APPIC Internship Interview Invitation Thread (2020)

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MamaPsyc said:
Hello Colleagues! I have been mulling over some thoughts regarding my interview schedule and would like to run something by the forum. Specifically, if any person has already been through the internship process already, I’m curious about your reflections on the process. I appreciate feedback from anyone, however!

I am fortunate enough to have gotten almost all of the 20 sites to which I applied (17). Having not been through this process, I (think?) I made the mistake of accepting every interview that did not have a schedule conflict, and requested only a couple phone interviews that conflicted with other sites. I am feeling overwhelmed by my crammed interview schedule, and am now feeling tempted to request phone/Skype interviews from my lower preference sites. I do not want to disrespect the time of TD’s in reviewing my materials and accommodating my schedule! At the same time, I want to be well rested and prepared for my top site interviews and worry my tight schedule will impact my performance.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


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Hi there! I'm in a similar position in that I applied to 15 sites and received 11 interview offers (definitely not as many as you have, so I can't imagine)! I ended up declining the invite to my least preferred site to cap my interviews at 10 (for the particular site I ended up cutting out, an on-site interview was required, so a phone/Skype interview was not an option). As someone who was extremely burnt out and exhausted by the end of grad school interviews, I knew I did not have the energy to interview at more than 10 sites. In fact, after only a couple of interviews in December I was already left feeling drained (introvert problems).

I think it also helps to know that APPIC match statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of people match to their top 3 sites. Less than 1% match to their 10th, 11th, 12th, etc. site. It sounds like you're a competitive applicant who will no doubt match somewhere you like and value. If you have the inclination that you'll be drained by this process, it sounds like a good option is to channel your energy into the sites you really care about. With that being said, I know interviewing at a lot of sites is doable (I know someone from my program who interviewed at 14!), but it really comes down to whether or not it's worth it, keeping in mind match statistics and your own emotional and financial state.

I hope that helps, and best of luck with whatever you decide! This is definitely a nice problem to have, so kudos to you! 🙂
 
PhDenial said:
Hi there! I'm in a similar position in that I applied to 15 sites and received 11 interview offers (definitely not as many as you have, so I can't imagine)! I ended up declining the invite to my least preferred site to cap my interviews at 10 (for the particular site I ended up cutting out, an on-site interview was required, so a phone/Skype interview was not an option). As someone who was extremely burnt out and exhausted by the end of grad school interviews, I knew I did not have the energy to interview at more than 10 sites. In fact, after only a couple of interviews in December I was already left feeling drained (introvert problems).

I think it also helps to know that APPIC match statistics indicate that the overwhelming majority of people match to their top 3 sites. Less than 1% match to their 10th, 11th, 12th, etc. site. It sounds like you're a competitive applicant who will no doubt match somewhere you like and value. If you have the inclination that you'll be drained by this process, it sounds like a good option is to channel your energy into the sites you really care about. With that being said, I know interviewing at a lot of sites is doable (I know someone from my program who interviewed at 14!), but it really comes down to whether or not it's worth it, keeping in mind match statistics and your own emotional and financial state.

I hope that helps, and best of luck with whatever you decide! This is definitely a nice problem to have, so kudos to you! 🙂
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Thank you very much for your thoughtful response! I appreciate your energy, and your thoughts are helpful to me!


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MamaPsyc said:
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response! I appreciate your energy, and your thoughts are helpful to me!


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You're welcome! If it helps any, this is the email (details removed) I sent to the TD of the site I ended up cutting out after I had already accepted the invitation. The TD responded really well to it; I think they understand that these kinds of things happen!

Dear Dr. XXX,

Thank you again and thank you to the XXX team for your careful review and consideration of my application as well as the invitation to interview with your program. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts and constraints, I will no longer be able to attend the interview as I had originally hoped. I apologize for any inconvenience or trouble this may cause.

Best regards,
XXX
 
PhDenial said:
You're welcome! If it helps any, this is the email (details removed) I sent to the TD of the site I ended up cutting out after I had already accepted the invitation. The TD responded really well to it; I think they understand that these kinds of things happen!

