Thread by @EveRosenfeld

It's that time of year! INTERNSHIP APPLICATIONS!!! 😬😬😬

This #WednesdayWisdom, let's talk about applying for internship. I have a ton of tips and advice! (1/n)

It's probably a little late to talk about site selection, BUT it's still important so I'll go ahead and talk about it anyway. (2/n)

I found site selection for internship really hard initially. Everything sounded so interesting and cool! I was overwhelmed by options and didn't know how to narrow it down. What helped me was writing down my training goals in the autobiographical essay. (3/n)

If an internship site seemed cool and interesting but didn't have opportunities consistent with my training goals, I crossed it off my list. Probably a great site, but not a great fit for what I am trying to do! (4/n)

I also prioritized my training goals. For me, the most important thing was getting training and experience with full-model DBT. I also wanted to serve on a multidisciplinary team, had a preference for programs that had a strong emphasis on training (supervision, didactics). (5/n)

Something I also hoped for but wasn't most important to me was the opportunity to work in a partial hospitalization or day program. It was a priority, but a lower priority. (6/n)

To identify and prioritize your training goals, write about what your career goals are. For what kinds of jobs will you apply? Look at application criteria for those jobs to determine what qualifications are required and preferred. (7/n)

Write down the qualifications you already have and the qualifications you need to pursue in order to be an excellent candidate for the jobs you want. Organize your training goals for internship around the qualifications you still need. Select only sites that fit those goals (8/n)

Come up with a tentative list of 10-20 sites. Aim to actually apply to around 15. There's a diminishing rate of returns if you apply to more than 15. But it's good to have more than you actually need on this tentative list. (9/n)

It's good to have those extras in case, for example, a site announces they won't be having the rotation you are most interested in or if there are any other changes to the program that might prevent you from meeting your training goals. (10/n)

Also, definitely create a spreadsheet to organize your sites. List things out like a summary of the program, tracks and rotations you're interested in and descriptions of each, deadlines, supplemental materials required, pros/cons, and (this is an important one)... (11/n)

Include a numerical rating of initial fit/your level of interest in the site. This will help you to: 1) remember which sites you were most excited about without having to reread brochures, and 2) help you to prioritize your applications in case you run short on time. (12/n)

Include a column where you write a a couple of sentences or bullet points highlighting how/why the site is a good fit for your expertise AND your training goals (e.g., rotations, approach to diversity and inclusion, training model). It makes cover letters SO MUCH EASIER!!! (13/n)

I also used the spreadsheet to write down potential interview dates for each site and later organized these in Google calendar to help schedule interviews (I'll talk about those tips later). After interviews, I added a new column for to re-rate each site. (14/n)

I still have my internship site spreadsheet from last year. If anyone is interested, just send me a DM with your email address and I'll send it to you so you can see how I organized all the info. The most important thing, though, is to find what works for you. (15/n)

And by "works", I mean whatever will make the application process easiest and will save you the most time. You don't want to have to reread 15 brochures when it's time to write cover letters. (16/n)

Next up... letters of recommendation! Stay tuned for tips on how to ask for letters, who to ask for letters, and how to ensure that your letters are strong, individualized, and impactful. (17/n)

So... how do you choose letter writers for internship? Well, that depends on what type of internship you're applying to and what kind of training you are hoping for. (18/n)

If you have a primary mentor, you want a letter from them. Make sure to have someone who can speak to your clinical skills, even at research oriented sites. Internship is mostly clinical. Your last letter is up to you! Pick someone who can speak to something important (19/n)

That could be research, service, teaching or anything else! The best letter writers are ones who can speak to multiple skill sets. (20/n)

If you want a letter writer to highlight something specific, you can tell them that! When you ask them to be a letter writer, say, "I think you are particularly well-suited to speak to X." It also helps to send them your training goals and site list. (21/n)

Give them lots of advanced notice so they can write a thoughtful, detailed letter. (22/n)

Next up... essays and cover letters.

