You’ve heard all about the stresses involved in getting an internship:

• how applying and interviewing basically takes over your entire life for five months
• how the number of applicants exceeds the number of training slots available nationally
• how committees become much more selective as the applicant pool grows ever larger,
• how the internship matching process basically boils down to a crap shoot,
• how your chances of getting any offer - much less one you want - are about as good as winning the lottery.

    It’s all true.

1. Overcome your patterns of procrastination and avoidance. Many students cope with their anticipatory anxiety by shifting into Avoidance Mode. They focus exclusively on the tasks at hand - finishing course work, completing practicum training, and proposing their dissertations: Let the future take care of itself! Take the summer off! Unfortunately, these students start the application process far behind their more savvy competitors. . . who started in the spring or summer. By waiting to think about internship until they have returned to take up fall responsibilities, they have sacrificed an important opportunity: the time to think through and set personally-relevant internship goals. They will find themselves rushing to catch up - and possibly short-change themselves by shifting their attention immediately to what is available rather than starting with what they want.

2. Create a positive mind-set. The most important step you can take now is shaping your attitude toward the entire experience. Your beliefs about internship will greatly influence how you approach the application and interviewing processes. Recognize that the internship process - from start to finish - is All About You. This is true - no matter what other people tell you. Your internship is the culmination of your graduate training. It is the first time that you will start to define your own preferences and build the foundation for your professional career. After years of meeting the expectations of practicum supervisors and professors, you finally have the opportunity to set and go after your own goals. While you should certainly consider seriously the suggestions and guidance that you receive from mentors, do not permit their comments to overpower your own plans and desires. Decide that you will do whatever it takes to get what you want.

3. Allow yourself to dream. Begin the process by thinking about your individual fantasies. Consider the kinds of work you want to do as a psychologist. Think about what populations you would like to work with and the areas of expertise you want to develop. For now, set aside the realities of the current marketplace (managed care, changes in the roles of mental health providers, etc.) and allow yourself to imagine doing the specific kinds of work you want to do. Remember what first drew you to the field of psychology - and the dreams you had initially about working in the field. Take some time to re-read your application for graduate school, particularly the personal statement and description of your professional goals. As you peruse a copy of the APPIC manual, "Internship and Post-Doctoral Programs in Professional Psychology," take note of whatever captures your attention about each site. Imagine living in that new area and working in that professional setting. As you start, set aside the statistics you’ve heard about the competition you will face. For now, simply allow yourself to capture whatever draws your attention and take time later to identify what attracted you and how it shapes your values and priorities.

4. Make a personal commitment that you will stay focused on your own priorities throughout the entire process. Often, as the application and interviewing period unfolds, students allow peers, supervisors, and colleagues to influence them too much. Vulnerable to unexpected bursts of anxiety, they give in to the prevailing rumors and share the beliefs of others. Hearing that a particular site only considers applicants with certain skills, for example, they might give up some prospects prematurely. That is, despite strong interest in working with a specific population or in a particular setting, they convince themselves that they lack the necessary qualifications and decide not to apply without even checking the facts. The truth is, if you want something badly enough, you can often achieve it - especially if you develop an compelling arguments about why you deserve it. You have plenty of time later to compromise and settle for something less. If you give up from the start, however, you will never know what you might have achieved - if you had started soon enough.
   
   
   
5. Identify what you have to offer and promote it rather fitting yourself into someone else’s mold. Some applicants react to rumors about internship sites finding out what each site’s considers an ideal applicant and shaping their background to fit the mold. This approach has two drawbacks. First, you undermine what you have to offer. Second, you deceive the site about your true qualities and set yourself up to maintain an inaccurate image throughout the entire year if they select you. Much better to identify what you have to offer, recognize what the internship training could teach you, and present both with honesty and conviction.

Don’t leave your professional future to chance.

---