2014-2015 APPIC (internship) interview thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
alright my little frequent flyers, i don't want to check a bag. how are people bringing suits on planes and not getting them wrinkled whilst simultaneously adhering to the one carry on one personal bag limit?:roflcopter:

Last year I was so stressed out about it that I actually wore my suit on the plane over some leggings and a comfortable shirt. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, though. I'm sure I looked ridiculous.
 
alright my little frequent flyers, i don't want to check a bag. how are people bringing suits on planes and not getting them wrinkled whilst simultaneously adhering to the one carry on one personal bag limit?:roflcopter:

I'm planning to cram everything except my suit (purse, laptop bag) into my carry-on, bring a garment bag and pack a travel steamer. I got one on Amazon for $25
 
Denver Health folks-- did your invite email specify a track? What track did you apply to? I applied to the Health Psych with outpatient adult mental health and I'm hoping they're still sending invites out. Thanks!
 
Denver Health folks-- did your invite email specify a track? What track did you apply to? I applied to the Health Psych with outpatient adult mental health and I'm hoping they're still sending invites out. Thanks!

My email did not specify a track, and I applied to the Outpatient Adult Mental Health with Inpatient and Consult Psychiatry track. Even though it didn't mention the track, it may still be track specific, as I just completed a different interview with other applicants that applied to the same track even though the invite did not specify such 🙂.
 
My email did not specify a track, and I applied to the Outpatient Adult Mental Health with Inpatient and Consult Psychiatry track. Even though it didn't mention the track, it may still be track specific, as I just completed a different interview with other applicants that applied to the same track even though the invite did not specify such 🙂.

Thanks! A classmate of mine got an invite from DH today too, but he applied to the HRSA track. Maybe there's a chance! I'm going to work off some of this nervous energy now... circuit training, while fingers crossed!:xf::xf:
 
Site name: University of New Mexico
-Date notified: 12/11/14
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track (please specify even for general tracks): Neuropsychology
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): Personalized email
-Interview dates offered: 1/5, 1/9, 1/12, 1/16, 1/20, 1/23, 1/26
-Type and number of cookies eaten today: None, however I consumed the tastiest cupcake in life today.
 
Last year I was so stressed out about it that I actually wore my suit on the plane over some leggings and a comfortable shirt. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, though. I'm sure I looked ridiculous.
Oh my thank you for the good giggle!! I think I'll take my chances with some wrinkles 😉
 
Won't that make for a third piece to carry on?

I'm imagining two- my carry-on, and the garment bag. Laptop bag, travel steamer, pj's, toiletries all going into my carry-on (it's a little rolling suitcase). If that doesn't seem doable, I will just roll my suitpieces up and carry laptop bag as my second carry-on, freeing up space in the suitcase.
 
alright my little frequent flyers, i don't want to check a bag. how are people bringing suits on planes and not getting them wrinkled whilst simultaneously adhering to the one carry on one personal bag limit?:roflcopter:

Most airlines allow you to bring 1 carry-on suitcase and 1 "personal item," When I've traveled in the past with a suit I have brought it in a garment bag as a "personal item" in addition to my 1 carry-on suitcase. Just be sure you don't have another personal item with you (purse, backpack, etc.). Some airlines have small closets you can hang your garment bag in--just ask the flight attendant who greets you as you enter the plane. If not, you will likely have to lay it out on top of your suitcase in overhead storage.
 


Delurking to post this as another option for traveling with a suit (haven't actually tried this yet, so can't vouch for its effectiveness).

P.S. No cookies today, but I did eat pie. Does pie count? 🙂


I did that and it worked pretty well!
 
VA Pacific Islands (Honolulu VA)
Invite via mass email
General Track
Open House on 1/23 plus online interview due 12/31

No cookies, but a mai tai is probably more appropriate!
 
A purse, a garment bag, and a small rolling carry on suit case count as 3 pieces. Today They made me check my suit case...US Airlines. And they didn't have a closet so my suit was in the overhead bin... It all worked out but i will remember this for my next travel.
 
Anyone else anxious about potentially having to do a writing assignment on interviews? Any tips from those who have had to do one already?


Yes!! I just did one recently. It was a bit of a beast as we had 30 minutes to read three vignettes write up a case conceptualization, diagnosis and treatment plan for each one (all hand written of course).

