Sharpening Your Competitive Edge:
A Guide to Getting the Internship You Want
Conducting Persuasive Interviews
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. Ž The Internship Resource Center

About The Professional Development Institute
The Professional Development Institute focuses on helping people uncover and find ways to live out their
hidden personal and professional dreams. Through PDI workshops, training programs, and personal
coaching, clients discover and prepare exciting new career directions, master the fundamentals of
effective writing and speaking, and achieve balance and fulfillment through living out their life dream s.
PDI Workshops topics include:
< Getting the New Job You Want
< Making Sure Your Parachute Lands
< Professional Networking: The Power to Create Your Own Career Path
< Power Interviewing: Take Charge from Start to Finish
< Sharpening Your Competitive Edge: Strategies for Getting the Internship You Want
< How Will I Ever Pay Off My Loans? Finding Your Private Practice Niche
< Slaying the Dragon: Overcome Writer's Block to Finish Your Dissertation
PDI Individual coaching sessions focus on:
< Recognizing and Recovering from Life Burnout < Overcoming Your Most Challenging Obstacles
< Tackling Your Fear to Take the First Step < Harnessing Anxiety to Achieve Tangible Results
< Uncovering and Pursuing Your Hidden Dreams < Cultivating Support to Maintain Your Focus
< Setting and Achieving Realistic Goals < Finding and Maintaining Healthy Life Balance
About Dr. John T. Carlsen
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D., has presented workshops and provided individual coaching to pre-doctoral
internship applicants since 1995. In the past few years, as com petition for quality internship training has
grown m ore intense, the dem and for these services has increased dram atically.
A 1992 internship candidate, Dr. Carlsen subm itted applications to 18 APA-accredited internship sites
across the country. He com pleted 11 interviews and received 7 offers on Match Day 1993. He selected
the internship at The Ohio State University Counseling and Consultation Service in Colum bus - his first
choice of sites - where he also served on the center’s intern selection com m ittee.
A career, writing, and life coach for over 20 years, Dr. Carlsen com pleted doctoral studies in clinical
psychology, graduating with honor from The Chicago School in 1994. He has taught professional writing
courses at The Chicago and Illinois Schools of Professional Psychology and the Chicago Departm ent of
Consulting and Training Services. Currently, he works as a clinical psychologist and assistant clinic
director in Chicago. Along with training and supervising interns and externs, he interviews applicants in
his agency’s annual intern selection process.
For m ore inform ation about workshops and in-person or telephone coaching services, contact:
Dr. John T. Carlsen, Director
The Internship Resource Center
The Professional Development Institute
DrCarlsen@PDI-online.com
www.PDI-online.com
773.975.4297

A PERSONAL NOTE TO INTERNSHIP APPLICANTS
As you read this, you are probably still reeling from the amount of energy and time you had to invest in
completing your written applications for internship. I hope that this first phase is largely behind you right now.
Congratulations! You have finished one of the most challenging creative projects of your graduate training
(aside from your dissertation)! Please make sure that you take some well-deserved rest before beginning your
preparations for interviewing. Watch a movie; get out of town for a few days; re-establish emotional
connections with your spouse, your partner, your friends, your family. You need to rejuvenate yourself and
your spirit before moving on to phase II. Only when you have refreshed yourself and cleared your mind will
you have sufficient energy to present your best in interviews.
In writing your applications, you have established the foundation for your professional identity, perhaps for the
first time ever. You have identified and articulated your reasons for becoming a psychologist, your existing
strengths and areas for future growth, your priorities for internship training, and your long-range career goals.
In short, you have brought something into concrete existence that, before now, might have been only
fragments of thoughts and unexpressed dreams. If you have never before formed these concepts into words
and put the words on paper, you might feel surprised by what you said about yourself. I hope the application
process helped you to feel increased confidence in what you have achieved so far in your training - and given
you a renewed sense of purpose for your future in this exciting and demanding, but rewarding, profession.
As with any developmental change, you might feel tentative and uncertain about your emerging identity as an
intern. After all, you are moving away from the very familiar identity of a student toward the unfamiliar one of
a psychologist, independent clinician, doctor. As you take some time to recover from your application process,
I would encourage you to reflect on the internal changes that have begun to occur with you. You are no
longer someone who wants to b e c o m e a professional who can help others change and grow. Indeed, you
already h a v e b e c o m e that someone, at least to your current clients. For the record, the gap between “being
a therapist” and actually starting to “feel like a therapist” often remains wide for many years. That is, your
clients think of you as their therapist now, regardless of how competent you feel. Actually, many new
psychologists do not feel like “doctors” for many months - or even years - after they become licensed!
As you shift your focus toward preparing for your internship interviews, I invite you to recognize and
acknowledge the changes that have occurred during the past few months as you have identified potential
internship sites and introduced yourself to them on paper. You need to consolidate your new self-
understanding so that everything you present about yourself reflects - and originates from - this professional
core identity. As you are no doubt aware, each year of training brings you to new levels of self-awareness and
experience. You need permission to take ownership of the training clinician you have become so far.
Each year brings an increase in the number of applicants seeking internship training. This ever-expanding pool
of graduate students combined with a shrinking number of available training sites has created a buyer’s
market. Selection committees can increasingly choose from a more exclusive pool of applicants. Y o u n e e d t o
m a k e s u r e y o u a r e p a r t o f t h is s e l e c t g r o u p . To do this, you need to recognize and delineate the core
professional qualities you have developed - and promote them intentionally during every interview. To
paraphrase Richard Bolles, author of the classic job-hunting manual “What Color is Your Parachute?”, I
believe that: The applicants who get internships are not necessarily those with the best qualifications. Rather,
they are the ones who k n o w t h e m o s t a b o u t h o w t o g e t a n i n t e r n s h i p . You have identified what you
have to offer an intern selection committee. You know what you want - and need - to learn from your
training. The next step is convincing selection committee members that you are a good match for their
individual sites.
I hope this manual will prepare you well to do just that. Best wishes for success during the next few months -
and in the matching process. My thoughts will be with you.
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D.
Chicago, Illinois
May 2009
-iii-