So, what to do about essays and cover letters for internship applications? Let's start with the timeline. (24/n)

I had most of my essays done by the end of the summer. I think I had one left to do during the month of Septembe. In any case, you should have them done by now. If not, don't panic. Maybe take a day or two off from other responsibilities to focus on getting first drafts (25/n)

I recommend starting with the autobiographical essay. It will help your other essays stick to the messaging of your autobiographical statement. Having a cohesive narrative emerge throughout the essays is big plus. (26/n)

I wrote mine in the order they appear in the application, to help with that narrative cohesion, but you don't have to. With the exception of the autobiographical statement, write them in an order that works for you. If you get stuck on one, move on and come back to it (27/n)

Your essays should communicate who you are as a person, scientist, clinician, and member of your unique cultural background. This is why narrative cohesion works well. If you can tell a story that transitions smoothly from one essay to the next, that's best case scenario. (28/n)

There are sort of generic approaches people use to stand out like starting the autobiographical statement with an anecdote or meaningful quote. To me, these are a little kitschy and generally make me role my eyes. I think they're pretty low-risk, low-reward. (29/n)

Using one of these somewhat cliché approaches won't make you stand out in a positive way, but also won't make you stand out in a negative way. It's more important to have a completed essay than a groundbreaking essay. (30/n)

I prefer the more creative essays, but they are high-risk, high-reward. They can make you stand out in a positive way, but if executed poorly, you may stand out in a negative way. (31/n)

Unless you have a real strength in creative writing, taking a straightforward, low-risk approach may be best. I took a more creative approach and had a lot of fun with my essays, but it was a risk. I think it paid off in that who I am came through on paper. (32/n)

Before writing your essays, read examples. Not just 1 or 2, but as many as you can get your hands on. This will prevent any one essay from sticking in your head concretely and influencing yours too strongly. It also gives you a sense for what you like and dislike in essays (33/n)

Read examples of good essays and bad essays. There are some posted online. See if you know people who are willing to share theirs. I'd be willing to share mine if you send me a DM. (34/n)

After reading tons of examples, my next step was to fill out reflections worksheets that an intern at my practicum site had received from their DCT. I'm not sure I have permission to share those, but you may be able to find some online. (35/n)

These worksheets helped me to think about my personal and professional values and how I could communicate those in an essay, without getting bogged down by having to organize my thoughts and write well. That was enough for me to just write. (36/n)

For each essay, I spent a day reflecting, slept on it, spent a day writing the essag, slept on it, and then spent a day editing the essay. I HIGHLY recommend spacing things out like this. Getting some rest and some space from the essay really helps with perspective (37/n)

I'm a fairly strong and quick writer, so you should adjust the timeline to your abilities. You may need to add a day for outlining and organizing your thoughts before writing. I found this a bit too restrictive for such short essays, but anything that helps you is good (38/n)

Once you have an essay done and edited, send it off for mentors to review. Get at least two perspectives. Also, have a friend or family member do one last proofread for you before you send it off, just to double check for any mistakes. (39/n)

For me, the essays were easy. I spent a good amount of time staring at a blank page for each and then something would click and I could write the whole essay in an hour or two. For you, the essays may be the hardest part. That's okay. We all have different strengths (40/n)

You don't have to be the next James Joyce in your internship essays. The important thing is that you accurately represent yourself and your values in your essays. As long as you do that, you've done a great job. (41/n)

A couple of general writing tips for both internship essays and cover letters... don't try to find new, big words to make yourself sound smarter. (42/n)

A thesaurus is a great tool for finding alternatives if you tend to overuse certain words or phrases, but this isn't the time to use a word you've never used before. I promise you 9/10 times, it won't sound right. And it won't sound like you. (43/n)

Across your essays, try to use a consistent tone and voice. Make sure to use a consistently professional style. If you don't know what these terms mean, that's okay. Essentially, you want to sound like the same person across your pieces of writing. (44/n)

Let's talk cover letters for clinical/counseling/school psychology internship applications! (45/n)

Cover letters take SO much longer than you think they will and were probably the most difficult part of the application for me. The first few are particularly challenging, but once you get a couple down you can Frankenstein sections together for the remaining ones (46/n).

