Post Doc Season 2020 - 2021

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WisNeuro said:
Do you practice in a specialty area? Do you ever plan on going for board certification? If so, these PP postdocs can make that much harder.
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The Arizona Psychology Training Consortium includes a number of PP neuropsychology postdocs, and the website claims "Our neuropsychology track meets Houston Guidelines for didactic topic areas." I wonder how difficult it can be for those postdocs to get board-certified in neuropsych.
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niceman said:
The Arizona Psychology Training Consortium includes a number of PP neuropsychology postdocs, and the website claims "Our neuropsychology track meets Houston Guidelines for didactic topic areas." I wonder how difficult it can be for those postdocs to get board-certified in neuropsych.
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Depends on how they have didactics set up, usually the biggest pitfall of the PP postdocs.
 
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Hi All, a question for the group: is this a good spot to post postdoc announcements? I saw a "megathread" on the topic was posted last year, but am not seeing may announcements this year.
 
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ScottMcDonaldPhD said:
Hi All, a question for the group: is this a good spot to post postdoc announcements? I saw a "megathread" on the topic was posted last year, but am not seeing may announcements this year.
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You could post it here, but I'd actually suggest creating a separate "Postdoc Announcement XXXX-XX" thread by itself. It's easier to search for and the announcements are less likely to get buried in a more general thread.
 
WisNeuro said:
You could post it here, but I'd actually suggest creating a separate "Postdoc Announcement XXXX-XX" thread by itself. It's easier to search for and the announcements are less likely to get buried in a more general thread.
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Oh, absolutely - I was thinking on a separate thread or starting a MegaThread. Thanks WisNeuro!
 
How many sites will vary. Are you applying to a specialty area? How niche is that specialty area? Are you geographically restricted? It's been a while, but when I was applying for neuro, most people applied to fewer postdocs than they did internships. Generally a higher interview rate than internship too, as long as you apply for fit. For example, if you are a child neuropsych person, you're not going to be very competitive at the VA. But, it happened multiple times. Every year.
 
WisNeuro said:
Do you practice in a specialty area? Do you ever plan on going for board certification? If so, these PP postdocs can make that much harder.
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I would probably consider myself a "generalist" and am currently at an internship site which does intensive outpatient/chemical dependency treatment for substance users and families, as well as seeing general mental health patients across the age spectrum. I definitely like it, and would love to stay in a post-doc role there if they would have me. At the same time, I wouldn't say I have a specialty area, board certification may be in future plans but not as of today.

My current site also has a later deadline than others, so I also worry about receiving an offer before being able to see all my options. The PP psychologist is a bit of a fall back, as I'd still need a paying job somewhere and haven't really approached him about opportunities outside of offering supervision.
 
WalterKovacs said:
I would probably consider myself a "generalist" and am currently at an internship site which does intensive outpatient/chemical dependency treatment for substance users and families, as well as seeing general mental health patients across the age spectrum. I definitely like it, and would love to stay in a post-doc role there if they would have me. At the same time, I wouldn't say I have a specialty area, board certification may be in future plans but not as of today.

My current site also has a later deadline than others, so I also worry about receiving an offer before being able to see all my options. The PP psychologist is a bit of a fall back, as I'd still need a paying job somewhere and haven't really approached him about opportunities outside of offering supervision.
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If board certification is in the plans ever, make sure you read up on the requirements now and plan accordingly. for most boards, it is much easier to get that done now, than later.

As for the offers and deadlines, if you get an offer elsewhere, and want to stay at the current site, simply ask them. Tell them that you have an offer, but would rather stay there, at which point they can make a reciprocal offer if they are in the position to do so.
 
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R. Matey said:
The figures I've heard are somewhere between 5-8. I applied to five postdocs last year and had interviews at all of them.
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So does that mean 21 is too many? Asking for an extremely anxious me.
 
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Complex Figure said:
So does that mean 21 is too many? Asking for an extremely anxious me.
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You can apply to however many you want. It's really up to you to decide how many cover letters you want to write. I ultimately applied to 15 sites but the rest of my internship cohort applied to 6-10.
 
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Has anyone tried applying to Eastern Colorado/Rocky Mountain Regional VA post doc? I'm attempting to find it on the application portal and cannot find it even when I search for it under different names... Any tips?

The deadline looks to be 12/1 per their page on the directory, so I don't think I missed it...?
 
psychedaboutpsych123 said:
Has anyone tried applying to Eastern Colorado/Rocky Mountain Regional VA post doc? I'm attempting to find it on the application portal and cannot find it even when I search for it under different names... Any tips?

The deadline looks to be 12/1 per their page on the directory, so I don't think I missed it...?
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Contact the Training Director, express your interest, and ask for help finding the application. Good luck!
 