Copyright © 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
EXCEPT FOR USE IN A REVIEW, THE REPRODUCTION OR USE OF THIS WORK IN
ANY FORM OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, OR OTHER MEANS, NOW
KNOWN OR HEREAFTER INVENTED, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING,
AND IN ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM IS FORBIDDEN
WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE WRITER AND PUBLISHER
PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOR ORDERING INFORMATION, CONTACT:
John T. Carlsen, Psy.D.
(773) 975-4297
DrCarlsen@PDI-online.com
www.PDI-online.com
-iv-

Why God Never Earned a Psy.D.
adapted by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D.
(With apologies for the sexist language necessary to keep from breaking the flow and to my atheist and
agnostic readers as well as appreciation to the unknown writer of “W hy God Never Earned a Ph.D.”.)
He finished only the first chapter of His dissertation.
His research subject pool never stopped expanding long enough for Him to
complete His clinical research project.
He could never produce original sources for his work, aside from Himself.
He never knew when Match Day would come
(although whole groups dedicated themselves to predicting the exact date).
He got in trouble when people misquoted by distorting his original research
and He failed to stop them.
He never developed concrete goals for his professional future
leaving it to others to set them for Him.
The Human Subjects Committee would not
unanimously approve His dissertation proposal.
(Some tried to decipher his rough drafts; others sat waiting for the final draft.)
He never learned to write measurable treatment goals.
Few people could understand His dissertation in its original form.
When the subjects in His first case study failed to follow directions, He
expelled them from His private office permanently.
He failed to warn His research subjects of the risks they faced
in participating in His research.
No scientist has been able to replicate His
initial experimental results successfully.
He never completed an APA-accredited internship
and had trouble documenting His experience adequately
for state licensing committees.
His clients were never given a direct line to reach Him
and often had to go to a mountain top or the sea shore to find Him
- either at sunrise or sunset.
He failed his dissertation defense because He spoke only in a still small voice.
He was never really sure whether His degree was as good as a Ph.D.
His advisor and His supervisors crucified him three days before graduation.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

CONTENTS
A PERSONAL NOTE TO INTERNSHIP APPLICANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III
WHY GOD NEVER EARNED A PSY . D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
CHAPTER I: DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO INTERVIEWING
Handling Interviews: The Art of Making a Good Impression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Overcome the Common Misconceptions about Interviewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Define Your Core Professional Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Develop the Key Qualifications of Successful Interview Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Determine What You Want to Say about Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Define a Wardrobe and Look that Conveys Your Professional Image . . . . . . . . . . 13
CHAPTER II: PREPARING FOR EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWS
Research Internship Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Gather Information from Current and Past Interns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Prepare the Focus of Each Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Prepare for All Kinds of Interview Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Create a Match between Your Training Goals and What the Site Offers . . . . . . . 29
Package and Transfer Your Skills to Work with a New Population . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Prepare to Discuss a Clinical Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Organize Yourself for Maximum Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
CHAPTER III: CONDUCTING SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEWS
Manage the Entire Interview Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Coordinate a Professional, but Comfortable, Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Answer All Interview Questions Carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Handle “Hot Seat” Interview Questions Strategically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Prepare for Follow-up After Each Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Evaluate Your Performance after Each Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
How to Ruin Your Interviews from the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
APPENDIX A: INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW PREPARATION SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
APPENDIX B: POST-INTERVIEW SUMMARY RECORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
APPENDIX C: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE INTERNSHIP INTERVIEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
APPENDIX D: COMMON INTERNSHIP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
APPENDIX E: INTERNSHIP APPLICANT FEEDBACK FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

C HAPTER I:
D EVELOP A STRATEGIC A PPROACH
TO INTERVIEWING

Handling Your Interviews:
The Art of Making a Good Impression
As you probably realize by now, the professional interview is an artificial, socially-
constructed situation. Unlike most natural circumstances in which you simply interact
with others, interviews require you to make specific im pressions on the other
people. So, you want to come across as not only friendly, warm, and caring - but also
as competent, attentive, and reliable. Furthermore, because interviews are socially-
constructed situations, they follow established protocol. That is, everyone who
participates in the interview process- from the office receptionists to the interviewers -
expects candidates to follow certain unspoken rules in how they communicate, how
they dress, and how they behave.
Briefly, you need to convey a
professional image in four areas: 1) Your Professional Image Must
on paper (in your AAPI, your essays, Come Across in These Four Areas:
and your curriculum vitae), 2) in
speaking (through what you ! what you write on paper
communicate about neglectful ! what you communicate verbally
verbally during the interview), 3) in ! what you choose to wear
image (through what you choose to ! what you express through your
wear for the interview), and 4) in your gestures, your body language, and
non-verbal communication (through your voice
your gestures, body language, and
voice). Although you might feel
tempted to emphasize one or two of these over the others, you cannot afford to neglect
any one of them. Ultimately, they are equally important and worth as much attention
as you can give them.
This is true because each area plays a distinct, but equally important, role in persuading
a interviewers to consider your internship application seriously. Together, these
elements must form a complete package that communicates a cohesive, consistent,
overall image of who you are as a professional in training.
Internship interviews provide an excellent opportunity to develop this consistent image
and to practice communicating it to selection committee members. This is especially
true if you entered graduate school soon after college, and thus, have limited
experience with interviewing for training or employment. Applying for an internship
might be the first time you have thought of yourself as a professional and formally
conveyed this image to others. I encourage you to make the most of this interviewing
process as you practice refining and presenting your emerging professional identity as a
new psychologist.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

