Postdoctoral match follow up

[NeuropsychAJ]

Hi all,
I'm a neuropsychology intern who accepted an out-of-match postdoc at my second choice site prior to the Neuro match which was awhile ago. However, when I received the offer, I contacted my first choice match site (per APPCN guidelines) and was given the APPCN answer that means I wasn't getting ranked. I'm very happy with the fellowship I accepted and am fully aware that this is a "first world problem" given the match statistics from this year, but after hearing my internship training director mention in passing that the only people who didn't get ranked were the ones who had made serious errors in the interview, this has been weighing on me. I had worked hard on that application, and felt like I had interviewed well. How appropriate is it to contact a site to ask for feedback on your interview/application? My reasons for doing so would be a) to find out if I was inadvertently displaying any "red flag" behavior so that I can improve for future faculty interviews, and b) find out if there is any training experiences I can seek out on fellowship/the remainder of internship that would allow me to be competitive with the institution (or others of similar caliber) for faculty positions?

Thank you all for your time.

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[Kadhir]

Is your current internship site also the site that was first on your list (and the match site you contacted)? How is "serious error" operationalized? Sites are highly variable in their procedures, so I would not generalize. Think about it this way- if you had in fact blundered, you probably wouldn't be sitting there with one of your top choice post-docs.

I would refrain from contacting anyone. It's just not worth it, and you could possibly come across as bitter and annoying, especially this far after the fact. Instead, sit with the inevitable uncertainty (I get it, of course) and grab a glass of wine. Congratulations!!

 

[neurobain]

First, congratulations on accepting a non-match position!

As Kadhir said, if you made mistakes or raised red flags during interviews, you would not have received an offer. Sure, some people who did not match probably didn't interview well. However, there could be other reasons such as goodness of fit, or the question of what else can they teach you.

I was in the same boat as you and I reached out to my number one site in the match as soon as my #2 made an offer since they were outside of the match (in reality my #1 match site was really my #2 site professionally speaking, but because I was tired of doing the long distance relationship thing so I ultimately ranked my #2 spot as #1). After my #1 said they couldn't extend an offer, I also had questions of what I could have done differently, or what maybe I didn't do that "cost" me the position. But then I also considered the number of applicants and how many slots are available (this was before we knew the data for this year. I was going over their average # of applicants, 15-20 for one spot). Maybe you messed up, but maybe you didn't. Maybe there was someone with a better research or clinical fit. Maybe they took an old student. Or, if you are the old student, maybe they wanted you to train elsewhere to diversify your experience.

All I know is that if you start probing, you'll be on their radar in a odd light. If you messed up the interview, asking about it will remind them of that. If you didn't mess up but start asking if you did, you will come across as anxious and neurotic, and they might remember that as well if you reapply. Even if you never reapply, neuropsychology is a small world. These people may be on professional committees, or review manuscripts and grants. I would keep those things in mind before stirring the pot.

Also, as to what your internship director stated....that may have historically been true. That said, this year a large majority of qualified people did not match due to a larger number of applicants, and several programs being on an "off-year." The issue is most likely an influx of applicants following the creation of more internship programs than a reflection of you or them.

Finally, you ask if there is any experience that could be relevant to a job there in the future. This, I think is a more reasonable question. That being said, you can figure that out without asking. If it is an epilepsy center for example, make sure you get presurigical, PNES, Wada, and language mapping experience, and maybe do some epilepsy related research. At the same time, get exposure to other conditions to remain diverse enough to get a job in most centers.

I second Kadhir's recommendation to get a drink and relax!

 

[NeuropsychAJ]

Thank you both! I tried to get my mind off of it over the weekend, and think I was (mostly) successful! I'm looking forward to starting fellowship