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dcpsychdoc said:
Contact the Training Director, express your interest, and ask for help finding the application. Good luck!
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Thank you for the advice! I wanted to ask to rule out error on my part, since I'm not tech savvy, but I think the fact that I found other sites easily means it's time to reach out. I'll do that now :)
 
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Y'ALL, are we for realsies filling out the damn achievement section on APPA CAS? All of this is on my CV.... are we really to input ALL of this manually one by one? I just.... this is not real, right? It is optional?
 
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Sorry to double post... but second question..

If you indicated that your doctoral program provided you training in Clinical, please indicate the level of education and training you received.

What the HECK does this mean>?!!? :rofl:
 
psychedaboutpsych123 said:
Has anyone tried applying to Eastern Colorado/Rocky Mountain Regional VA post doc? I'm attempting to find it on the application portal and cannot find it even when I search for it under different names... Any tips?

The deadline looks to be 12/1 per their page on the directory, so I don't think I missed it...?
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Answering my own question- if anyone else is applying here, you submit materials via EMAIL.

Anyone else feel like everything's jumbled together at this point? I don't want to apply for anything for many years.... Too bad we'll be doing this for jobs in a year :cryi:o_O
 
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Seven down, seven more to go!!!!!!! I can't believe I actually got some submitted, it feels surreal. And exhausting. I keep trying to talk myself out of the sites that ask for more than a cover letter and CV, hahaha. But future me will regret that.

This weekend I got to go for a nice and slow six mile run, something that I used to be able to do on weekdays and now just can't budget the time for, which has been really disappointing to me. So, the upside is that it has become a lot more special and I am way more grateful to do it when I get to on the weekends! And right now I am going to crawl my ass in bed and read Where'd You go Bernadette. I made a mistake of reading it before bed last night starting at 10 PM and stayed up until midnight because I didn't want to stop reading, haha.

In the spirit of our past APPIC threads, how is everyone else coping?!
 
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psychedaboutpsych123 said:
Too bad we'll be doing this for jobs in a year
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It sometimes feels like the biggest upside of a two-year neuropsych postdoc is that I'll finally get a year off of applications. :rolleyes:

Does anyone know if we're clear to submit an application in APPA CAS even if a reference hasn't uploaded their letter yet? Would the letter then just go straight through to the site whenever it's uploaded (assuming it's in by the deadline), or do I run the risk of it not getting to the site?
 
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phantasmagorical said:
It sometimes feels like the biggest upside of a two-year neuropsych postdoc is that I'll finally get a year off of applications. :rolleyes:

Does anyone know if we're clear to submit an application in APPA CAS even if a reference hasn't uploaded their letter yet? Would the letter then just go straight through to the site whenever it's uploaded (assuming it's in by the deadline), or do I run the risk of it not getting to the site?
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I called the help desk about this yesterday and they said it will go straight to the sites once you have submitted the application even after the deadline.
 
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modestmousktr said:
Seven down, seven more to go!!!!!!! I can't believe I actually got some submitted, it feels surreal. And exhausting. I keep trying to talk myself out of the sites that ask for more than a cover letter and CV, hahaha. But future me will regret that.

This weekend I got to go for a nice and slow six mile run, something that I used to be able to do on weekdays and now just can't budget the time for, which has been really disappointing to me. So, the upside is that it has become a lot more special and I am way more grateful to do it when I get to on the weekends! And right now I am going to crawl my ass in bed and read Where'd You go Bernadette. I made a mistake of reading it before bed last night starting at 10 PM and stayed up until midnight because I didn't want to stop reading, haha.

In the spirit of our past APPIC threads, how is everyone else coping?!
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I have talked myself out of applying to all of those sites, hoping I don't regret it. I have found a few to apply places to though that do not require anything else though! Being school psych limits my options somewhat too.

I had a break between my internship year and finishing my dissertation where I have been teaching as an ABD prof and not working as a clinician. My most recent clinical work is 3 years old and submitting an example report that is 3 years old, that only kind of fits the description of what they want anyway, to sites where according to their data 20 people applied last year- assuming it's more or less the same- presumably at least 15 applicants this year will have current reports and the ability to find cases that precisely fit the application description with support from their training directors. So it seemed like an exercise in futility...
 
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First postdoc interviews this week. Ahhhhhh.
 
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Mojito_15 said:
I have talked myself out of applying to all of those sites, hoping I don't regret it. I have found a few to apply places to though that do not require anything else though! Being school psych limits my options somewhat too.