10
Remember that You are Applying for a Training Experience . . .
Not a Job
Many students approach the internship application/interviewing process as though they
were looking for a full-time professional job. It is true that the selection process has
become more competitive during recent years, giving selection committees more power
to eliminate candidates who do not meet their requirements and be more selective
about the qualities they expect from interns. Yet, not every site expects to treat interns
as full-time staff. (In fact, ethically, they should not treat interns as staff - because
internship is a training experience, not a chance to exploit poorly-paid individuals by
giving them independent professional responsibilities.) Actually,
most site staff still recognize the internship as it was originally
intend ed: the first of two full-time years of supervised clinical
trainin g. Thus, you should present yourself as a well-prepared
traine e, ready to benefit from gradually-increasing autonomy
while still under supervision.
This perspective does not, however, imply that you should
down- play your experiences or the level of your current
competence. Rather, it suggests the opposite: You should spend less time worrying
about what various selection committees want in their interns and trying to construct an
image of yourself that fits those requirements (by pretending you have more or
different experience than you actually have).
And, you should spend m ore time focusing on what you actually w ant from your
training and have to offer as a trainee. In short, the most effective image you can
convey during an interview is an honest one that is based upon who you are as an
applicant, not who you w ish you w ere by now . Even if you could create an
impression that convinced selection committees that you had exactly what they wanted,
what would you do if they chose you? Within the first few days of your training, they
would discover the truth about you - and your cover would be blown. Remember,
these are psychologists whose specialty is uncovering and accounting for discrepancies
- and attending to latent information about people! They are not naive, unsuspecting
newcomers to this field. It is their job to weed out unqualified and incompetent - as
well as dishonest -candidates.
If, by some stroke of luck, you were to succeed in pulling something over on them, you
would still have to spend an entire year trying to maintain this false image of yourself -
investing an incredible amount of energy and constantly re-tracing your steps to make
sure that you had never let them see who you actually are. What a miserable
existence!
Who would choose to sacrifice an entire year of their lives - not to mention their
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

11
personal and professional integrity - trying to maintain such a false image? You would
spend most of your time trying to discern what each site values and attempt to adapt
yourself to fit neatly into these
preferences. Three Common Misconceptions
about Interviewing:
Moreover, the fact is - even if you could
maintain such a false image for an 1. That interviews are adversarial.
entire year - you could not possibly 2. That applicants, alone, must
determine accurately ahead of time demonstrate goodness-of-fit
what selection committees want in their between their qualifications and
ideal candidates. So, w hy spend the what the site offers.
energy? 3. That interviewers always know
how to interview well.
A far more reasonable approach
includes three steps: First, determine
what you have to offer. Second, present it as accurately and persuasively as you can
during your interviews. Thirdly, let the cards fall where they might in the matching
process - trusting that you will end up where you belong and having a Plan B in place in
case you do not match this year. This attitude ensures that you center yourself in your
core qualifications. It gives you the increased sense of confidence that comes from
telling the truth about your experience. And, it rescues you from feeling anxiety and
guilt after presenting a false impression.
Overcome the Common Misconceptions about Interviewing
Because interviewing is an unfamiliar -
and unusual - interpersonal experience, “[T]he most effective image you can
applicants often have three convey during an interview is an
misunderstandings about it: 1) the honest one that is based upon who
interview relationship is adversarial; 2) you are as an applicant, not who
the primary burden is on you, the you wish you were by now.”
applicant, to show how well you fit a
selection committee’s expectations; and
3) interviewers always know how to interview well. Let’s examine the incorrect
assumptions underlying each of these misunderstandings.
The first misunderstanding is that the interview relationship is adversarial.
Applicants with this perception believe that, in the interview: “It’s me against them.”
They approach interviews as though they were going off to war or facing their critical
parents or other authority figures.
As a result, they procrastinate when they need to prepare themselves for interviews.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

12
Or, they overstate their previous experience or leave some important information out of
the interview as a way to protect themselves. Or, they generate and maintain an
attitude of defensiveness throughout the interviewing process, refusing to answer
questions honestly or completely and raising their anxiety levels. In short, this
misconception can influence their abilities to present their qualifications from the time
they start preparing to the time they actually interview in person.
In reality, the purpose of the interview is to determine
whether there is a good fit among the goals of the
applicant, the requirements or preferences of the staff,
and the agency’s needs. Selection committee members
need to determine whether your training goals, your
qualifications, and your personality mesh with the
experiences their internship offers and their needs as an
agency.
Similarly, as the applicant, you need to determine
whether the training program will satisfy the requirements for your state licensor as a
psychologist and help you develop the competencies you need for your future work.
Also, more pragmatically, all of you need to determine whether you would enjoy - or at
least could tolerate - working together for an entire year!
In one sense, you could prepare for an interview much as you would approach a blind
date. Obviously, each of you would attempt make the best possible impression on the
other. On one hand, a blind date provides each of you with only limited opportunities
to gather information about the other, derived primarily from the current situation.
So, you awkwardly stumble through
All of you [participants in the the process of getting acquainted -
interview] need to determine grasping for questions and responses
whether you would enjoy - or at that will fill the interminable silences -
least could tolerate - working while doing your best not to humiliate
together for an entire year! yourselves. Each of you prays that
the other person will keep the
conversation going. You think ahead
to come up with new discussion topics. You try to avoid unnecessary eye contact. You
do your best to cover up your real feelings about this other person to avoid making a
bad impression - while simultaneously keeping track of the most embarrassing
moments to share with your friends later.
In an interview, however, you do not simply want to survive by filling the silences -
you want to thrive by impressing the interviewers so they will see your attractive
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