Dear Dr. XXX,

Thank you again and thank you to the XXX team for your careful review and consideration of my application as well as the invitation to interview with your program. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts and constraints, I will no longer be able to attend the interview as I had originally hoped. I apologize for any inconvenience or trouble this may cause.

Best regards,
XXX
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This is fantastic to see an example of how to do this gracefully, and I’m happy to hear the TD responded well. When I think of making decisions like this, to withdraw from an interview, I often worry about crossing the paths of the people who were considering me at later points of my career, as our field is small already (and within specialties, even smaller). I’m so relieved to hear that you’ve had good responses, and I imagine if it is timely and polite, they will understand.

I am also so burned out at this point in my education . I have a difficult time imagining an internship and postdoctoral fellowship after the next semester!! I hope it feels like enough of a shift to be rejuvenating. Good luck to you!! You also sound like a strong applicant and I hope you get your first choice


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For those of you that had interviews- I bought the APAGS book and am prepping for potential Q’s. Anyone had questions during the interview that totally threw you off? Like “wait what? Why would you ask that” Type of thing.
 
psychlife19 said:
For those of you that had interviews- I bought the APAGS book and am prepping for potential Q’s. Anyone had questions during the interview that totally threw you off? Like “wait what? Why would you ask that” Type of thing.
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I haven't had any unexpected questions yet; however, my first interview had an hour-long Q&A panel at the end of the day, and it was really awkward because none of us had any good questions to ask the faculty. We came up with a few lame questions, but it was rough. I thought I'd prepared lots of thoughtful and intelligent questions, but by the end of the day I realized all my questions had already been answered or were no longer relevant and I was too tired to come up with new ones. Now I'm preparing tons of questions for all my interviews.

One of my interviews (for general track) had a vignette with lots of assessment scores. The score sheets seemed to throw a lot of people off, but the interviewers didn't actually ask any specific questions about the scores (everything could be answered from the demographic info and narrative paragraph), so...when in doubt, just go with what you know and don't let the other stuff throw you off!
 
What symbol represents you? What book character/movie/celebrity best represents you and why? How would you explain the process of therapy to someone who has never been before?

Just a few I had off the top of my head that caught me off guard.
 
Toulouse said:
I haven't had any unexpected questions yet; however, my first interview had an hour-long Q&A panel at the end of the day, and it was really awkward because none of us had any good questions to ask the faculty. We came up with a few lame questions, but it was rough. I thought I'd prepared lots of thoughtful and intelligent questions, but by the end of the day I realized all my questions had already been answered or were no longer relevant and I was too tired to come up with new ones. Now I'm preparing tons of questions for all my interviews.

One of my interviews (for general track) had a vignette with lots of assessment scores. The score sheets seemed to throw a lot of people off, but the interviewers didn't actually ask any specific questions about the scores (everything could be answered from the demographic info and narrative paragraph), so...when in doubt, just go with what you know and don't let the other stuff throw you off!
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Cool thanks! 🙂
 
One site asked me about a personal or professional challenge I faced during grad school. (Nothing too out there, but I hadn’t specifically thought about a response for this one beforehand.)
 
From last year (and the site I ultimately matched at and am over the moon about): Give your dissertation as an elevator pitch to your grandmother. What career would you choose if you were not in mental health?
 
foreverbull said:
What symbol represents you? What book character/movie/celebrity best represents you and why? How would you explain the process of therapy to someone who has never been before?

Just a few I had off the top of my head that caught me off guard.
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Ugh what do these have to do with being a psychologist? Whats the validity on these questions to work performance?

If I have a chance to ask questions, I’m gonna ask “if you were a bird, what type of bird would you be?” Lol
 
psychlife19 said:
Ugh what do these have to do with being a psychologist? Whats the validity on these questions to work performance?

If I have a chance to ask questions, I’m gonna ask “if you were a bird, what type of bird would you be?” Lol
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Most of the time, it's not actually supposed to have anything to do with psychology specifically. When interviewers ask these types of questions, across many settings/job types, they are more likely than not seeing how you respond to something unexpected.
 
WisNeuro said:
Most of the time, it's not actually supposed to have anything to do with psychology specifically. When interviewers ask these types of questions, across many settings/job types, they are more likely than not seeing how you respond to something unexpected.
Click to expand...

