Psychology Intern Selection Process

"This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant." (2007 APPIC Match Policies)

1. Initial Screening
   We will begin by reviewing all applications through APPI Online. Your application will be carefully evaluated to determine how well your background and experience fit with our program – both in terms of how your goals match ours and how our program might serve you.

   By December 15th, this paper screening will result in one of the following:

   • an email requesting that you contact us to schedule a telephone interview
   • an email notifying you that you are no longer under consideration
     
     
2. Reference Checks
   We may choose to call some of your references for additional information in December or January.
   
   
3. Telephone Interviews
   During the second and third week of January, we will conduct teleconference interviews for selected applicants. These usually last approximately 40-50 minutes. In our attempt to keep our process standardized for all of our applicants, we have been given feedback that the process feels fairly formal. This does not reflect our interpersonal interactions as a staff, but rather is a concession that we have made to be more consistent across applicants. Our interviews could be thought of as “professional job interviews.” You will have an opportunity to ask us questions at the end of the interview, but it won’t be sufficient time to really get to know us. For that, you may want to follow up with informational telephone contacts or a site visit after the interview.
   
   
4. Issues re: Personal Interviews and Site Visits
   We do not expect all applicants to be able to arrange a visit to Santa Barbara for an on-site interview; therefore, we do not arrange on-site interviews for any applicant. However, if you are in the area and wish to visit our campus and agency, we encourage you to do so. We will try to arrange for you to meet with a current intern and/or the Training Coordinator. If you schedule a site visit and are screened out by the Selection Committee in the meantime, we will attempt to contact you immediately so that you can rearrange your travel plans.
   
   
5. Prioritizing Our List
   We will ponder, weigh, and consider each application in coming up with our final rankings. We strongly encourage you to do the same regarding your site preferences in consultation with your Academic Training Director or advisor. Informal contact may be made during the selection process to help us clarify your application, but we do not engage in recruiting behavior (e.g., multiple phone calls). Again, "this internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.”
   
   
6. Match Day: February 22, 2010
   We will all find out how the matching process turned out on this day. APPIC will provide internship sites with information about all ranked applicants and where they were placed. Believe it or not, we’re excited to learn where applicants ended up regardless of how we ranked them. After all the energy and time taken on both sides (yours and ours), we like to know how it turned out for you also.

In accordance with APPIC guidelines, we will contact our matched applicants by telephone after the 11:00am (CST) deadline on February 22, 2010. Within 72 hours, we will send matched applicants confirmation of their appointments.

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