The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Preparing for interview success as a psychologist - DClinPsy - Assistant Psychologist

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi there, it's Marianne here. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to quickly let you know about something exciting that's happening right now. If you've ever wondered how to create income that works for you, rather than constantly trading your time for money, then you'll love the Race to Recurring Revenue Challenge with my business mentor, Lisa Johnson. This challenge is designed to help you build sustainable income streams. And whether you're an aspiring psychologist, a mental health professional, or in a completely different field,

Starting point is 00:00:32 the principles can work for you. There are also wonderful prizes to be won directly by Lisa herself. And if you join the challenge by my link, you can be in with a chance of winning a one-to-one hours coaching with me, Dr. Marianne Trent. Do you want to know more? Of course you do. Head to my link tree, Dr. Marianne Trent, or check out my social media channels, or send me a quick DM and I'll get you all the details. Right, let's get on with today's episode. If you're looking to become a psychologist, then let this be your guide. episode. with Dr. Marianne Trent.

Starting point is 00:01:36 Hi, welcome along to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I am Dr. Marianne Trent and I am a qualified clinical psychologist. So if you are downloading this fairly recently to when it was released, which is in March 2023, it probably hasn't escaped your knowledge that it is application notification season. So I am well aware that educational psychology interviews are already in full swing so if you are waiting to hear back on the outcome of one of those or if you are awaiting attending one of those yourself then wishing you all the very best of luck and there might well be useful information in here for you as well but of course it is declinesci, notification season currently. We are on the verge of interview season. So just to recap some of those important dates, we know that by the 17th of March, Clearinghouse and the associated courses must have let applicants know whether or not they

Starting point is 00:02:43 will be invited to an interview for this year or whether they've been placed on a reserve list for an interview this year. It's always worth bearing in mind that if you are on the reserve list for an interview, you could be called even as soon as like that morning of the interview. So when it's interview week make sure your outfit is clean what you want to wear make sure that you know you've perhaps let people know in your diary that you might already have booked in for meetings supervision appointments that you're hoping there may be a chance you're called to interview because I really do believe in putting stuff out there in the universe. If you're kind of paving the way for potentially having an interview during a set week,

Starting point is 00:03:34 then tell the universe that that is what you'd welcome. Don't be looking at your diary going, oh God, which day should it be? Which day would I have to cancel? You know, make sure that the people in each of your days know that, you know, you may have to cancel at short notice. If you're already working for the NHS, it's also worth bearing in mind that in theory, you don't need to take a day's annual leave to be able to attend an NHS interview. Because in essence, this is an NHS interview, you might then be able to keep your leave for something Because Inessence is an NHS interview, you might then be able to keep your leave for something that feels a bit more restful. Because, you know, I was gonna say you keep your leave for something a bit more exciting. But actually, I was really

Starting point is 00:04:15 excited about both of the interview days that I had. You should be feeling, you know, a little bit, you're like, oh, this is a big deal. But also excited that you get to showcase, you get to show why you're so ready for this opportunity. And that's regardless of what you're going for an interview for, of course, you know. Whatever job you're going for, it ought to feel exciting. You know, you ought to feel like you've got a reasonable chance and that it's something that you would want, you know, so make sure that's the case.

Starting point is 00:04:50 So try and make sure that you do at least feel some excitement. It's not just abject horror. So you may well be listening to this aware that perhaps your first or maybe even your first couple of courses that you've applied to have notified you that it is a no first. It's really hard and I'm really sorry, I'm absolutely gutted for you. I also recall that the year that I was successful in getting on to training, I was actually told no first by the one course who weren't going to be offering me an interview so for those of you who don't know my story I was offered interviews at three other courses but one of the courses cancelled the entire course just before I was due to attend my interview so yeah if you go back into the annals of history you'll see that the

Starting point is 00:05:46 2008 intake for the Bristol course um didn't go ahead at all um and then I think it actually moved to Plymouth ultimately but um yes I was potentially part of that cohort if I'd been interviewed because I do wonder I did really like Bristol I was telling one of my friends who lives in Bristol recently I really like Bristol I may have picked I may have picked Bristol had they offered me a place had that gone ahead but I'm very very pleased with where I did end up and you know when you're in a position where you do have multiple interviews at different courses we have this sort of butterfly effect you know that it's quite a big decision which course you'll be at because it could potentially lead to what future

