:
congrats on the 9. Are they all APA accredited? That's amazing.
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Thanks, psychrat--I do feel very fortunate to have lots of places to rank in Phase 2. I only applied to APA accredited sites (I'm not sure if it's actually a requirement for my program but I've never heard of anyone going to a non-APA accredited program from my school). I spent a ton of time personalizing cover letters for the 16 sites I applied to and think that I did a fairly good job selling my "fit" (whatever that means!) for each one. I think it helped that I've had a lot of diverse training experiences through our in-house CMHC, so I was able to make a case for a lot of different sites.

I have been thinking about the ranking question a lot in terms of the places that are lowest on my list... I went into the process really hoping for a place that would help me move towards a neuropsych post-doc and still really want that, but many of the places where I have interviews may or may set me up to do that following my internship year. I think I've decided though that as long as the training is high-quality and broadly related to my training interests, I can probably make the best of it and it would be better than waiting around another year.

Also, I had a 20 minute interview today and found it somewhat off-putting and very hard to judge how it went....
 
beebom said:
Anything you'd be willing to share in terms of feedback? I find myself trying to figure out what they're looking for and speculating about the directors, site, etc. But that can be kind of crippling I think. If it's a good fit, it's a good fit... but then again I don't want to be doing this again so it goes in cycles of being practical and panicked 🙂
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I received positive feedback, including my ability to come across as warm and connected during a telephone interview, as well as things I should work on. The overarching theme was to go much deeper into my answers and highlighting the training that I have that makes me stand out from other applicants. Selling myself, essentially. I have been advised in the past (prior to interviews) to keep my answers relatively short and to expect the interviewers to ask for more details if they want them. This was a major disservice to me, as the feedback I got was to include a lot more information, even if the interview is brief. So what I took from it is to take every opportunity to clearly indicate why I am a good fit, what strengths and experiences I am bringing to the internship, and how my training goals would be specifically met by the program. This can be challenging with short interviews, as I noticed over the weekend, but making sure you highlight these important topics in any way you can is vital to the training directors feeling confident that you will be a good match. I hope this helps. If I think of anything else, I will post it.
 
cpw1984 said:
Just had an interview over Skype with UCSD that lasted 10 minutes. It was like an interview on warp speed. So awkward! Anyone else experience this? Or did they just want to get rid of me asap?
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My interview today was 14 minutes, 14 seconds (I looked at my phone afterward like an obsessive freak). They opened up by saying that it would be quick, so I don't know that it is at all reflective of your performance in the interview, how much they liked you, etc.

I am uncomfortable about it because I feel like if means they're interviewing a lot of people. I figure, if they were only interviewing 10 people, couldn't they afford to devote more time?
 
JennyAnn4 said:
My interview today was 14 minutes, 14 seconds (I looked at my phone afterward like an obsessive freak). They opened up by saying that it would be quick, so I don't know that it is at all reflective of your performance in the interview, how much they liked you, etc.

I am uncomfortable about it because I feel like if means they're interviewing a lot of people. I figure, if they were only interviewing 10 people, couldn't they afford to devote more time?
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And ... was it the child or adult track?
 
JennyAnn4 said:
My interview today was 14 minutes, 14 seconds (I looked at my phone afterward like an obsessive freak). They opened up by saying that it would be quick, so I don't know that it is at all reflective of your performance in the interview, how much they liked you, etc.

I am uncomfortable about it because I feel like if means they're interviewing a lot of people. I figure, if they were only interviewing 10 people, couldn't they afford to devote more time?
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I know the email with information to contact the current intern I got from UCSD/VA family/Rady track only had 11 people on it. I'm pretty sure that would be all they are interviewing for the position.
 
BEL2010 said:
And ... was it the child or adult track?
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ChiPhD99 said:
I know the email with information to contact the current intern I got from UCSD/VA family/Rady track only had 11 people on it. I'm pretty sure that would be all they are interviewing for the position.
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I'm sorry guys - I didn't mean to inspire confusion. I should have mentioned that my interview was at MercyFirst.
 
JennyAnn4 said:
My interview today was 14 minutes, 14 seconds (I looked at my phone afterward like an obsessive freak). They opened up by saying that it would be quick, so I don't know that it is at all reflective of your performance in the interview, how much they liked you, etc.

I am uncomfortable about it because I feel like if means they're interviewing a lot of people. I figure, if they were only interviewing 10 people, couldn't they afford to devote more time?
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They probably interviewed 14 people! 😉
 
Rose1313 said:
I received positive feedback, including my ability to come across as warm and connected during a telephone interview, as well as things I should work on. The overarching theme was to go much deeper into my answers and highlighting the training that I have that makes me stand out from other applicants. Selling myself, essentially. I have been advised in the past (prior to interviews) to keep my answers relatively short and to expect the interviewers to ask for more details if they want them. This was a major disservice to me, as the feedback I got was to include a lot more information, even if the interview is brief. So what I took from it is to take every opportunity to clearly indicate why I am a good fit, what strengths and experiences I am bringing to the internship, and how my training goals would be specifically met by the program. This can be challenging with short interviews, as I noticed over the weekend, but making sure you highlight these important topics in any way you can is vital to the training directors feeling confident that you will be a good match. I hope this helps. If I think of anything else, I will post it.
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That was really helpful, Thank you!
 