13
qualities as a candidate and give you a high ranking in the matching process.
Yet, unlike a blind date, you are not limited to the immediate situation to learn about
one another. Rather, each of you has many additional sources of information about
the other. You can talk with current and previous interns and read each site’s written
materials to learn about the staff and the training experience.
Committee members can scrutinize your written applications and contact your
references to learn more about you. Thus, all of you can gather solid information about
one another ahead of time that you can use in helping you prepare to make a good
impression during the interview. This information can also help you greatly in reaching
a good decision about your future potential for compatibility.
Moreover, during the interview, you can greatly reduce any appearances of an
adversarial relationship by changing your attitude toward the selection committee and
making sure that you carry this attitude into your behavior. That is, you can envision
and treat selection committee members as future colleagues rather than as authority
figures.
The secret to a successful interview begins with the following approach: 1)
Start from the assumption that you are the best fit for this site; 2) spend all of your
interview time presenting evidence
that dem onstrates w hy you The Secret to a
believe this . . . . and 3) convince Successful Internship Interview:
them to agree with you. This
perspective will keep your anxiety in Start from the assumption that you are
check and enable you to present your the best fit for the site. Then, spend all
best qualities . . . and reduce any hit of your interview time presenting
of antagonism between you. evidence that demonstrates why you
believe this . . . and convinces your
The second common mis-conception interviewers to agree with you.
about interviewing is that the
prim ary burden is on you, alone,
as the applicant to show how w ell you fit
a
selection com m ittee’s ex pectations.
Similar to the first misconception, this one
leads some applicants to believe that the
interview relationship is one-way - that the
only people doing any scrutiny or evaluation
are the selection committee members.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

14
These applicants essentially imagine themselves standing in a lineup - as if they were
criminals - waiting to be selected by the victim of the crime. Or they see themselves as
shy wallflowers at the school dance,
hoping that some cute person - or
anyone, for that matter - will come up to Your Unique Qualifications are
them and ask them to dance. In reality, Sometimes too Familiar to See
you and the selection committee are
One applicant met with me for a
look ing together at the goodness-of-fit
coaching session to im prove her
betw een you. After the interviews, they written applications. She began our
will have to wait to see whether the best first session thinking that she had
candidates chose their internship sites. In nothing distinctive to offer that would
other words, in the matching process, set her apart from other applicants for
they will be the ones lining the wall, internship.
waiting for an invitation to dance and As we talked further, she described
hoping they will not have to search her interest in working with clients
through the clearinghouse for a dance whose cultural background differed
partner. from hers. She spontaneously told me
about how this interest and curiosity
developed during her childhood, in
Remember, you have as much to learn
which she had grown up as the only
about the agency staff prior to the Caucasian person in her group of
interview as they have to learn about otherwise prim arily African-American
you. This is your internship training. friends. Initially, she had viewed this
Don't settle for something you don't experience as unimportant.
want. Learn everything about each
As she reflected on her background,
agency as you can before - as well as however, she came to realize the
during - the interview. And, remember significant influences this experience
what you learn when you come to the had created in developing her world
point of submitting your ranking of sites view and her perspectives about life.
to the matching service. Gradually, she began to see how this
experience of living in an ethnic
m inority com m unity as a m em ber of
The third misconception about the majority racial group had
interviewing is that interview ers provided her with the skills and
alw ays know how to interview w ell. knowledge she needed for cross-
Despite your expectations to the cultural understanding.
contrary, even some psychologists make
W ith guidance, she began to find
terrible interviewers. Psychologists are ways to apply these experiences to
trained to gather clinical information and her clinical work and, eventually
make diagnoses, not necessarily to chose to use this perspective as the
determine how well an applicant fits a core of both her internship
training slot. applications and her interviews.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

15
Be sensitive to the flow of the interview and to your own perceptions and intuitions as
you complete the interview. Use the information you pick up to formulate your
responses. You must make your own
presentation and make it easy for the
interviewer(s) to find out about you You Can Turn a Perceived Weakness
and the goodness of fit you bring. into a Fundamental Strength
Another applicant who m et with m e for
Basically, the interview is your sales coaching sessions told me about his long-
presentation, and you can't assume standing learning disability. As we worked to
that the customer necessarily wants to identify his unique strengths and qualifications
dig in order to find out what you have he told me that this characteristic had
to offer. Rather, you carry the significantly influenced all of his im pressions
and experiences in life up to that point.
responsibility for communicating what
you want each selection committee to As we continued talking, he began to realize
know about you and for answering that - although he had suffered a great deal
their questions as well as possible. Be as a result of this disability - the experiences of
sure that the interview goes in the trying to overcome his obstacles to learning
had also helped him learn to appreciate the
direction you want it to go. If
difficulties other people face. By generalizing
necessary, pause and change the his own experience to these other people, he
direction so it goes in the direction had increased his ability to develop and
you want. m aintain empathy with clients who experience
oppression.
Define Your Core Gradually, he began to realize the im portance
Professional Self of talking about how these experiences had
influenced his entire experience of graduate
The key to overall success in any school and practicum training. Eventually, he
reached the point where he felt more
application/interview process lies in
com fortable acknowledging and talking more
conveying a consistent and coherent openly about his learning disability.
impression on those making the
selection decisions. This is especially And, he decided to fram e all of his application
true in the internship application essays and interviews in term s of how his
experience of coping with the learning
process, in which all (or most) of the
disability inform ed all of his work as a clinician.
interviewers are psychologists. In this way, he was able to move from feelings
Because of their training, they will of sham e and em barrassm ent about this
notice and remember any individual difference to feelings of confidence
discrepancies between your written about how it gave him a unique and valuable
presentation and your in-person perspective on hum an growth and change to
presentation during the interview.
Whether you are applying for an
internship, a post-doctoral position, or a full-time job, you need to define the image you
want to convey at the beginning of your preparation.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

