At some point in your graduate education you must secure practicum and internship sites. (Depending on your program, often this can be the same site.) Securing a site can be challenging, as there is usually a lot of competition. Here are some tips to help you excel during your interview:
Sites will usually ask students the same interview questions as their regular full-time applicants. Why? To main reasons:
- They want to make sure they secure qualified candidates. After all, the student(s) they select will have direct client contact, just as their regular full-time staff do.
- They may want to hire you after you graduate. If you’ve already been through the same interview process, you’ve already been vetted.
Things sites are going to want to know about include your adaptability to stress, how empathetic you are, and how well you work as a member of a team.
According to ACA member Joshua Harel, who has interviewed many interns for placement at his agency: “I want to know why you are interested in working at my agency, what you know about my organization, what interests you in the field, what brought you here ( without going to deep or too much self disclosure) It’s important that you come off authentic , confident, and humble.”
Interviewers will also want to know what modalities of therapy you specialize in. However, before you answer that question you should first research the agency to see if they practice a particular type of therapy. Some agencies only practice CBT, whereas others practice Solution Focused, for example. If that is the case, and you are a Gestalt therapist, then perhaps that agency is not a good match.
Expect questions such as:
- How do you adapt to stress?
- What are some examples of how you handled a challenging case?
- Would you describe yourself as an empathetic person? Give a few examples.
- How do you feel about working on a team?
All that said, probably the best tip is to relax and be yourself. Remember, your interviewer also has a lot of experience with people, and he/she will understand if you are nervous. If they don’t want you, then it isn’t a good match and you wouldn’t be happy there anyway.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barbara LoFrisco