Starting point is 00:06:31 job you'll be in who you're it will definitely lead to who your future supervisors will be who your future cohort will be in my case it led to the creation of two wonderful little boys and a marriage, you know, and friendship groups and in-laws and all of that jazz. So it is really can be a life changing decision, especially if you're doing that at an age point where you do have more choices, you know, where you could end up going to Scotland, you could end up going to Wales, you could end up going to Wales, you could end up going, you know, to the south of England or to middle England, you know. If you are more footloose and fancy free, then these decisions, the ones you say yes to, or the ones who say yes to you, can be life changing. And that can be exciting, but can also be a little bit terrifying too. So

Starting point is 00:07:22 anyway, we're wandering off track. But I want to empathize with anybody who has so far received no or not yet as we think about them think about it as not yet or not right now and if you've applied to more than one course then you might well get reserve list places for other interviews or you might well get outright interview offers as well for other courses so I am sending you so much hope so much so many crossed fingers that that happens for you um but yeah if it helps my first envelope that I opened because in those days they were envelopes my first envelope that I opened in 2008 which was the year that I opened, because in those days they were envelopes, my first envelope that I opened in 2008, which was the year that I was successful, was a no. So please hold on to that if that feels useful. And you might be in the position that you are told no, no, no, no, if you've applied to four places. And that doesn't mean that you're not good enough. It means that you're lovely. It cohort when you're doing this role when you

Starting point is 00:08:46 are wearing that name badge that says trainee clinical psychologist or trainee educational psychologist or you know trainee forensic psychologist whatever element you want to do we want you to feel ready and to be able to do this job well with all of the necessary skills that you need to have on board and online to help you to fly and help your clients to really soar too. So I'm going to cover some interview stuff that might be useful to consider in this episode but I'm not going to be repeating the stuff from podcast episode 10, which was released on Valentine's Day last year, so 14th of February 2022, and that episode is called How to Optimally Prepare for an Interview as an Asp. So if you go to the show on either Apple podcast or Spotify or

Starting point is 00:09:48 even YouTube for that matter and search for episode 10 or ep 10 it will be on YouTube aspiring psychologist podcast or type in how to optimally prepare you should find it there is a link in the show notes and this is going to be additional stuff. But since we launched that episode, of course, on the 28th of February last year, we launched the Aspiring Psychologist membership too. And that's a really useful way of covering lots of forward slash most of all of the areas that I'm going to be outlining in this episode. So if you feel like it's your time and you're ready for a little bit of coaching, a little bit of helping you feel more confident in your abilities, helping you practice some of these key skills and experiences,

Starting point is 00:10:39 then do please come on board to the As psychologist membership it's 30 pounds a month and you can leave anytime you like there's no minimum requirement to stay so so do come on board and let us help you to reach your goals but we also of course have free content so we do have the free compassionate q a so let me just talk you through the dates that we've got coming up for those. Okay, so if you're watching on YouTube, or even if you're not, please do take a note of these dates for your diary for the free Q&A sessions, compassionate Q&A sessions, which will be running across all of my socials. A really great place to catch that is in the free Facebook group, which is the Aspiring Psychologist Community with Dr. Marianne Trent Brackett's free group. So make sure you've requested access to that in good time. But it will also be running on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook page as well. If I have the battery power and Instagram is behaving, it will also be running on Instagram Live as well. But I won't be able to access the comments on Instagram Live. And also

Starting point is 00:11:53 it's worth bearing in mind, I can't usually access the Twitter comments either, just because of a random quirk in Twitter, that when I'm streaming via StreamYard, it doesn't access the comments. So you can join me on Monday, the 13th of March, 2023 at 7.30pm. That's number one. Monday, the 17th of April, 2023 at 7.30pm. And then just as a little bit of a change, because of a bank holiday, we've got Tuesday, the 2nd of May, 7 30 p.m and in the past they've been really intimate really nice sessions where you're able to bring any of your or any of your more focused questions and we can help think about what might be really useful what might help you look

Starting point is 00:12:39 after yourself right now what might what might help you bring your best to your what might help you bring your a game so that you're more likely to get your goal so I do hope you find those sessions really useful do remember on YouTube you can also watch previous sessions that we've run in the compassionate Q&A series by heading to the playlist. And again, I'll pop a link to that in the show notes. Other ways that people have found really useful for preparing for interviews is the Clinical Psychologist Collective book. There's really useful examples in there of how people have reflected upon their development and their own experiences. And of course, since last year, we've had the