16
You also need to check to ensure that you continue presenting this core professional
self throughout the process - from your written applications, through your telephone
conversations with committee members, to your interview and follow-up meetings.
None of these alone will ensure your ultimate success as an applicant. Your audience
expects to encounter the same applicant in person as they first met on paper or on the
phone. This consistency covers what you say and how you say it as well as how you
dress and how you conduct yourself in professional situations.
The process of defining your core professional identity takes some time and some
intentional reflection on the self you have developed and how your past training has
shaped it. Thinking back over the various experiences that have molded you and
considering the in-born qualities you bring to your professional training, try to identify
the unique applicant you have become. Many students have difficulty identifying these
characteristics. To illustrate the steps involved in this process, the two examples in
boxes accompanying this text point out the kinds of qualities you might try to find.
Perhaps you believe you do not have any distinctive personality
qualities or life experiences. You might be surprised. As you
gather information from talking with your classmates, your
colleagues, supervisors, and professors, you might find that you
indeed have a perspective on life that will equally strongly
influence your work as a therapist, a diagnostician, and a
consultant.
Talk at length with these people to help clarify your unique
qualities and make them more concrete. Think of some specific
examples that show your effective use of these special gifts and talents. As you begin
to consolidate this self-understanding, you will have greater success in using it to
differentiate yourself from other applicants.
You will also improve your ability to market your particular talents and areas of
competence. Furthermore, this ability will continue to serve you well, not only in
obtaining an internship, but also in the future as you seek a post-doctoral job in our
increasingly competitive profession. Learn
to value what sets you apart.
One of the primary sources
of anxiety for applicants The first step in constructing the image you
during interviews results from want to convey is defining who you are as
their efforts to construct, a professional-in-training. Notice that I did
maintain, and present a not say, “define yourself as a ‘practicum
professional image that is not student’ or an ‘intern-w annabee;’”.
grounded in reality. Rather I referred to you as a
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17
“professional-in-training.” Feel free to use this label as you refer to yourself
throughout the next few years until you have graduated and become licensed. (The
ways that we refer to ourselves have a strong relationship to how others perceive us -
and how we perceive ourselves.)
You need to begin right now developing an attitude that you are nearly a professional
and determine the core qualities that make this true. Even if you have not yet
achieved the professional identity you want, you must spend time now developing your
current image, based upon your existing strengths and personality characteristics. You
are no longer someone who is thinking about becoming a psychologist. Rather, you
are well on the way to becom ing a psychologist. The time to start thinking about this
professional image is before, not during, the interview. The interview is the time to
practice conveying the image you have already developed, not constructing it for the
first time.
If you took enough time for self-reflection while
preparing your application essays, you have identified
your strengths and areas of growth as an intern
applicant. You know, within the core of your being,
who you are now as a clinician and how you can use
that self to interact with and help other people as a
clinician.
In psychology, you must construct your professional self
from the inside out if you want to gain credibility with
others. Psychologists are trained to see through
outward appearances, so you will do yourself a
disservice if you begin by creating your exterior.
One of the primary sources of anxiety for applicants during interviews results
from their efforts to construct, maintain, and present a professional image that is
not grounded in reality. That is, the applicant becomes so focused on presenting the
image he or she believes the interviewers want - or changing it to fit each site’s
expectations - that he or she can never act from a secure sense of self. As mentioned
earlier, a professional image that is not grounded in who you are will come across as
false and superficial.
Many internship applicants approach the application/ interviewing process with the
attitude that they must scope out each selection committee and determine what they
are looking for in their ideal candidates. If you pay attention to your fellow applicants
(and even many professors and training directors), they all seem to believe they have
found The secret of success for obtaining an internship, and they want you to follow
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18
their advice.
One says:
“ Youhave to spell out every one of your credentials and convince
selection com m ittees that you are w ell-qualified. M ak e yourself look as
good as you can, w hatever it tak es. Hide any discrepancies in your
back ground. You don’t w ant to draw their attention to them .”
Another says:
“Don’t bother applying to a site that treats adults unless you have a lot
ex perience w ith adults. I f you ex perience is prim arily w ith adolescents
and children, stick w ith those kinds of sites.”
A third artificially inflates the numbers of actual
assessment batteries he has completed or the Remember . . .
number and kinds of different clients she has
seen in therapy - or m isrepresents the level No matter how you feel, you
of clinical ex perience he or she has actually are applying for a training
had. I have actually heard of one applicant experience - not a job.
who decided to exaggerate his qualifications as a
way to become more competitive. Apparently,
he claimed to have administered, scored, interpreted, and written reports for 23 full
assessment batteries prior to internship, considering his partial batteries as complete
ones.
Unfortunately for applicants such as this one, however, committee members would
immediately recognize the level of competence that someone would have after
administering this many batteries. And, contrary to the applicants’ expectations, these
committee members would probably grill him with questions that would ultimately
reveal his misrepresentation.
In a very short time, his deception would become blatantly obvious. That is, they would
quickly recognize his inability to present the level of sophistication expected after such
extensive experience. Most likely, this applicant was eliminated from further
consideration at internship sites without knowing the reason. That is, if he were luck y
enough to avoid being reported for violating APPIC guidelines - and losing the
opportunity to complete his graduate education or enter this profession.
Of course, preoccupation with the increased competition for internships raises every
applicant’s anxiety. However, the problem with each of these approaches is that they
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19
undermine the applicant’s ability to
present his or her experiences The Steps to Defining and Presenting
truthfully and to spell out his or her Your Core Professional Self
