2015 Post-Doc Interview Thread

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Anyone heard from Bedford VA (Edith Nourse Rogers)--Interprofessional Mental Health Track? I suspect I'm being rejected at this point, but all the waiting (now for offers, too) has got me feeling impatient today. (I accidentally typed "inpatient" at first. Freudian slips happen in typing, too I guess!)
 
I applied to the same Bedford VA track and aside from initial confirmation that they got my application, have heard nothing else. Their (extended) deadline was almost a month ago. It would be unkind for them to not even notify rejected applicants...
 
I also applied to that track at Bedford and have not heard anything!
 
Wait a minute...the Bedford VA is an APPA CAS site, with the uniform notification day of Feb 17th, right? So they simply didn't let rejected applicants know. Nice of them.
 
I never got rejections from quite a few sites, actually.
 
Sometimes this duty is up to an administrative assistant, sometimes people's applications never got through, sometimes there are just too many applications. Welcome to the adult world. Would a rejection e-mail change anything?
 
I actually quite disagree with the notion that sites do not have an obligation to notify rejected applicants. If I pay $25 to submit the application, pay $10 to send my transcript, and ask 3 letter writers to upload letters, an email would be kind and appropriate. Plus, this process is so drawn out that knowing where you may have options--or not--is very helpful. This is not coming from a bitter place either as I already have a position. Even colleges with 20K applicants send out rejection emails--it's not hard to email tens of applicants.
 
At a place with multiple spots across specialties, it's more like hundreds of applicants. I can empathize the frustration, but badmouthing my colleagues, especially when it's likely not even up to them, is not quite necessary. These things are usually left to admin assistants.
 
My colleagues and I have yet to hear from 4-6 sites (some we all applied to and others only one applied to). I was wondering if anyone else was in this same situation? How many sites have you not heard from?
 
I have three that I haven't heard from, which I'm assuming by this point are silent rejections (unless they want to make me an offer on the 17th without an interview 😉)
 
I am waiting on three sites. I emailed 2 of them and they both said I'm still being considered, however they have not called me for an interview. I'm now confused on what they mean. Both of them should be following APPIC guidelines for notification
 
Thanks everyone. The Bedford VA is the last one I am waiting on. A colleague mentioned the site seemed a bit disorganized in the application process in a previous year, and was a little late with notifications, so that could be it. Does being APA-accredited and/or using the APA CAS system mean that you must adhere to the 2/17 notification date? I thought it was more of a suggestion or a request from APPIC as they move toward trying to unify the process. I also agree that a rejection notification is the courteous thing to do in this process, though I do understand sometimes this might not be feasible. I also am getting the impression that some sites don't want to extend rejections in case they later decide they need to interview more people. Phew. Our field has no shortage of crazy processes.
 
I'm still waiting to hear from VA New Jersey. At this point I'm assuming it's a silent rejection, but it would be nice to know for sure. Has anyone received invites (or know anyone who has)?
 
When everyone says they're waiting to hear from sites- does this mean you contacted them and they haven't responded? That happened to me with two sites. But otherwise at this point you need to email them directly about the status of your application.
 
Do people mind to share how many sites they applied to? I'll start- I applied to 8.
 
AnnieDayNow said:
I'm still waiting to hear from VA New Jersey. At this point I'm assuming it's a silent rejection, but it would be nice to know for sure. Has anyone received invites (or know anyone who has)?
Click to expand...

I know someone who has already interviewed there.
 
I was contacted by two sites who want to interview after February 17th. Should I ask if they'd be willing to interview me before? This processes is so confusing. Anyone else in this predicament?
 
mindfulnessiszen said:
I was contacted by two sites who want to interview after February 17th. Should I ask if they'd be willing to interview me before? This processes is so confusing. Anyone else in this predicament?
Click to expand...
One of my sites doesn't even have an app deadline until after the 17th! I wish this process were more standardized. I don't want a match because that would be awful, but I don't think the current set-up is good, either. Not sure of the solution.
Also, some more that I received via PM:
Site name: Bedford, MA (Edith Nourse Rogers) VA
-Date notified: 1/26
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track: Interprofessional Mental Health
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personal email
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): In-person or phone
- Interview dates offered: from 1/27 to 2/13

Site name: Bedford, MA (Edith Nourse Rogers) VA
-Date notified: 1/29
-Invite or rejection: Rejection
-Track: Geropsychology
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personal email
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): N/A
- Interview dates offered: N/A

Site name: VA Puget Sound Seattle
-Date notified: 2/4
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track: Mental Health
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personal email
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): Phone
- Interview dates offered: 2/6 and 2/9

Site name: Eastern Colorado HealthCare System- Denver VA Medical Center
-Date notified: 1/26 or 27
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track: Recovery and Couples/Family Therapy
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): phone
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): phone
- Interview dates offered: 2 week span?