Starting point is 00:13:25 birth of a new baby book. We've had the birth of the aspiring psychologist collective book as well. And that's a really nice demonstration of other people's reflection and growth experiences as well. So yeah, dig out those books if you've got a copy and consider grabbing a copy if you don't yet have one because people do speak really highly of them. Okay, so broadly speaking, we're looking at breaking down our presentation today into a number of different sections. We're looking at personal issues and reflections, professional issues and reflections, clinical issues and reflections, and research issues and reflections. So in terms of our clinical skills and reflections, it's always really useful to be able to demonstrate and to quickly conjure up formulations for clients or staff teams or other groups you've worked with from two different perspectives. It might be CBT, it might be CAT, it might be psychodynamic, it might be systemic, it might be DBT, it could be

Starting point is 00:14:35 any model that you're familiar with working with that you can demonstrate in the moment, an aptitude to be able to talk confidently about, you know, what is contributing to the client's difficulties, how you've understood them, what might be perpetuating them, all of that jazz, to be able to demonstrate that to the people that you will meet at interview. But also, even if you don't do that, just to hold that in your pocket and be able to pop out the word formulation can be really useful it's useful to be able to reflect on what the clinical work brings up for you currently or what it's brought up for you in the past can be really useful to do that within supervision and do remember if you haven't yet grabbed my free supervision shaping tool you can do that by going to my website www.goodthinkingpsychology.co.uk forward slash supervision and that will come to you and that might really help shape your supervision

Starting point is 00:15:35 relationships with your supervisor or with even people that you supervise now or in future so it's well worth registering for that and it's totally free so yeah it could help you to think about how to use supervision and how to give effective clinical supervision too. So it can be really useful to have conversations around some of this clinical stuff and around your own diversity, your own inclusion, the clients you work with and all of that jazz in supervision. So I hope that's useful for you in that realm. And of course, we go on to the research section as well. So you need to be able to talk, you know, with ease about research without pulling that face, you know, so that you've got an overview of statistical

Starting point is 00:16:26 models and measures and tests that you might use so that you understand when you might want to use quantitative versus qualitative or vice versa. So that you are able to, you know, critically appraise other people's research and your own research and also think about gaps in the research knowledge base and what you might want to explore in future or what you think might be useful to explore in future. That might well be stuff from your own clinical population that you're working in, that's okay, but you need to have an overview of what research is already out there and be able to talk confidently about what stuff you think would be useful in future and how and why you might investigate it or put that together

Starting point is 00:17:10 so have a play around with that and again that's stuff that we do do in the membership and that you can catch up on as well so having a working knowledge of research methods is really useful um you know what what is what is grounded theory what is ipa you know why would you use um a randomized control trial you know why what is that even um having a little look at refreshing your memory on on that sort of background can be really useful and if listening to this makes you go and suck in your teeth then it's okay to embrace what scares you you know it's okay to turn towards that so that it's not such a weak Achilles heel for you so that it feels like you're strengthening your suit of armor to have fewer chinks in it and fewer you know fewer really spots that feel very

Starting point is 00:18:08 tender that if someone pokes it you're not going to go too much so that you feel ready it's your time and you're ready for this next step why even is research important why do we champion it why do we do it why do we think it's useful? Having your own individual stance on that can be really useful too. So professional issues as well, you know, why are we doing this as such a robust clinical process? You know why why does clinical psychology exist you know what is it um how can we help maximize its availability for more people um how can we use supervision or management supervision effectively to think about the way in which we're doing leadership the way in which we're you know looking after nurturing the team to be able to spread the knowledge and the impact of

Starting point is 00:19:13 what we do in the psychology team far and wide to reach a wider audience what acts are there that govern the work we do so having a little bit of a knowledge of those can be really useful too. At this point, let's break for a short moment and I'll be back very soon. If you're looking to become a psychologist, then let this be your guide. Filled with lessons and experience that will help you get qualified. So come and take a look. It's right here in this book. It's the Clinical Psychologist Collective.

Starting point is 00:20:00 It's the Clinical Psychologist Collective. Hello, my name is Veronika Kasova. I live in Edinburgh and I just graduated with a Masters in Psychology of Mental Health. Marian recommended me the Clinical Psychologist Collective when I was networking on LinkedIn and I must say I love it. It is one of a kind. It's like a window into the lives of people on the path of becoming a psychologist. The stories are unique, honest and filled with a kind of intangible wisdom only personal storytelling can uncover. A common thread

Starting point is 00:20:53 in the stories I valued most was to be compassionate not only with others but with myself too. Also not fixating on becoming a psychologist, but enjoying life, grow and the final results will come as a byproduct. Marianne, thank you for taking the time to collate all the stories. The book is a true gem and I think every aspiring psychologist should have a copy on their shelf. Thank you. Thank you. So come and take a look. It's right here in this book. It's the Clinical Psychologist Collective. It's the Clinical Psychologist Collective.