internship goals. Clearly, you need to
present all of your credentials fully and < Define who you are as a “clinician-in-
training”. Consider both your innate
honestly - including the names and
talents and gifts and the com petencies
places of your training and the level of you have developed so far in your
expertise you have gained. training.
But, you do not have to (and would < Identify your core values and
philosophy as a professional
be very wise not to) fabricate any of
helper/healer. Ask yourself why you
your experiences or even potentially chose - and com m itted yourself to
misrepresent yourself. Aside from pursue - this profession.
being unethical, this approach is also
unwise. < Acknowledge the ways in which your
life experiences have influenced your
world view and your beliefs about life
As stated earlier, you can hide and helping.
inaccuracies from an intern selection
or training committee only so long < Talk at length with your supervisors,
before someone calls your bluff. professors, advisors, and classmates to
clarify your unique qualities and make
them more concrete.
And, then, how would you explain
yourself and your behavior? More < Think about how your unique
importantly, how would you recover knowledge and experience would
after compromising your personal and com plem ent your chosen internship
professional integrity? sites.
< Com e up with some specific exam ples
Finally, remember that internship is a that show your effective use of your
training experience. What better time talents, skills, and knowledge in working
is there to gain experience with with clients.
different kinds of clients than during
your internship - when you can learn
from experienced clinicians and rely
on your supervisor to help you learn the basics of working with a new population?
Do you think you will have an easier time gaining exposure to these other populations
after you are more advanced in your career? At that point, you will probably have to
take extra time to develop your skill and knowledge base by taking course work or
attending workshops - and pay extra for this new learning. During your internship, you
are paid (albeit minimally!) to gain experience rather than having to pay for it. Since
you are paid at such a low rate, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to
learn everything you can about different areas of the field.
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20
Of course, you cannot assume that selection committees will automatically judge you as
equally-qualified compared applicants who have some basic experience with this new
population. You will have to help them see how you could transfer your existing skills
to work with this new population. And, you will have to define specifically how you
would apply your existing knowledge to client problems. But, to assume that you have
locked-in your options because of your previous experiences and have no possibility to
change during internship is absurd! If you want this new experience badly enough, you
will spend the interview time persuading the selection committee that you can adapt to
the new population and learn quickly. In summary, you stand the best chance of
success in obtaining an internship if you present your qualifications clearly and honestly,
taking ownership of your current level of competence and pointing out specifically how
each site’s program could help you fill in the existing gaps in your experience.
Develop the Key Qualifications of Successful Interview Candidates
As you prepare your mind set for interviewing, identify your personal and interpersonal
qualities as an applicant. In their minds, interviewers will assess your qualifications in
each of the four categories listed in the box on this page.
For training clinicians, each of these areas of personal qualification not only reveals how
others would perceive you as a supervisee and co-worker but also gives interviewers a
clear idea of how you would work with therapy clients and with other staff members.
In preparing your
professional image, think Key Qualifications of
of examples from your Successful Interview Candidates
training and work
experiences that Category One: mental alertness
includes: self-expressiveness, judgement, creativity,
illustrate your strengths aptitudes, and interests.
in each of these areas. Category Two: motivational qualities
Along with expecting you includes: initiative, drive, enthusiasm, perseverance, and
energy
to talk concisely about
your areas of clinical Category Three: emotional qualities
includes: emotional stability, emotional responsiveness,
training and experience, attitude toward responsibilities, reactions to
interviewers will probably difficulties, sense of balance, and realism about
self-concept
ask you to illustrate each
of these more personal Category Four: interpersonal or human relations skills
includes: manner of relating with others, naturalness,
qualifications. warmth, sense of understanding toward others,
tolerance, and sense of humor
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21
Thus, as with any interview question, you must prepare yourself ahead of time with
specific examples drawn from your experiences. As you focus on describing verbally
how your training experiences reveal your qualifications in each of these four realms,
therefore, you must also behave during the interview in ways that show how you
possess each of the qualities.
Determine What You Want to Say about Yourself
After you have identified and consolidated your core self as a professional, you need to
decide what you want to say about yourself to selection committees. That is, you need
to choose which aspects of your background and your experience to highlight in each
interview. Review what you said about yourself in your APPIC Application for
Psychology Internship, summarizing your strengths and areas of competence, your
growth areas, and your qualifications as an intern applicant.
Having clarified your basic competencies as an applicant, you can read each site’s
written materials once again to determine the type of candidate they seek. Then, you
can find ways to link your interests directly with what they offer in their training to show
what a good match you would be if they selected you as an intern. By starting with
who you are and what you bring to the
When possible, adapt your internship, you avoid the common practice
answers to present how well among interns of starting with what you
you would fulfill each of believe they want in an ideal applicant and
these roles if selected for trying to shape yourself to fit that concept.
each particular site. This latter practice would leave you
frustrated as you realized the impossibility of
determining what each selection committee
seeks and half-heartedly attempted to mold yourself to fit it.
Remember that selection committees are evaluating you in several roles: trainee,
therapist, intern group member, supervisee, colleague, representative of their agency
(if you are selected and complete their internship training). As you describe yourself
during interviews, keep each of these roles in mind. When possible, adapt your
answers to present how well you would fulfill each of these
roles if selected for each particular site. In short, maintain a strategic mind set
throughout your interviews.
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22
Define a Wardrobe and Look that
Conveys Your Professional Image
What you wear to your interview communicates a great message
about how seriously you view yourself, the intern selection process,
and the members of the selection committee. Having defined who
