Happy Internship Season!...No, Really.

It is almost October, and while our friends are enjoying the return of comfortable sweaters and pumpkin spiced everything, many of us in clinical programs are becoming increasingly aware of internship deadlines.  Our newest blog features internship advice from a very special guest contributor. Dr. Sharon Kelley, JD, PhD matched to her first choice of the Univ of Mass Medical School/Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital for the 2013-2014 internship year.  She then went on to complete a post-doctoral position at the University of Virginia's Institute for Psychiatry, Public Policy, and Law; and is currently a Research Associate in Law and Forensic Psychology at IPPL. ​

​Happy Internship Season!
 
I was in your shoes three year ago, and am now attempting to pull together some useful advice for those of you in the middle of the process.  Disclaimer: My experience might not map on perfectly to your experience.  I think that’s ok.  There are a lot of ways to be successful in applying for/matching at fantastic internship sites.   That’s a long way of saying that if you don’t like my advice, you simply need not take it, and you will likely find success nonetheless. 
 
Point 1: Get excited!
I began this post with Happy Internship Season deliberately.  I mean these words genuinely (well, 85% genuinely—this is a stressful time and we all need to acknowledge that): You are preparing to take a substantial step in your careers, and you will handle the hard work, travel logistics, and frustration of waiting that comes over the next several months if you can muster up some excitement! You are almost a doctor, for crying out loud.

• Take time (particularly when writing/editing your autobiographical essay and cover letters) to reflect on why you wanted to be a psychologist in the first place – rediscover some of that passion and it will show in your application materials and in your interviews.
• Apply to sites that excite you.  (This is another way of thinking about your match with the site).  I love people with serious mental illness, working in psychiatric hospitals, and forensic evaluations, so I applied to sites that had some combination of those opportunities.  The sites varied, but basically fell into one of three categories: academic medical centers, psychiatric hospitals, and Federal Bureau of Prison facilities.   Put another way, there were some prestigious/otherwise amazing sites I did not apply to because I wasn’t personally excited about their training opportunities.
• A corollary of getting excited is getting confident.  Reflect on the skills you’ve mastered over the course of your graduate education and the skills you want to develop and hone during internship. 
• Finally, I think that great application materials reflect a blend of enthusiasm, confidence, and humility. You want to convey that you are excited, ready to work, bring a unique skill set, but are ready to soak up everything the site has to offer.

 
Point 2: Get realistic
Alright, now that you’re an excited and passionate internship applicant, it’s time to get real.  This means different things for different people.  It may mean that you have some geographic limitations, it might mean that feeling excited and passionate led you to identify 35 internship sites—and that’s just too many.  It also means that you’re going to set aside some money for the next few months of your life.  Here are some getting real tips:

• Internship matches are all about, well, the match.  This technically means there really aren’t any “safety” internship sites the same way that there were “safety” colleges.   However, there are sites (often in remote places) to which fewer people apply (APPIC usually provides number of applicants per site for the last 3 years).  If you are in a position to move to some of these remote places – consider applying, the odds shall be ever in your favor.
• As I mentioned above, 35 internship sites is probably too many.  Where you draw that line is personal.  Of course, be mindful of the research indicating where most reach the point of diminishing returns and balance that with your own comfort level.  I applied to 16 (more than was recommended), but felt comfortable with that number.  I think my original number may have been near 20.  I cut some sites towards the end of the application process due, in part, to application fatigue.  The ones I ended up cutting were ones where I felt the “match” was tenuous anyways.   
• If you have geographic limitations, try to operationally define what that means – do you need to be in one place 7 days per week, or can you live in one area and commute home for the weekends?  How far is a reasonable commute for you?  Geographic limitations can be tough, but not insurmountable.  Reconnecting with your passion for psychology may open your eyes to sites you would not have otherwise considered.  Reconnecting with your passion for your family (i.e., the cause of your geographic limitations) may help maintain your excitement about the process.
• Applying for internship is expensive – no way around it.  There might be algorithms for estimating travel expenses based on number of sites, where they’re located, your preferred means of transportation, etc.  I don’t know what those algorithms are, so I’ll just tell you what I spent: I had 13 interviews spread across the country and spent approximately $3,500.  Sometimes I flew, sometimes I drove.  Sometimes I stayed with friends, sometimes I stayed in a hotel.  I tried to be frugal without driving myself absolutely crazy.  After internship season, I tightened up the budget and paid off the credit card bill.   No harm done. 

 
Point 3: Get to Work
You’re good at this part!  Put down those lab projects, manuscripts, and dissertations (temporarily) and write your essays and cover letters!  Here are some tips for this part of the process:

• It will probably be helpful to get some feedback on your essays and cover letters, but there is a point of diminishing returns.  I had two people (my graduate mentor and a senior colleague) review my essays with carte blanche to use Wolverine ClawsTM.  I had two others do more of proofread/idiot check.  You may receive contradictory advice, particularly with the autobiographical essay.  Ultimately, you need to submit essays with which you are comfortable and best reflect you as an applicant.    
• Know yourself and how you work.  If you value lots of opinions on your writing – do that.  If you are a last-minute writer, well, expect to do some last-minute writing.  I like to blend doing work ahead of time and cramming some things in at the end.  So, I spent LOTS of time on my essays, and spent comparatively less time on my cover letters (I’m not advocating this approach, simply recognizing it).  Honestly, I wrote about 10 cover letters in one weekend, and another 6 the following weekend.  I know people who spent one day on each cover letter.  We all matched. 
• You are (or were, when I was applying) free to write different versions of your essays for different sites.  I did not elect this option, and instead tried to write one great version of each essay – I was worried that writing multiple versions might lead to “watered down” versions of my original essays—but that’s just me.  I think this strategy worked well for me because of the specific types of sites to which I was applying.  If you are applying to a broader range, you might consider this option more seriously.

 
Point 4: Don’t forget to have fun
Remember, this is an opportunity for you to find a great internship match for your training needs.  And, not matching is not the end of the world.  It’s simply an opportunity to take a step back, reflect on the process, and take another year to make your application even stronger –you’ll still be doing good work in the field that you chose.  So, have fun with the process: you’ll be meeting other internship applicants, clinicians, and scholars outside of your graduate institution.  Talking with these folks can be revitalizing.  Get out of your head and enjoy yourself.