How has the internship imbalance affected psychology graduate students? A 2011 survey by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers found that for many internship seekers, applying is a time of considerable stress that can even undermine relationships with fellow students by ramping up the rivalry they feel.
"There is an increased sense of urgency, competitiveness and anxiety," as one of the 1,000 survey responders put it. "Everyone in my class was very secretive and not helpful in the process because we felt like we were competing even against each other for so few spots."
The good news is that APA and others have worked to create more internships and ease the shortage (see the April article "Good News for Interns"). Even so, how can you get the support you need and provide the same for fellow students during the internship match process? Here's advice from those who have been there.
1. Don't cold-shoulder your peers — collaborate with them
"It's easy to always be looking over your shoulder and to not want to talk about your applications because you don't want to give your colleagues an edge," says Kristen Girard, an intern at Florida State University's Multidisciplinary Center. But she advises students to resist the urge to isolate from and compete with other students. Doing so only backfires and robs you of extra feedback that can make a big difference on your applications, such as having a colleague proof your application or help you prepare for interviews.
Not only does such collaboration reduce your stress, it can boost your applications. "My program had very much a community feel," says Girard, whose alma mater is Michigan State University. "We all read one another's CVs and application essays. This made them that much stronger."
If your program has a competitive feel, urge your peers to be united. Remind them that everyone is facing the same stressors and everyone is talented. Helping each other out can only improve your odds and make the process less stressful. "Peer support makes this entire process more humane, sets a great precedent for future cohorts of students, and just might even improve your applications," says APAGS's Assistant Director Eddy Ameen, PhD.
2. Figure out what guidance you need
If you're not getting enough help from your advisor, find someone else who can help, says Marissa Smith,* who didn't match the first year she applied. "Not all advisors are created equal," she says. "Seek out the ones who are really invested in you." Smith says she believes that part of the reason she didn't match at first was her school's unstructured advising system and a mentor who was hard to track down. Armed with more knowledge about the process and more available mentors, her second round was more successful: She was offered 10 interviews and matched in the first phase to an APA-accredited VA medical center.
It can be even more productive when you invite others to work together to navigate the process, says APAGS Chair Emily Voelkel, PhD. "Meet every two weeks and plan what you'll need to do each week to get your applications done."
3. Choose your words of support wisely
Because the match is a tense time, it's important to make sure that your support is actually doing what it's meant to do. "Something that I did not find helpful," Voelkel says, "is when people tell you that you'll absolutely match. They're trying to be helpful, but it's irritating or invalidating when they assure you that you'll match because if you don't end up matching, you may feel ashamed."
What's more valuable, she says, is to say what you know to be true, rather than promising something that may not come true. For example, "You've worked really hard, and I know it's a stressful time. What can I do to help? What do you need?"
4. Enjoy time together
Nick Thaler, who did his internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, graduated from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where the psychology program has an 89 percent match rate. Though the program offers strong faculty support in the match process, Thaler says that what also helped him and his colleagues was making space for down time. They formed an informal support group to help one another through the year. "Getting together with your peers who really understand the pressures is a helpful way to get through the process," Thaler says. "Meet up, go out for food, vent — whatever you need to do."
Voelkel agrees. "If you know someone's applying for internship and you're not, say, ‘Hey, you need a break! Let's meet for coffee, and we're not going to talk about internship!'"
5. Ask for program-wide change
If your program is not well-equipped to advise students on internship, push to make it happen. Partner up with your peers to instill change on a larger scale.
"I'd advise students to take their programs to task for how they prepare internship candidates," Ameen says. "Students should expect nothing less than the highest quality of preparation for internship from their doctoral programs and especially their directors of clinical training. I encourage students to talk with one another across doctoral programs to understand the range of different supports available and to advocate within their programs for the exact supports they need."
*Name has been changed.