Starting point is 00:22:27 Welcome back. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh If you're watching on YouTube, you probably should be clicking subscribe and liking this episode at the very least if you're still watching. If you're listening on Spotify, please do subscribe. And the same for Apple as well. Wherever you're watching, you know, please do subscribe. And if you're listening on Apple podcast, please do rate and review us. It just takes a moment, but it means a great deal. Our personal. Why are we doing what we do why do you want to do what you do what turned your head towards it in the first place um thinking about you know our own social graces those of the clients we're working with if you're not familiar with the work of Social Graces, give John Burnham a quick Google and get yourself back up to speed with those.

Starting point is 00:23:18 And if you can, please do think about having a mock interview. Ideally, with your supervisor would be really useful. But with another qualified clinician, if you're not supervised by a clinical psychologist or an educational psychologist, a forensic psychologist, any kind of qualified psychologist is really useful. And it helps you get those tumbleweed moments out and they're done so that you feel less horrified. And it's also really useful to think about recording yourself. And that is something I spoke about in the last podcast episode, episode 10, well worth a listen, because people find that really, really useful. So yeah, listen to yourself, get used to the sound of you talking about you and knowing that's okay. If you're not yet in the position where you've been offered interviews or if by the time you listen to this episode you have been made aware that you have been given four no thanks not yet um then please try not to lose hope this process does start again before we know it and by that point you'll

Starting point is 00:24:27 have another six months solid experience and how can you use this next six months to really make sure that by this time next year you're getting one two three maybe even four yes please we'd like you to tell us more about yourself opportunities. And if you do have, you know, your one lucky chance, if you do have your one golden ticket, then please know that's all you need. That's all you need. If it's your time and it's the right course for you and I don't know, the sun is shining in the right direction and all seems to be going well and the traffic lights are all green on your way there to the interview and you're able to bring your A game

Starting point is 00:25:12 to that interview day then that's all you need you know you do just need one university to allow you to have an interview to be able to demonstrate why this is a great fit for you while this course is great for you and how it is your time and you're ready for the next step so please be kind to yourselves please be really kind and supportive to those around you as well because this can be a really triggering time um and it's also it's okay to be sad for yourself and excited for others or vice versa it's okay to be really sad that your colleagues or friends might not be getting interviews but also be really proud and excited about your own interviews that you have lined up so yeah please do stay kind if you do consider coming on board to the aspiring psychologist

Starting point is 00:26:04 membership if you feel that might be useful for a little bit more bespoke skills advice and support from qualified clinicians who want to help you advance your confidence then you can check out details in the show notes or by going to the link in any of my social media bios but yeah thank you for joining me do check out episode 10 of the aspiring psychologist podcast for further optimal interview prep tips do let me know won't you how you get on with your outcomes and remember I will just go through them again with you remember to join us for the free compassionate q and a sessions which will be running across my socials you can find me dr marianne trent pretty much everywhere

Starting point is 00:26:52 on monday the 13th of march 2023 7 30 p.m monday the 17th of april 2023 7 30 p.m and Tuesday the 2nd of May 2023 also at 7 30 p.m. Thank you so much for joining me like subscribe do all those good things tell your friends about us and I'll look forward to catching up with you for the next podcast episode which will be coming to you from 6 a.m on Monday. Take care. Thanks for being part of my world. things that you can try. The Aspiring Psychologist Collective. The Aspiring Psychologist Collective. If you're looking to become a psychologist Then let this be your guide With this podcast at your side You'll be on your way to being qualified It's the Aspiring Psychologist Podcast

Starting point is 00:28:19 With Dr. Marianne Trent My name's Jana and I'm a trainee psychological wellbeing practitioner. I read the Clinical Psychologist Collective book. I found it really interesting about all the different stories and how people got to become a clinical psychologist. It just amazed me how many different routes there are to get there and there's no perfect way to become one and this kind of filled me of confidence that no I'm not doing it wrong and put less pressure on myself. So if you're feeling a bit uneasy about becoming a clinical psychologist I'd definitely recommend this just to put yourself at ease and everything

Starting point is 00:29:18 will be okay. But trust me you will not put the book down once you start.

The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Preparing for interview success as a psychologist - DClinPsy - Assistant Psychologist

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