And relatedly, they may just want to get to know more about you as a person. Or sometimes it's to lighten the mood a bit. Training faculty are people, too, as much as it doesn't always seem like it.
 
What kinds of questions are people asking their interviewers at the end when they’re like: “do you have any questions for us?”
 
psydmaddog said:
What kinds of questions are people asking their interviewers at the end when they’re like: “do you have any questions for us?”
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I ask any specific training related questions that weren’t answered in previous info sessions/talks with interns etc. If I literally have nothing else left in my head to ask, I just ask how they ended up working there and sometimes where they went to school/did their internship. It’s interesting to hear about everyone’s trajectory and gives an idea of how much people like working at the site based on the tenor of their answer
 
psydmaddog said:
What kinds of questions are people asking their interviewers at the end when they’re like: “do you have any questions for us?”
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"is there anything about my application that you don't know but would like to know?"
 
psychologystudent101 said:
thank you emails after interviews, are people sending them?
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I’m not. I have browsed the boards and it makes no difference I guess. But I would if I was interviewing at a small practice or counseling center vs a huge setting.

But I imagine if the TD got a thank you email from every single applicant, and I don’t wanna add to that. If I paid money to apply to your site and travel to the interview, obviously I am interested!
 
I have a semi structured informal interview scheduled. Any idea what that may look like?
 
For timed writing samples during interviews is length important? I have one coming up and I know I am a slow typer.
 
Can anyone interviewing at Columbia Valley Community Health today let me know what time the interview ends up lasting until? I’m trying to book my flights, and I need to get to another interview the next day but the only evening flight is shortly after the interview. Private messages are fine!

Thank you so much in advance!
 
PsychedPSYD21 said:
For timed writing samples during interviews is length important? I have one coming up and I know I am a slow typer.
Click to expand...

When I was interviewing, all time writing samples were hand-written. Length wasn't the issue, it was more about the content: accuracy, being thorough while being concise, demonstrating perspective/theory/understanding/etc.
 
Shane559 said:
Can anyone interviewing at Columbia Valley Community Health today let me know what time the interview ends up lasting until? I’m trying to book my flights, and I need to get to another interview the next day but the only evening flight is shortly after the interview. Private messages are fine!

Thank you so much in advance!
Click to expand...

I encourage you to contact the TD to ask. We understand that many of you are working around challenging travel schedules. The TD may be able to provide information and/or potentially schedule your interview so that you can leave the site on time. Of course they may also be unable to change anything, but I think it is worth asking. Best of
luck!
 
I am getting halfway through my interviews. I've literally been traveling since Jan. 1. I have flown and driven all over...now I have extreme pain down my lower right back lugging my duffle bag around airports and sleeping on crappy motel mattresses. I fly out tomorrow morning and I can barely walk 🙁. I felt bad because I had an interview yesterday at a VA which spanned all day, and they asked me how I was doing...at some point I just dropped the "I am fine, how are you" routine and told them the truth. I was not feeling 100% yesterday.
 
Does anybody have a document or spreadsheet they use to rank their sites they would like to share? Just curious.
 
Hi friends!! So, I’m having the thought that ranking is going to be a TOUGH process for me! How do I choose? Can we get a convo going about how to approach this process of choosing? Please share strategies and ideas- id love to hear your thoughts 🙂


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Honestly, I wouldn't use someone else's rubric. This is all so very dependent on your circumstances. What's important to you? Is training experience rhe #1 factor? Is geography playing a role? Etc. Don't let someone else's rankings influence yours. Figure out what you need and rank based on that.
 
I have come across a couple of interviewers who have asked how many interviews I have in more or less direct ways, and I have heard that others have gotten this a lot. What are they possibly trying to get from this question? And yes, I know they are not supposed to ask.
 
John Dory said:
I have come across a couple of interviewers who have asked how many interviews I have in more or less direct ways, and I have heard that others have gotten this a lot. What are they possibly trying to get from this question? And yes, I know they are not supposed to ask.
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As far as I know, this is not a prohibited question, they essentially cannot ask about ranking information. As for what they hope to get out of it, could be lots of things. I, personally find the information irrelevant. I could really care less how many interviews an applicant has, or where they plan on ranking us. Wouldn't change the way we rank at all.
 