My suggestion? Know your theory back and forth. Know typical diagnosis for the places you are going, including if possible the criteria you need to make the diagnosis, and lastly try to come up with solid treatment plans for the diagnosis ahead of time. I doubt other sites require more than a couple vignettes but you never know (I certainly didn't!)

Most importantly. CALM. DOWN.

I panic quite a bit when I saw what we had to do and suffice to say I think I could have done much better had I taken a deep breath and engaged in some grounding exercises.
 
Yes!! I just did one recently. It was a bit of a beast as we had 30 minutes to read three vignettes write up a case conceptualization, diagnosis and treatment plan for each one (all hand written of course).

My suggestion? Know your theory back and forth. Know typical diagnosis for the places you are going, including if possible the criteria you need to make the diagnosis, and lastly try to come up with solid treatment plans for the diagnosis ahead of time. I doubt other sites require more than a couple vignettes but you never know (I certainly didn't!)

Most importantly. CALM. DOWN.

I panic quite a bit when I saw what we had to do and suffice to say I think I could have done much better had I taken a deep breath and engaged in some grounding exercises.
Wow, my anxiety just went up significantly reading this! Was this a hospital site or VA?
 
Hello everyone,

I received an offer for an interview at USC/CHLA (details below), but the three dates I have available for an interview have already been selected and they are not able to accommodate any other dates. Is there any chance anyone who has interview on the following dates (1/10, 1/20, or 1/24) would be willing to switch to Monday, January 5th or Friday, January 16th (the dates that are still available)? I imagine that the answer may be no since those are the dates for U of Washington and UCLA, which is the reason they are still available...

Here's hoping.
--

USC/CHLA
Interview Invitation
Mass Email 12/11
Tracks: None specified, but I applied to 1) Assessment, Consultation and Evaluation Placement and 2) Pediatric Psychology
Interview dates: 1/5, 1/10, 1/16, 1/20, 1/24
 
Last edited:
Wow, my anxiety just went up significantly reading this! Was this a hospital site or VA?

Neither, it was a military site. This site in particular is competitive and overall bada$$, so I wasn't surprised. Which also means you are not likely to encounter that type of grilling in other sites.

Still, I think knowing theories well will help in conceptualizing even if its verbally.
 
My email did not specify a track, and I applied to the Outpatient Adult Mental Health with Inpatient and Consult Psychiatry track. Even though it didn't mention the track, it may still be track specific, as I just completed a different interview with other applicants that applied to the same track even though the invite did not specify such 🙂.


I applied for the same track! I chose 1/9 as my interview date- maybe I'll see you there. 🙂
 
Today was kind of a hectic day interview offers wise. I'm feeling completely grateful, if a little overwhelmed by it all. I just did an interview at a site that wasn't my favorite, but it was a good warm up to the rest of them come January. I cannot WAIT until the end of January comes around when I can breathe for a little bit.

As for the cookies discussion, I'm so much more of a carb/fat eater for comfort. Today was fried chicken and mashed potatoes, lots of gravy.. They may have to roll me out of these places.
 
I may have missed this one, but I didn't see Mississippi State Hospital listed. They called me today (around 4 MST) to offer an interview. I'm not exactly sure of the dates they offered, but I think it was 1/5, 1/9, 1/23, and one other- maybe someone else who got a call today can clarify. No track.
 
Hey y'all. I have my first interview with Vanderbilt on Monday. Did anyone interview there last year (or earlier this cycle)? Would love to hear some tips. Thanks in advance!
 
I bought the Joy Mangano mini steamer when it was a Today's Special on HSN a couple months ago for this reason. I used it for the first time today after I'd crammed my suit into the wad the size of a softball. It worked flawlessly. Most hotels usually have irons/boards in the room. My mom also swears by hanging clothes in the bathroom, closing the door, and turning the shower on hot until the room is steamy and basically steams out the wrinkles. I've never found this to work but she truly believes in it. Hang up your suit as soon as you get to your room and work on it right away with whatever method you're using.