you are as an emerging professional, you are ready to package that
identity in a wardrobe that supports your verbal message.
As stated previously, although interviews are somewhat artificial situations, they
nevertheless follow established protocol, similar to that of weddings, graduations,
formal dinners, and other social rituals. That is, everyone involved in the interview
process has certain expectations of how everyone else will dress and behave. Anyone
who veers too far from these unspoken expectations will draw unnecessary and,
potentially embarrassing, attention to themselves.
You would not, I am sure, show up at a wedding or formal dinner party dressed in cut-
off shorts and a t-shirt or halter top (unless it were clearly a very informal group of
people who intended to break with traditions).
Similarly, you would not show up for a back-yard barbeque dressed in a tuxedo or ball
gown (unless the event were a costume party). Yet, some applicants consider showing
up for internship interviews dressed as though they were attending classes at school.
You have spent upwards of $80,000 to $100,000 for your graduate education and are
poised to earn the title of “doctor” in just a few years:
I sn’t it w orth spending an ex tra few
Dress for your internship
hundred dollars on the appropriate suit
that m ak es the im pression you w ant as interviews as if you were
an em erging professional - instead of seeking a professional job. You
m erely as a student? will have plenty of opportunity
to modify your clothing once
You probably have a credit card with a enough you have accepted a position
left on the spending limit to invest in an and know how other staff dress.
appropriate suit, shoes, and accessories.
Besides, you will need to have an interview suit
to wear when you search for jobs after graduation and, even, to attend graduation. So,
you might as well make the investment right now. In short, there is no better time
than internship to start dressing as a professional. After all, this is the time when you
begin seriously to build the foundation for your entire professional career. You might as
well start by developing coherence between your internal sense of yourself and the
external image you present to the world.
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23
On the other hand, when planning your style of
dressing for interviews, avoid the tendency to go Other people form strong and
overboard and dress too formally. If you interview long-lasting first impressions
at a community mental health center in an of you within the first thirty
expensive designer suit, you will certainly convey seconds after meeting you.
an incongruous impression to interviewers if you
say you want to work with clients from lower These initial impressions are
socioeconomic classes! very difficult to change.
Dress for your interview as if you were being interviewed for a professional job. Your
clothes should present you conservatively and professionally, according to the
environment in which you will work. You should convey the impression of authority and
formality, not casualness or familiarity. You will have plenty of opportunity to modify
your clothing once you have accepted a position and know how other staff dress.
Psychological research has documented what most people have known intuitively for a
long time: Others form strong and long-lasting impressions of us within the first thirty
seconds when meeting us for the first time. And, these initial impressions are very
difficult to change. Remember those two concepts from Psychology 101, the
“prim acy effect” and the “recency effect”? You can be sure that these effects will
come into play during your internship interviews. After meeting and talking with so
many applicants, the selection committee will likely remember best the first and last
impressions you made on them.
If you are fortunate, they will remember some of what you said between these
impressions. Generally, people remember the m ost about what they see and the least
about what they hear. So, if interviewers encounter
something visually distracting about a candidate, this
You can always distraction will very likely draw their attention and focus.
dress down, but In short, assume that you must make strong efforts to
you cannot overcome your audiences’ distractions. (See “The
dress up again - Hazards of Choosing the Wrong Accessories”.)
once you have
made your first Does this mean you have to dazzle the
impression. committee with an expensive shirt or a
finely-polished professional manner?
Not necessarily. Both your wardrobe
and your ways of conducting yourself should reflect an integrated
presentation of who you are internally and at this point in your
professional development.
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24
Remember that they are selecting candidates for a clinical training program, not a job at
a Fortune 500 company. On the other hand, they are also not interviewing you for a
factory or warehouse job. Think about the environment you will work in - and dress
toward the high end of it. You can
always dress down, but you cannot dress
up once you have made your impression. THE HAZARDS OF CHOOSING
THE WRONG ACCESSORIES
Remember also that the committee might
make interpretations of your clothing if it A particular female applicant chose to
veers too far from the personal image or wear her favorite pair of earrings to an
values you present. Your interviewers internship interview for good luck -
are mental health professionals, after all! little jet airliners. Her interviewers -
For example, if you are a low-key, casual exhausted and punchy from the
person - and you are wearing an previous 20 interviews they had done
expensive designer suit - or if you that week - said they would always
interview at a site that serves remember her. They said that every
economically-disadvantaged clients and time she answered a question, she had
you wear expensive jewelry, your dress a habit of shaking her head from side
will directly conflict with what you say to side, making the jets take off in
about your professional aspirations. flight.
That is, throughout your interview, Unfortunately for her, they had no
selection committee members’ thoughts memories of how she had responded to
might return frequently to wondering any specific question.
about why you chose to wear that
particular outfit - and miss what you say Need I say more?
to them. For a dramatic illustration of
the possible implications of failing to
coordinate what you wear with what you
intend to say and the image you intend to project, remember those airplane earrings!
The Look for Men
Men should wear a dark- or neutrally-colored, well-tailored suit, a white or subtly-
colored shirt, and an understated, conservative tie. You always want your clothing to
make a solid impression that is secondary to, but supports, the verbal and personal
impression you make. The basic principle is this:
Never let your tie enter the room before you do!
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25
Sport coats are generally inappropriate for interviews because they
convey too casual an impression. Avoid them unless you simply
have no choice financially. It is much better to convey a casual
attitude wearing slightly more formal clothing than to attempt a
formal attitude when you are dressed casually.
Also, wear sharp, neatly-polished shoes with new heels and soles.
If your best dress shoes have worn significantly, and you cannot afford a new pair,
have the soles and heels replaced. You can generally do this for less than one-half the
cost of new shoes. And, you will be very embarrassed if you cross your legs to reveal
