APPIC INTERNSHIP ESSAYS - Autobiography (SEND HELP)

[doctormancan]

I have now heard opposite ends of the spectrum from trusted advisors about the nature of the autobiography. It is killing me. Some say this is not a personal statement. Some say this is a statement about where you are in training, your reflections on prac, and where you want to go. I thought I found the answer in the APAGS workbook. Then, out of desperation, I hired a consultant with a lot of experience and the post-doctoral TD of a prestigious institution who said that the APAGS way of talking about training experiences is boring and suggested not doing that. AGGGGHHHH, send help. I am applying to all VAs for practitioner-scholar positions and mid-sized VAs. I need an autobio essay that helps me get an APA internship at a VA. Period. What do I need to do? Does anyone have a definitive answer on this, or is it just people's opinions?

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[PsyDuck90]

It’s literally just people’s opinions. There’s no 1 right way to write this essay. The APAGS workbook has a decent model from what I remember, but it also isn’t the only way. See if your program TD or chair have autobiographical essays from past students who matched that they can share. Honestly, boring is better than something off the wall and filled with red flags.

 

[doctormancan]

It’s literally just people’s opinions. There’s no 1 right way to write this essay. The APAGS workbook has a decent model from what I remember, but it also isn’t the only way. See if your program TD or chair have autobiographical essays from past students who matched that they can share. Honestly, boring is better than something off the wall and filled with red flags.

What was your strategy with this? I would love to hear more if you are willing.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Boring is better than red flags, for sure. But for me personally, the autobiographical essay was probably my favorite of the 3 (or 4?) APPIC requires; it was one of the only ways, outside of an interview, to actually get to know anything about the person behind the application.

 

[MCParent]

You’re writing a job application. It’s a request for a 500 word write up on how your background influences your work in the profession and job you are applying for.

When people think of it as an “autobiography,” they can go astray. Can you write an autobiography in 500 words? I don’t think a person who lived in a box for 25 years could. People try to jam in a dozen personal tidbits when they do that and it’s a mess.

Pick a couple (like, 2-3) things you want to hit about personal-ish things influenced your going into the profession, your goals, etc.

Also, don’t see it as “the autobiographical essay.” You’re writing one essay with 4 parts. All the pieces should work together. The worst internship essays are ones where each of the four parts could have been written by different people.

 

[summerbabe]

As somebody who reviews VA internship applications, I'll second a lot of the advice already given.

For me, a good essay gives me a brief window into something the candidate has self-selected as important to share. And it builds my desire to meet/interview the person.

So there are many ways/strategies to do that within 500 words but specificity and having a theme is probably pretty important.

 

[PsyDuck90]

What was your strategy with this? I would love to hear more if you are willing.

It was a couple of years ago, but I had a similar stance to what MCParent stated in that it was very tied in with themes I discussed in the other essays. A lot of it was centered on how certain aspects of my cultural identity and clinical experiences shaped my identity as a clinician at this stage of training. I conceptualized it as my professional autobiography and what are the strongest influences to who I am as a clinician and a psychologist. Now, that may not work for other people if some of those factors are red flags (such as personal struggles with mental illness or whatever). So you have to think about what works best for you. That’s why reading a few examples and seeing what resonates is a good strategy for going about this essay.

 

[MCParent]

It was a couple of years ago, but I had a similar stance to what MCParent stated in that it was very tied in with themes I discussed in the other essays. A lot of it was centered on how certain aspects of my cultural identity and clinical experiences shaped my identity as a clinician at this stage of training. I conceptualized it as my professional autobiography and what are the strongest influences to who I am as a clinician and a psychologist. Now, that may not work for other people if some of those factors are red flags (such as personal struggles with mental illness or whatever). So you have to think about what works best for you. That’s why reading a few examples and seeing what resonates is a good strategy for going about this essay.

My advice to folks has always been to pick a theme and make that the organizing thought behind the essays. So, you intro and outro each part with it. That's not to say you pick growth as the theme and use metaphors about how you're a tree being fertilized by your supervisors. But you pick growth, you talk in personal essay about growth into the profession with mentors, theory one you talk about growth through supervision, diversity you talk about how others' perspectives help you grow in skills, research you talk about learning stuff about research. Part of this, though, is that students have to eject the parts of that machine that don't work toward its purpose, and my experience is that some students really resist staying on theme in favor of smashing more stuff into the essays.

 

[doctormancan]

As a follow up I am super happy that I took yalls advice and went a bit more conservative, and used it as an index of what's to come in the next three essays. I think my cover letters were better because I am a legit fit for most VA based on training experiences and goals. 7/8 confirmed VA interviews so far, and expecting a few more at least. Now, onto the next thread of how to interview with the VA and what are the most common performance based interview questions and if anyone knows how these are graded.