PhD/PsyD VA Interview Questions and Best Answers - Performance Based Interviewing

[doctormancan]

I am looking for the most common VA performance based interview questions for those that have done a VA internship, what questions were asked, and did you use a method like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Response), or does the VA expect more. I have a tendency to be very tangential on these sorts of questions and am open to any suggestions on how to succeed. I was thinking about writing them out and literally reading the answers to stay on track. I have two VA interviews back to back this coming week, so any best practices and answers would be amazing. How much should I know about my potential supervisors and how much should I ask about their research or clinical work and kiss up - I am quite good at that haha.

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[cara susanna]

Basically, they look for a thorough answer to the question and specific examples. The more specific you can get, the better. Honestly, though, as someone who has been on the interviewer side for a lot of PBI interviews, I really think a lot of the rating is subjective.

It's definitely a good idea to have notes and some go-to examples prepared in advance for each type of question.

I wouldn't ask so much about the supervisors themselves, but rather the position. They want to know you're a good fit. I can't think of any VA interview I attended as the interviewee or the interviewer where people asked about the supervisors' interests or research. It's a lot different from training position interviews in that respect!

 

[futureapppsy2]

Having detailed and specific examples where you can explain your clinical reasoning and tie it back to the populations that the clinic for which you are interviewing focuses on is helpful in my experience.

 

[RxPsych]

Basically, they look for a thorough answer to the question and specific examples. The more specific you can get, the better. Honestly, though, as someone who has been on the interviewer side for a lot of PBI interviews, I really think a lot of the rating is subjective.

It's definitely a good idea to have notes and some go-to examples prepared in advance for each type of question.

I wouldn't ask so much about the supervisors themselves, but rather the position. They want to know you're a good fit. I can't think of any VA interview I attended as the interviewee or the interviewer where people asked about the supervisors' interests or research. It's a lot different from training position interviews in that respect!

I'm curious how much this varies. For example, I have sites where I will be interviewed by the person that I also indicated as a primary research mentor and would like to know more about their projects, available datasets, etc. and to what extent interns can be involved. Additionally, to follow up on your last point, I found that during my PhD interviews being a lot more personable and asking about their interests, research, how they spend their free time, etc. greatly helped during my interviews and finding out we "got along" on a personal level was valuable. There were many interviews where we barely even talked about the program and mostly talked about our hobbies, things to do in the area, etc. and it was at those sites that I got offers. Would this not be the similar for internship interviews, at least to some extent? If we are already invited, doesn't that mean we look good on paper and one of their primary goals would be to assess interpersonal fit?

 

[cara susanna]

I'm curious how much this varies. For example, I have sites where I will be interviewed by the person that I also indicated as a primary research mentor and would like to know more about their projects, available datasets, etc. and to what extent interns can be involved. Additionally, to follow up on your last point, I found that during my PhD interviews being a lot more personable and asking about their interests, research, how they spend their free time, etc. greatly helped during my interviews and finding out we "got along" on a personal level was valuable. There were many interviews where we barely even talked about the program and mostly talked about our hobbies, things to do in the area, etc. and it was at those sites that I got offers. Would this not be the similar for internship interviews, at least to some extent? If we are already invited, doesn't that mean we look good on paper and one of their primary goals would be to assess interpersonal fit?

I'm talking about staff psychologist job interviews, not internship. I don't know of any VA site that uses PBI for internship interviews (I REALLY hope they don't, that'd be awful). My site absolutely loves PBI and we don't even use PBI for internship. So I assumed that OP was asking about that, not internship.

But, regardless, for internship interviews, absolutely talk about research and clinical interests. That's different.

 

[RxPsych]

I'm talking about staff psychologist job interviews, not internship. I don't know of any VA site that uses PBI for internship interviews (I REALLY hope they don't, that'd be awful). My site absolutely loves PBI and we don't even use PBI for internship. So I assumed that OP was asking about that, not internship.

But, regardless, for internship interviews, absolutely talk about research and clinical interests. That's different.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[psych.meout]

I'm talking about staff psychologist job interviews, not internship. I don't know of any VA site that uses PBI for internship interviews (I REALLY hope they don't, that'd be awful). My site absolutely loves PBI and we don't even use PBI for internship. So I assumed that OP was asking about that, not internship.

But, regardless, for internship interviews, absolutely talk about research and clinical interests. That's different.

Every VA I applied to for internship (8 out of 15 sites) used PBI.