Site name: Louis Stokes Cleveland DVA Medical Center
-Date notified: 2/2
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track: Couples and Family Special Emphasis Area
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personal email
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): phone
- Interview dates offered: 2/3, 2/5, 2/6, 2/9, 2/10

Site name: Charleston VA Medical Center
-Date notified: 2/2
-Invite or rejection: Invite
-Track: Couples and Family
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personal email
-Type of interview (phone, in-person, etc): phone
- Interview dates offered: week of 2/2
 
-Site name: West Haven VA
-Date notified: 2/12
-Invite or rejection: Rejection
-Track: MIRECC
-How notified (mass email, personal email, phone): personalized email

Knew this one was coming 😉
 
HumptyPsyc said:
Do people mind to share how many sites they applied to? I'll start- I applied to 8.
Click to expand...

I applied to 5 places (3 research fellowships, 2 clinically focused postdocs)... I wasn't sure if I would be competitive enough for the research fellowships I am chasing, so wanted to take a more balanced but still sensible approach (i.e., the clinical positions still make sense based on my CV and my areas of interest).

(i'm not applying to neuropsych fellowships btw)
 
HumptyPsyc said:
Do people mind to share how many sites they applied to? I'll start- I applied to 8.
Click to expand...

I applied to 4 clinical, non-neuro sites, with the idea that if they don't work out, I will apply for jobs.
 
I applied to 8 and threw in 3 more later on. These were all research fellowships.
 
I applied to 12 non-neuro sites that aren't using APPA CAS
 
I applied to 13 non-neuro sites. All but 1 used APPA CAS. I tend to be on the paranoid side of things and am also looking at pretty competitive clinical sites.
 
I got an offer from my ~4th ranked spot. I'm still waffling between my top two (I thought I was going to have until Monday night to decide). But if I read the APPIC guidelines right, I'm only supposed to ask one site (my #1...whichever that is at the moment) if they want to let me know where I am/make a reciprocal offer. Because by asking them, I'm essentially agreeing to go there--Is that right?

This feels like a chess game.
 
Old at heart,

That is not my understanding. With your number four giving you an offer, you should now contact 1, 2, and 3 to see where your application stands and if you are still being considered.

Congrats on the offer!
 
Old at heart said:
I got an offer from my ~4th ranked spot. I'm still waffling between my top two (I thought I was going to have until Monday night to decide). But if I read the APPIC guidelines right, I'm only supposed to ask one site (my #1...whichever that is at the moment) if they want to let me know where I am/make a reciprocal offer. Because by asking them, I'm essentially agreeing to go there--Is that right?

This feels like a chess game.
Click to expand...

I understood it the same way -- you can contact your first choice and then they will either make an offer or tell you that you're not their top choice. If they make an offer, you're essentially agreeing to it, but if they don't, then you're free to contact your second choice and so on down.
 
CBTFTW said:
I understood it the same way -- you can contact your first choice and then they will either make an offer or tell you that you're not their top choice. If they make an offer, you're essentially agreeing to it, but if they don't, then you're free to contact your second choice and so on down.
Click to expand...

Yes, the impression I've gotten is that you cannot hold reciprocal offers.

Btw, congrats, Old at heart!
 
Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has heard from the NYU child study center. Sometimes it’s hard to know when to expect a response.

Thanks!
 
Hey, for anyone who has participated in the APPCN match process in the past, what time did you receive the email on the day of the match? Thank you!!
 
I applied to 8, five of which were in APPA CAS. I had four interviews.

I haven't heard from the first place I interviewed yet, which is making me a little twitchy (they said they would notify last week). It's one of two where I would be thrilled to receive an offer, but those two sites are so different from each other in some ways that I don't know which one I'd rank as the top. (And since I don't know if I'd get an offer from either one, I kind of hate to think about it.)

ETA: Welp, actually got the no today. I guess they didn't want to ruin our weekend!
 
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