Just did this shower sauna thing. Totally works for cotton and wool. Just be patient! Turns out I made it to my hotel (albeit soaking wet), and there are no irons 🙁
 
Last edited:
Yale University
11/18 personal call Interview for Jan 9th Hispanic Health and Consultation Center
Boston VA
11/26 personal email Interview for Jan 16th
Kaiser San Diego
12/1 mass email Interview Jan 12th
Massachusetts Mental Health Center (Beth Israel)
12/9 mass email Jan 5th Interview
Center for Multicultural Health Training
12/9 mass email Jan 22nd Interview

I am still waiting to hear back from
Cambridge Health Alliance
San Pedro Terminal Island
Didi Hirsh
UCSF Child and Adolescent

Dont know if "no news is good news" or if these sites are particularly slow. I've put "rejected" on my spreadsheet so I await the inevitable (but secretly cross my fingers when I open my spreadsheet 🙂

What is the typical rejection/invitation ratio for folks?
And I know...you only need one...but still...
 
Have any of you had success rescheduling interviews when you've had conflicts? I hate to turn an interview down, but I may have to if I can't move other interviews around.

I successfully did this for one site this year. They are accommodating me on an off day.
 
-Site name: Center for Behavioral Medicine
-Date notified: 12/11/14
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track (please specify even for general tracks): Did not specify
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): Mass email
-Interview dates offered: January 5, 12, 16, 23, 26, 30
Most importantly:
-Type and number of cookies eaten today: No cookies, but a Kitkat and fruit snacks :nod:
 
Coming out of hiding to post. Been feeling pretty stressed this time around (didn't match before) and am wondering if this should be it for me career wise. I have 3 interviews so far. I don't want to be unfair but am desperate to make a good impression at these sites. What do people know about spring grove hospital, central regional, and institute of living? Feedback from prior interviews/years is that I seem too confident in interviews, but it's really because I get very nervous which for me makes me sound more matter of fact. Kind of like hyper focus! Thank you for any thoughts or experiences- I appreciate the supprt during this!!!

Are you saying that if you don't get an APA internship then thats it?
 
Yale University
11/18 personal call Interview for Jan 9th Hispanic Health and Consultation Center
Boston VA
11/26 personal email Interview for Jan 16th
Kaiser San Diego
12/1 mass email Interview Jan 12th
Massachusetts Mental Health Center (Beth Israel)
12/9 mass email Jan 5th Interview
Center for Multicultural Health Training
12/9 mass email Jan 22nd Interview

I am still waiting to hear back from
Cambridge Health Alliance
San Pedro Terminal Island
Didi Hirsh
UCSF Child and Adolescent

Dont know if "no news is good news" or if these sites are particularly slow. I've put "rejected" on my spreadsheet so I await the inevitable (but secretly cross my fingers when I open my spreadsheet 🙂

What is the typical rejection/invitation ratio for folks?
And I know...you only need one...but still...
Did you contact the TD for Terminal Island? She confirmed my interview relatively quickly after completing and passing the online application requirement.
Also, for what track are you waiting for Didi Hirsch? I received an invite by email late this afternoon for the adult track.
 
Coming out of hiding to post. Been feeling pretty stressed this time around (didn't match before) and am wondering if this should be it for me career wise. I have 3 interviews so far. I don't want to be unfair but am desperate to make a good impression at these sites. What do people know about spring grove hospital, central regional, and institute of living? Feedback from prior interviews/years is that I seem too confident in interviews, but it's really because I get very nervous which for me makes me sound more matter of fact. Kind of like hyper focus! Thank you for any thoughts or experiences- I appreciate the supprt during this!!!

I'm sorry you're going through this stress, and wish you the best of luck in interviews this time. It seems helpful that you have such specific feedback-I'm sure you're doing mock interviews to make sure that you feel (appropriately) confident this time. That was such interesting feedback- I would think confidence is a good thing! This process can really make us second guess our worth as clinicians. Remember- it's not about your value or your worth..it's about an imperfect (okay, awful) system that sadly hurts many good people.
 
Did you contact the TD for Terminal Island? She confirmed my interview relatively quickly after completing and passing the online application requirement.
Also, for what track are you waiting for Didi Hirsch? I received an invite by email late this afternoon for the adult track.
No, I haven't contacted them. Do you think I should? If I'm a yes/no candidate by contacting them does this show initiative or is it just annoying?
 
Has anyone heard from Morrison Child and Family services? They were supposed to notify today, but I haven't heard a peep. Also, any thoughts on how long to wait until contacting them?
 
No, I haven't contacted them. Do you think I should? If I'm a yes/no candidate by contacting them does this show initiative or is it just annoying?
Did you fill out the app on usajobs? And then receive an email saying you're "qualified?"
 
Top