old, scuffed shoes beneath your sharply tailored suit. If you cannot keep your shoes
polished and in good condition and your shirts neatly ironed, how will the committee
believe that you would tend to the little things your clients need?
The Look for Women
You should, similarly, wear a dress suit, conservative dress, or traditional skirt/jacket
combination in a dark or subtle color. Avoid distracting scarves or accessories. You,
too, should wear clothing that supports your verbal and professional impression, not
vice versa. Your basic principle is this:
The interview is a place to present your qualifications -
not to show off your fashion sense!
Wear sharp-looking, but conservative, shoes - with low heels. You are conveying an
image as a professional-in-training, not trying to draw attention to your body. Dress
slacks with a jacket are certainly appropriate, but remember that this is a professional
interview, so make sure they are made of good fabric and are finished with good
tailoring.
Both female and male applicants should avoid accessories
that might distract interviewers’ attention from what you are
sayin g. Limit the amount of jewelry you choose to wear.
Gener ally, neither males nor females should wear more
jewel ry than a wedding ring, simple earrings, and a watch.
(Rem ember those airplane earrings!) If you have piercings,
consi der removing the non-traditional ones for the interview.
If you have piercings or tatoos that others will see but that are
unusual, recognize that you might convey an impression that you do not wish to make.
So, be prepared to address questions about them and how you would handle a client’s
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26
reaction to them therapeutically. This is a conservative profession - and many
internships sites are located in very traditional settings - so be sure to balance your
need for personal self-expression with the need to fit in enough to complete your
training and get a job!
Clean Up Anything That Detracts From The Image You Want
Take some time to re-visit social networking websites where you might have posted
pictures or text that selection committees might find inappropriate. Delete them
completely. Even if you believe those MySpace or Facebook party photos or blog
entries are innocent fun, they might create impressions of you that are unprofessional
and that would compromise your therapeutic relationships with certain future clients.
You never know whether selection committees (or clients) might do a Google or Yahoo
search for more information about you and form an impression of you that you have no
power to change since you might not ever even know they found these pictures or this
written text.
Have your hair cut and styled at least a few days before your first interview so it has
time to grow out a bit and look more natural. Moreover, do not make any major
changes in your appearance during the interview period. Men, do not shave off facial
hair that you have worn for a long time. Women, do not change your hairstyle
drastically. You do not need the added discomfort of a major body change that will
distract your attention and make you self conscious during your interviews.
Avoid eating powerful-smelling foods such as garlic and avoid smoking
just before an interview. If you must eat or drink just before your
interview, be sure to brush your teeth and always have breath mints
available. You never know how closely you might sit to your
interviewer(s), and bad breath is not one of the impressions you want to
leave with your committee. Many people are extremely sensitive to odors, and you
don’t want to leave an interviewer with an unpleasant impression of your
hygie ne or of your self-awareness. At the same time, do not wear perfume,
colog ne, or aftershave. You never know who may have particular sensitivity
or allergies to scents and you may make breathing difficult for your
interv iewer. Besides, you don’t want people wondering what you are trying
to hide under that powerful scent!
If you drink coffee, tea, or caffeinated soda, don’t try to stop until after you have
completed your interviews (or, better yet, until after the matching process ends!). You
need all the secure and familiar qualities you can keep during this very stressful time.
Remember The Impressions Made By Your Technology
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27
Even if you have become comfortable expressing your
creativity and individuality freely, take some time to make
sure they support the image you are trying to create.
Change the outgoing message on the voice mail where
you will receive messages from selection committees - at
least during the period when you will receive offers for and
schedule your internship interviews. The last thing
training directors want to hear - especially when calling
from a clinic or hospital to offer you an interview - is 60
seconds of a pop song followed by a message that
expresses your personal or religious philosophy and ends
without mentioning your name. They have very limited time, and will be calling from a
professional setting, so hearing these casual messages will be very jarring and irritating,
especially if they have no idea whether they are leaving a message for you.
During such a busy time, it would be much easier for them simply to hang up the phone
and move on to calling the next interview candidate - and you will never know if they
tried to reach you. With all the competition you already face, can you afford to take the
risk of being this cavalier? Is self expression that important to you? Make sure that
your message includes a professional greeting with your name and your telephone
number to verify that the training director is actually leaving the message for the
correct person.
Also, make sure that the email address you use for
internship correspondence matches the professional
image you want to convey. Using
Sexybabe@hotmail.com and Muscularstud@ yahoo.com is
fine for dating sites and messages from your friends, but
these are probably not the images you want to
communicate as a therapist-in-training.
In summary, take enough time to prepare yourself
internally before your interviews. Think about the
personality qualities you want to show. Develop a
positive and friendly demeanor and convey an attitude of genuineness. After settling
on the internal image you want to project, plan your interview clothing to convey this
image effectively. Choose the best, most professional image you can present that
allows your strongest qualities to shine through. Remember how much people base
their impressions on how we look and how we conduct ourselves and plan your
presentation accordingly.
Copyright © 1997 - 2009 by John T. Carlsen, Psy.D. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.

Sharpening Your Competitive Edge: Get the full book
Strategies for Getting the Internship You W ant
(or the entire set) at:
PDI-Online.com
Dr. John T. Carlsen
Your Internship Coach
Book VI: Conducting Persuasive Interviews
About the book
Finally, for a generation of doctoral students who are dedicated to becoming highly-
competent psychologists but facing unprecedented competition for internship positions
comes Sharpening Your Competitive Edge: Strategies for Getting the Internship You W ant ,
Dr. John T. Carlsen’s proven approach to packaging and marketing your qualifications
that distinguishes you from your fellow applicants during your interviews. A completely
practical approach to interviewing that not only tells you how to respond to traditional
interview questions, but also shows you how to do handle the questions that put others
on the “hot seat.”