To make the process and painless as possible, it's good to take notes on key areas of interest for each site including specific rotations, research projects, program values, and training opportunities. This way, you won't have to go back and read through brochures. (47/n)

The goal of the cover letter is to highlight fit between yourself and the internship site. This means that you should have had experiences that have prepared you to meet their services needs, and they should provide opportunities for you to meet your training goals (48/n)

Some people recommend writing a generic one and then filling in the blanks for each site. I had a hard time doing that, so instead I just wrote the first one and then edited from that one for the second one, and so on. You end with a generic version anyway from doing this (49/n)

Cover letters will take less time if the sites youc apply to are similar in major ways. If you're applying to very different sites (e.g., a counseling center, a VA, a state hospital, and a prison), it will take longer as each cover letter will probably be very different (50/n)

My sites had a lot of similarities because I had really clear training goals. This made the cover letter writing process as easy as possible, and it was still really time-consuming. (51/n)

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have really clear training goals in mind at the outset of this process. It will help so much every step of the way from site selection, to essays, to choosing letter writers, to cover letters, and interviews. (52/n)

If you take a Frankenstein approach (i.e., chopping up your cover letter and rearranging it for each site rather than using a form letter approach or starting fresh each time) PROOFREAD HARDCORE. I'm talking print it out and read it out loud to catch errors (53/n)

I kinda already said this, but it's important. Remember that you are trying to sell FIT. Internship sites want to train you. It's good to have some relevant experienc, but if you've already had great training in everything they offer, what can they teach you? (54/n)

Next up... how to prep your CVs! (55/n)

I highly recommend updating your CVs at least once a semester. Some grad programs require you to do this (mine does this I think annually which has helped me stay on top of it), others don't. Do it regardless. (56/n)

It's much easier to add to and update your CV with accomplishments from the last few months than from the last few years. (57/n)

I have a few different versions of my CV. They really only differ in terms of what information is placed where. For internship, I used my "clinical version" where clinical experiences are listed before research positions. (58/n)

A nice design and layout for your CV is great, but don't get TOO creative. It should be clear, legible, and straightforward. (59/n)

Now for what is either the quickest or most time-consuming part of the application depending on how you've kept up on it... CLINICAL HOURS (60/n)

Just use @time2track. I know it costs money and that might make it less accessible for some people. That sucks a lot but do whatever you can and try to purchase it. It imports everything for you. It's a 5 second process. (61/n)

Some grad programs will actually pay for their students @time2track subscriptions. Mine did not. I borrowed money from a friend to pay for mine. I think you can also use it as a tax write-off so save the receipts. (62/n)

Enter your hours at least monthly so you don't have a mad dash before applications are due. I've heard horror stories of people having everything but hours done before the deadline. Imagine that being the reason you can't apply? Stay on top of it. (63/n)

How many hours you SHOULD have will vary by site. Check requirements for hours and other experiences like minimum number of integrated reports PRIOR to putting a site on your list. If you don't meet the requirements, don't apply there. It's a waste of time and money. (64/n)

Speaking of money, that brings me to my last topic for this thread... application fees. (65/n)

Last year, I was funded on a TA line for teaching a course in the spring AND I worked a paid half-time (20 hr/week) assistantship at the Buffalo VA. It was the first year in grad school where I wasn't constantly worried about making rent or being able to eat. (66/n)

To save up for application fees (and interview travel but that won't be an issue this yr), I set aside 10% of each paycheck during the the summer and put it into savings. As the fall semester started, I increased it to 20%. I was able to pay for everything out of pocket. (67/n)

This method isn't possible for everyone. The majority of graduate students are not paid a living wage. I've heard of some people opening up credit cards or taking out loans to fund the application process. That may be necessary. (68/n)

But also, don't be afraid to ask your program for financial support if you don't have enough money to apply to all your sites or travel to all of your interviews. There may be something they can do. (69/n)

Additionally, keep receipts for EVERYTHING you pay for in the application process. You may be able to use them as tax credits. (70/n)

You may also be able to receive funds from your department for reimbursement. Check the parameters of this. I was able to get some money back for continuing to see clients throughout the application year. (71/n)

You can also look into whether you're able to waive application fees for financial difficulties. I think it's rare that this is accommodated, but it can be worth a shot. (72/n)

The high cost of application fees is another reason that I don't recommend applying to more than 15 sites. The cost of sites 16+ ($60) are higher than 2-15 ($32). The first site is always $50.

We really need to make this process more affordable for students. It puts students with less financial support from family at a disadvantage. Essentially, it's a classist process. That's wrong. (74/n)

Those are all my tips and thoughts about the application process. I don't think I missed anything? I'll do another megathread in a week or so on how to get through the torturous waiting period followed by one on interview tips. DM me if you want me to share any materials! (75/75)