 

[Psychai]

Most of my VA internship interviews also used performance based interviews. Sites used them with varying levels of strictness though where some asked PBI questions as a jumping off point for conversations and asked many follow up questions. Other sites were very formal and asked no follow up questions whatsoever. In general, my recommendations for PBI are:

1. Write down the questions. Many PBI questions are long and have several parts. No one will take issue with asking for a minute to make notes on the question and then confirming that you heard all the relevant parts. That also gives you a minute to think and decide which clinical experience you want to talk about. I have also gotten feedback from VAs that this communicates that you are thoughtful and thorough rather than jumping in half baked.
2. You can also ask how many PBI questions you will have to help allocate your time. If you have 5 questions in a 30 minute interview slot, it's not a bad idea to make sure your answers are around 4-5 minutes each, leaving time for questions, but taking up the whole interview time. And of course you can adjust after the first question if the interviewer is asking follow up questions. I made the mistake in one of my internship interviews of trying to keep my answers brief since I assumed the interviewers would ask follow up questions and it would be more conversational. It ended up being a site that did not ask any follow up questions so I finished in half the allotted time and was the first applicant done.
3. Think of each question as an opportunity to share something with the site about your strengths in clinical practice (ex. Mindful of diversity, thoughtful and thorough, flexible), share experiences that show you are aligned with VA goals and the clinic's specific goals (ex. Commitment to evidence-based practice, using assessment to inform treatment, experience with a relevant population/treatment for the clinic) and that you are a not a liability as a trainee (ex. You frequently consult with your supervisor for difficult cases, are mindful of suicide risk and situations where you may need to make a report to protective services). You can also set these anecdotes up to explain why a particular site or rotation is well-aligned with your training goals (ex. My take-away from this case is that x is a personal growth area and I want to become more skilled in y. That's why I'm very interested in z rotation, because it will give me opportunities to continue developing those skills). Most questions are open ended to a point where many clinical anecdotes could fit, so come up with a few that communicate something helpful and think about the types of questions they could be used for.
4. Keep in mind that the point of PBI is that (in theory) you are being scored more objectively than in informal chit chat interviews. They're designed in part to avoid the grad school interview experiences you described where you can mostly get the interviewer talking and they are left with a broadly positive perception, potentially without much substance to back it up. You receive a score on each PBI question, and questions are summed to make an overall score. That means that if you hit it off personality-wise with someone when asking questions about the site and research opportunities, I'm sure that still helps leave a good impression, but at least in theory it wouldn't contribute to your interview score. Again, all the grains of salt, each site is so different. Even if they are using PBI, I do think asking questions and showing you are genuinely interested in the program and rotations is a very important part of internship interviews. But sometimes with PBI stickler sites you may need to get creative about how you communicate that as part of your answers as described in #3.
5. What you said about getting the interview meaning the site already likes you is still true. Each site factors in interviews to varying degrees. My VA internship site had a ranking algorithm that only minimally factored in interviews, and mostly just used them to catch red flags. PBI can definitely feel intimidating, but if you practice some and think of it as an opportunity to get exposure to a different type of interview that you might encounter for staff interviews, you'll be in great shape.

 

[cara susanna]

I had no idea that some sites use PBI for internship interviews. That is horrendous, imo.

Also, sorry that I misunderstood your question, OP. Like I said, I assumed you were talking about a job interview. But my advice about PBI still applies!

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I had no idea that some sites use PBI for internship interviews. That is horrendous, imo.

Also, sorry that I misunderstood your question, OP. Like I said, I assumed you were talking about a job interview. But my advice about PBI still applies!

I think sometimes, sites may use PBI/PBI-type questions to help trainees get used to them and the process of VA interviews.

 

[cara susanna]

I think sometimes, sites may use PBI/PBI-type questions to help trainees get used to them and the process of VA interviews.

I am all for PBI training as a part of VA training programs, but DURING the training year. I think that for the internship interview itself, it just adds unnecessary stress. I also don't think that PBI really allows you feel like you get to know the site or interviewer, which is important for training positions.

 

[Dr_Bee]

I am all for PBI training as a part of VA training programs, but DURING the training year. I think that for the internship interview itself, it just adds unnecessary stress. I also don't think that PBI really allows you feel like you get to know the site or interviewer, which is important for training positions.

Agreed - one of the sites I applied to for Post doc used PBI during interviews and the training faculty came across as very cold and robotic, to the point where I ranked them significantly lower on my list.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I am all for PBI training as a part of VA training programs, but DURING the training year. I think that for the internship interview itself, it just adds unnecessary stress. I also don't think that PBI really allows you feel like you get to know the site or interviewer, which is important for training positions.

I agree, I think it's better as a training tool than during the actual internship interviews. Unless the site just really likes those questions or has some reason to think they improve the selection process.

For me, I don't think I remember any VA sites using PBI questions for internship, but I believe I may have had a couple postdoc sites use versions of them (in a warmer/friendlier format). Definitely had PBI when interviewing for VA jobs.

 

[RxPsych]

I had no idea that some sites use PBI for internship interviews. That is horrendous, imo.

Also, sorry that I misunderstood your question, OP. Like I said, I assumed you were talking about a job interview. But my advice about PBI still applies!

My local VA uses PBI during their external practicum interviews, too