Surviving the internship application process

Even though his own psychology internship is finished, Mitch Prinstein, PhD, quips that he still experiences something akin to post-traumatic stress when he hears students discussing the internship application and selection process.

Prinstein remembers all too well his anxieties about internship placement, applications and interviewing. And Prinstein, now a postdoctoral fellow in clinical child psychology at the Brown University School of Medicine, wants to help students find and secure internship slots they are happy with. He and several speakers offered students tips on how to survive the internship selection and application process in a session sponsored by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students at APA?s 1998 Annual Convention in San Francisco. Here are some of their suggestions on how to manage the process smoothly and make an internship application shine:

? Create a budget. Plan for the time and money the internship application process requires before you crack open the first application, said Shane Lopez, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and research in education at the University of Kansas, who chaired the session. Filling out applications and interviewing can take hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, he said. Lopez and several colleagues conducted a study of internship application costs and found the average cost was more than $1,150.

? Maintain a strong support network. Talking to people who are in an internship or seeking advice within your department will subdue your anxiety, said Lopez. 'Request an internship preparation seminar from your academic program that goes over and beyond what they have done in past years, because it?s not the same anymore,' he said. APPIC?s web site?www.appic.org?has several listservs where students can gather support and advice about internship application and selection, he said.

? Select one place to list each achievement in your vitae. Repeating information causes reviewers to think you are 'padding' your vitae, Prinstein said. 'If you get a dissertation award, don?t list that as part of your education, your research and your honors,' he said.

? Stick to application guidelines. If instructions call for a one-page personal statement don?t send two pages, said Prinstein. But for questions that don?t provide enough space for your qualifications, it?s okay to attach an extra sheet because it?s neater, he said. And always type your application, he advised.

? Get a second opinion. Have a faculty member or another student critique and edit your vitae and application, said Kelli Gariglietti, a doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas. Also make sure you have strong letters of recommendation from faculty who really know and support you, she said.

? Communicate your goals. Your goals for the internship should drive your entire application, said Prinstein. Instead of relisting your qualifications in your personal statement, use the essay as an opportunity to clearly state your goals, said Prinstein. Include your interests, strengths and even weaknesses?if you discuss them in the context of 'here are things I would like more experience with,' said Prinstein. Then, clearly explain how that internship can provide you with that experience.

? Make your match. The best personal statements are those where the student illustrates how he or she and that internship site make a perfect match, said Prinstein. 'When reading over applications, the mantra is ?show me the match,?' he said.

?Jamie Chamberlin