I had a break between my internship year and finishing my dissertation where I have been teaching as an ABD prof and not working as a clinician. My most recent clinical work is 3 years old and submitting an example report that is 3 years old, that only kind of fits the description of what they want anyway, to sites where according to their data 20 people applied last year- assuming it's more or less the same- presumably at least 15 applicants this year will have current reports and the ability to find cases that precisely fit the application description with support from their training directors. So it seemed like an exercise in futility...
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Totally get it! Also it's bringing up really petty anger in me toward those sites, hahaha. I'm like, can't you just trust that my internship vetted all of this. Especially the ones that want info from my old ass AAPI
 
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I submitted my first application yesterday. Anyone else applied to the UCLA TIES program? I wonder how many applications they received last year.
 
modestmousktr said:
Y'ALL, are we for realsies filling out the damn achievement section on APPA CAS? All of this is on my CV.... are we really to input ALL of this manually one by one? I just.... this is not real, right? It is optional?
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I felt the same way! Almost backed out of applying when I saw I had to do that. We didn’t even have to do that for internship
 
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MichSim said:
I felt the same way! Almost backed out of applying when I saw I had to do that. We didn’t even have to do that for internship
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It’s been over a year since I’ve applied, but I remember that being optional. I’m pretty sure I skipped it for the same reasons noted here. Like 75% sure, but I’ve blocked out much of the process so I could be wrong.
 
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One of my sites explicitly stated it was optional, the rest didn’t mention it. So I took that as a sign to just not do it. Oh god I hope I didn’t waste 70 aomething bucks hahaha!! My attitude toward post doc apps is the opposite of how I felt about internship. Senioritis?!
 
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SchoolPsych4 said:
Any resources at what to expect from the interviews?
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Would also like this, if any former post-docs are popping in the thread!! Or folks who had interviews.

How is everyone holding up? Any interviews yet? Most of my apps appear to be due in Mid December through January 5th. I'm getting antsy to get some offers.
 
modestmousktr said:
Would also like this, if any former post-docs are popping in the thread!! Or folks who had interviews.
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I did a VA internship and then a VA postdoc. I applied narrowly and mine were Performance Based Interviews so pretty standard questions such as describing a challenging case, how you handled a specific conflict, etc along with your interest in the program, etc.

From my experience, it was straight-forward. 6-8 questions with a panel of raters lasting 30-45 minutes depending on how long it takes you to respond and then time for questions afterwards.

Overall, I found it less stressful than internship interviews (which were almost exclusively with VAs as well).
 
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summerbabe said:
I did a VA internship and then a VA postdoc. I applied narrowly and mine were Performance Based Interviews so pretty standard questions such as describing a challenging case, how you handled a specific conflict, etc along with your interest in the program, etc.

From my experience, it was straight-forward. 6-8 questions with a panel of raters lasting 30-45 minutes depending on how long it takes you to respond and then time for questions afterwards.

Overall, I found it less stressful than internship interviews (which were almost exclusively with VAs as well).
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I’ll second this! I did a Va internship and postdoc, and it was mostly performance based interviews (which is nice practice if you also see employment in the VA). There were also questions about how I conceptualized the difference between postdoc and internship, and time for me to ask questions about the program!
 
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Psychchick09 said:
I’ll second this! I did a Va internship and postdoc, and it was mostly performance based interviews (which is nice practice if you also see employment in the VA). There were also questions about how I conceptualized the difference between postdoc and internship, and time for me to ask questions about the program!
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Thank you both so much for the insight!
 
When should we start expecting to hear from sites that have earlier application deadlines? 12/1, 12/4, etc.
 
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SchoolPsych4 said:
Any resources at what to expect from the interviews?
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I applied to 5 sites (the earlier posts about applying to 21 are intense, thats way too many IMO). My interviews drastically varied from what felt like just casual conversation about my training goals, to a performance based interview with structured questions and data to review and interpret. Not sure there is a great way to prepare other than being able to speak about your professional goals and research interests coherently and to be able to discuss how the training site would be a good fit. I received interview offers within a couple days of submitting my application (one site I heard the next day).
 
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psy.d. 2021 said:
When should we start expecting to hear from sites that have earlier application deadlines? 12/1, 12/4, etc.
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That's a good question, it seems so variable! I read today every postdoc thread dating back to 2017... excellent use of my time, haha. Anyway I noticed that sometimes these sites offered interviews as early as 12/5 and sometimes as late as mid January!! I imagine things will be slower this year because of COVID, especially if your site also has pre-doctoral intern applications to sift through. But I am unsure!
 
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modestmousktr said:
That's a good question, it seems so variable! I read today every postdoc thread dating back to 2017... excellent use of my time, haha. Anyway I noticed that sometimes these sites offered interviews as early as 12/5 and sometimes as late as mid January!! I imagine things will be slower this year because of COVID, especially if your site also has pre-doctoral intern applications to sift through. But I am unsure!
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Take a look at the site brochure/UPD listing. There should be information there about the notification dates. And, other posters are correct that it is variable. Good luck!
 
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I applied to my number 1 choice last Tuesday and still have not heard back. I feel like it is most likely a rejection :((
 
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SchoolPsych4 said:
I applied to my number 1 choice last Tuesday and still have not heard back. I feel like it is most likely a rejection :((
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Patience is a virtue. Many sites are knee-deep in the internship selection process and post-doc is next. Also things are much crazier this year than in years past.
 
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