Good morning, everyone! I just received an e-mail from Central Arkansas VA stating that I am in the "top tier of applicants" but due to time constraints (there is no mention of an interview) I will be ranked and to contact with any questions or concerns. This was among the best fits (in my mind) on paper for me but am a bit perplexed. Were others interviewed who will be ranked ahead of me?

Thoughts? Anyone else?
 
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There are still many sites I haven't heard from.

2 of the 4 sites that I emailed responded within 48 hrs. The other two sites didn't bother to respond. It's sad because they are my top two...very unprofessional
 
Assuming no one has heard from the Bronx VA, not sure how they are going to efficiently interview enough of us to fill THREE spots. It's going to be a rush to the finish line. They're stressing me out.
 
aly cat said:
Good morning, everyone! I just received an e-mail from Central Arkansas VA stating that I am in the "top tier of applicants" but due to time constraints (there is no mention of an interview) I will be ranked and to contact with any questions or concerns. This was among the best fits (in my mind) on paper for me but am a bit perplexed. Were others interviewed who will be ranked ahead of me?

Thoughts? Anyone else?
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Same. I'm pretty sure others were interviewed, so I'm assuming interviewees will be ranked ahead of us.
 
JennyAnn4 said:
Assuming no one has heard from the Bronx VA, not sure how they are going to efficiently interview enough of us to fill THREE spots. It's going to be a rush to the finish line. They're stressing me out.
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I sent an email to the Bronx VA training director this morning. I will let everyone know when/if I hear anything!
 
Anyone hear from children's institute? this is the only one that I know of on my list that no one has heard from. I'm assuming it's a no but who knows!!
 
Hey there, Just wondering if anyone has heard from Jesse Brown VA. Also received a mass e-mail from Puget Sound stating that I am in tier 2 and that they will not interview but will rank me. Does anyone know if programs get something out of having people rank them. I can't wait for this all to be over with.
 
Don't get me wrong I am glad they considered my application.
 
psychtalk1274 said:
Anyone want to contact the children's institute?
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I sent them an email and this was the response


Thank you for your interest in the CII Doctoral Clinical Psychology Internship. Unfortunately , because of the enormous volume of applications in Phase II (173 applications!), we are unable to provide individual application status reports. We are continuing review of applications and doing phone interviews this week.


All best,


George Bermudez, Ph.D.
 
Chinook80 said:
Hey there, Just wondering if anyone has heard from Jesse Brown VA. Also received a mass e-mail from Puget Sound stating that I am in tier 2 and that they will not interview but will rank me. Does anyone know if programs get something out of having people rank them. I can't wait for this all to be over with.
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I received a phone call from Jesse Brown on Monday, but I'm not sure how many people they are interviewing. I think that the benefit for sites of ranking lots of people is that they would rather fill the spot with someone who they believe is qualified (you) then take a chance of having the spot remain open and missing out on someone they would have liked to work with. I know that several of us received an email like that from the Arkansas VA this morning (although they were not as open about us being in the second tier). Especially in Phase II, I'm guessing that sites are unable to interview even a fraction of the applicants who would be qualified for their open position.
 
Those that interviewed at Shorehaven, what is your perception of the interviewer?

I personally found her to be very rude.
 
beebom said:
Wow, that bad?![/quo

Yes, extremely rude, defensive and abrasive. She cut me off from asking more than 3 questions and was very unprofessional. At times it felt like she pressed mute while I was answering questions
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SmithPsy24 said:
No, no, different site - in the Immaculata Consortium. Apparently one of the benefits of private practice is that you get to have an office pet. 🙂
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Lol, that is funny. I am sure it made for an interesting interview
 
That's too bad. But I guess the positive take away is that you can go into ranking knowing that. It's good information to have if she's a supervisor there.
I had an interview on Monday and when I saw the place I thought, "I'm not sure I can work here" because it was in a really sketchy area. Then they told me I'd have to work nights. It was super disappointing because it sounded really good to me so if I hadn't seen it I might've ranked it higher and ended up miserable/in an unsafe situation. But I do always wonder about people like the woman you're describing. .. How'd that happen? Presumably she works with people. Where are the people skills?!
 
beebom said:
That's too bad. But I guess the positive take away is that you can go into ranking knowing that. It's good information to have if she's a supervisor there.
I had an interview on Monday and when I saw the place I thought, "I'm not sure I can work here" because it was in a really sketchy area. Then they told me I'd have to work nights. It was super disappointing because it sounded really good to me so if I hadn't seen it I might've ranked it higher and ended up miserable/in an unsafe situation. But I do always wonder about people like the woman you're describing. .. How'd that happen? Presumably she works with people. Where are the people skills?!
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I agree. At least I know and I can chose how to rank. I definitely like to work in a team environment where people are treated as equals. You are right! I would probably be miserable for a year and would have eventually butted heads with her
 
Hi all! I'm new here and am so happy I found this forum! Very helpful information and supportive colleagues 🙂 Congrats to all those who have interviewed and for all of us making it this far!

I interviewed at Oklahoma Forensic Center and wasn't a fan (not as much neuro as I want), won't be ranking it. I'm all about neuro so I'm limited to the types of places I can apply to but I am not geographically tied down anywhere. Wondering, has anyone heard from St. Joseph's in Canada? Thanks!
 
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