Don't Sell Yourself
Short:
When Considering Possible
Internship Sites, Aim for the Top
by John T.
Carlsen, Psy.D.
One of the worst
decisions you can make in applying for internship is setting
your sights too low.
What I mean by this
is limiting your prospects to those training programs where
you seem to have the best chances of matching - or where you
believe you could match without much effort - instead of those
that offer what you really want. . . and need.
My attitude might surprise you.
Why wouldn't I recommend that you apply for training positions
that seem within your reach? Why wouldn't I want
you to increase your chances for success? Don't I
understand how competitive the internship application process
is?
After all, most
training departments and academic advisors will try to prevent
you from even considering the top-tier sites. And, they try
to steer you away from sites that receive the most
applications per position or that have long-standing national
reputations.
Massachusetts General Hospital, The Ohio State University
Counseling and Consultation Service, Bellevue Psychiatric
Hospital, The Institute for Juvenile Research . . . . These
are reserved for applicants from the best schools. Or, so you
are led to believe.
(Of course, your
school's training department might be influenced just a bit
more by the desire to report good matching rates for your
school than by what is actually best for you. As with your
family and friends, they probably want most for you to
succeed, preferably without taking too many unnecessary risks.
Stop and think: Can
you remember the last time your parents encouraged you to go
after what you want, regardless of the odds you faced?
I, on the other hand, believe absolutely that you must aim for
the top, pull out all the stops, and give it everything you've
got. Go for broke. Reach for the stars.
Why?
Because the only thing that will truly put you in charge of
your internship application and interviewing process is
setting your sights on something you genuinely want. Something
that truly brings out your best. Something that uses your
deepest inborn talents and gifts. Something that truly gets
your blood pumping and mobilizes your efforts so you can show
your professors and your classmates what you are made of and
are capable of accomplishing.
In other words, you will probably Pull Out the Big Guns only
when you have Something Worth Fighting For, something that
truly matters to you. (Please excuse me for using a violent
metaphor, but, let's face facts: This is not table
tennis; you are choosing the foundation of your career.)
So, you must give this process all you've got. Otherwise, you
might never know what kind of professional you can actually
become.
I think one of the
saddest questions people can ever ask themselves is, "What if
I had . . . .?"
Ultimately, wasn't this the reason you chose to earn a
doctorate in clinical psychology - so you could become a
professional instead of staying a case manager for the rest of
your life? (Not that there is anything wrong with case
management . . . it is one of the most important, but
under-rated, jobs in any clinic.) But, you probably would not
have invested so much time and energy (and money) in this
professional training if you wanted to wind up in something so
far below your potential.
No, you would
probably simply settled for A Job.
From your own experience, you probably know that the only time
you are truly in charge of what you are doing is when you are
leading from the inside. Think about it: Whenever you go after
what you want, you are too immersed in your own thoughts and
plans to worry about what someone else wants or is
thinking. You are too preoccupied with reaching your
goal to worry about how you will get there. In fact, the
farthest thing from your mind is how much competition you face
or what your chances are. Instead, when you concentrate
on getting something that inspires you but is just out of
reach, something that will stretch you beyond your comfort
zone but promises to bring you fulfillment, you find ways to
mobilize all of your energy and focus on getting it.
Clearly, the more you convince yourself that you deserve to
have what you want, the more determined and confident you
become in making sure you achieve it.
As an internship
applicant, this attitude will keep you from becoming caught in
the pointless ruminations about what is the "ideal applicant"
for a particular site and wasting your time trying to fit into
it. It can also prevent you from obsessing unnecessarily about
the level of competition you face from other applicants. And,
it will build a solid foundation of confidence and
determination deep within you that reminds you of how much you
deserve to get what you want and need from your
training.
Of course, I am not suggesting that you limit yourself to
top-tier sites and go all the way out on a limb. That would be
completely irresponsible. You owe it to yourself to make sure
that you have a back-up plan, some possibilities that you can
fall back on if your dreams fail to materialize this time
around. Even if you do not match with the internship you
want, you can always save your application materials to pursue
your dream job there after graduation.
In any case, I encourage you to find the commitment it takes
to set your goals high. After all, your internship is the
foundation of your entire professional career. If you approach
the internship process with this attitude, I can almost
guarantee that you will dramatically increase your chances for
success. As I stated earlier, your confidence will increase
dramatically. Your focus will become sharper. And your
determination to get what you want will grow stronger with
each passing day.
What's more, as your classmates continue fumbling around in
the dark - trying to fit themselves into what they believe
each site wants and worrying about the gaps in their
qualifications - you will be well on your way to becoming your
own "ideal applicant."
And, deep down, isn't that what you actually want?
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist
who trains and supervises psychology interns and externs. He
offers personal coaching and training resources for graduate
students applying for internships and post-doctoral jobs.
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