Shane559 said:
Can anyone interviewing at Columbia Valley Community Health today let me know what time the interview ends up lasting until? I’m trying to book my flights, and I need to get to another interview the next day but the only evening flight is shortly after the interview. Private messages are fine!

Thank you so much in advance!
Click to expand...

I'm interviewing there on 1/27 and have an interview the following morning in another state. I e-mailed the training director about leaving early and she was very kind and understanding, especially since the only flight leaving Wenatchee after the interview is at 5:20. The airport is fortunately really close to the site. I plan to leave around 3:30 or so just to be safe.
 
it me

458C5390-155E-402E-822A-8E5502B892FA.jpeg
 
Starbrighter said:
Has anyone else had an exit interview where the TD gives feedback at the end of the day? Essentially telling you their impression of your strengths and weaknesses in interviewing and case discussion? 🙁
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I haven't had it happen yet. A part of me would feel vulnerable receiving feedback, but a bigger part of me would be happy in knowing my areas of strengths and growths in preparation for my subsequent interviews.
 
I'm so over this process and incredibly frustrated. I had an interview scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday at a site that mixed up my date with someone else’s. I receive an email from the TD 20 minutes after the mistaken interview time from the TD requesting for me to call in and have the interview via phone. I responded promptly to the email and called the location just to be told by the secretary the TD requests for me to reschedule via email.

I proceeded to email the TD cc’ing her on the initial email with our exchange for my correct interview date and apologizing for the confusion. She then responds back not accepting any of the blame, somehow blaming me and providing two alternative days that conflict with my availability. She concluded the email with ”If these don't work, then we won't be able to offer you an interview.” This was an eye-opening moment for me, we are risking are mental, emotional and physical health; as well as potentially altering our personal lives for these opportunities. Just from her response, I determined the site does not fit with me. Nothing made me happier than sending a polite rejection for an interview. I wish this process appreciated us more.
 
H2021 said:
I'm so over this process and incredibly frustrated. I had an interview scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday at a site that mixed up my date with someone else’s. I receive an email from the TD 20 minutes after the mistaken interview time from the TD requesting for me to call in and have the interview via phone. I responded promptly to the email and called the location just to be told by the secretary the TD requests for me to reschedule via email.

I proceeded to email the TD cc’ing her on the initial email with our exchange for my correct interview date and apologizing for the confusion. She then responds back not accepting any of the blame, somehow blaming me and providing two alternative days that conflict with my availability. She concluded the email with ”If these don't work, then we won't be able to offer you an interview.” This was an eye-opening moment for me, we are risking are mental, emotional and physical health; as well as potentially altering our personal lives for these opportunities. Just from her response, I determined the site does not fit with me. Nothing made me happier than sending a polite rejection for an interview. I wish this process appreciated us more.
Click to expand...

I hope you told the TD point-blank that you were turning down the interview exactly because he/she wasn’t being respectful and suggest they have a bit more empathy in this process.
 
neurocog said:
I am getting halfway through my interviews. I've literally been traveling since Jan. 1. I have flown and driven all over...now I have extreme pain down my lower right back lugging my duffle bag around airports and sleeping on crappy motel mattresses. I fly out tomorrow morning and I can barely walk 🙁. I felt bad because I had an interview yesterday at a VA which spanned all day, and they asked me how I was doing...at some point I just dropped the "I am fine, how are you" routine and told them the truth. I was not feeling 100% yesterday.
Click to expand...
Is this related to your surgery?? Can you maybe get a roller suitcase? So much easier than a duffle bag!
 
I have only had two interviews and I'm already over the whole thing. Maybe I'll skip the last interviews and just rank the two I went on (haha)

I'm not sure why but it's very draining. I love having a set schedule, and flying around really messes with that as I'm forced to shuffle my practicum days around the interviews.

I am also worried about matching as I only have 4 interviews! It seems that most people match to their 1-3rd choices, but some are matched to their 5-7th choices...And I think the rate of matching for 4 interviews is like 86% which is still good....but it's not 100.
 
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