The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Yay! You've got the job! So Now What? Your How to Guide to starting new roles

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, the principles can work for you.

Starting point is 00:00:34 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.

Starting point is 00:01:00 If you're looking to become a psychologist, then let this be your guide. episode. With Dr. Mary Entrance It's so greatly appreciated. What we're going to talk to you about today is thinking about, so I've got my first kind of relevant experience post, and it might be that you have got like an assistant psychologist post or, you know, research assistant post or something else which feels like, you know, the next step that you've been striving for. And then you're like, so now what, you know, what do I do now? Now I've got to where I wanted to be. And if you're listening to this and you're thinking, well, this isn't anywhere near where I am right now. You know, perhaps you're a psychology student or a psychology undergraduate and you're thinking, well, you know, I'll tune out because it's not for me. I would say listen still because it can still be super useful to think about covering these bases before you get there. And, you know, I think this is stuff that I would have wished that I knew before I got there.

Starting point is 00:02:50 So I hope you will still find it really useful, too. And it's all part of the process. You know, it will be your time and it will come and good things will happen but we have to kind of you know do the bits below to build our knowledge and our skills and our experience and to build our readiness for it for that and our ability to be able to talk confidently about what we're doing and why so yeah I hope that you will find this really useful. So maybe this new job or new post offer feels like a really exciting, you know, tangible step. And I remember when I was, I'd just done my GCSEs and I got my GCSE results and I felt like, oh, okay, finally I've got something that kind of helps me put my abilities and my confidence kind of under my belt a little bit you know kind of proof that I know what I'm doing and I'm doing all right

Starting point is 00:03:57 and for me those GCSE results felt like the first kind of thing, you know, that proved that, that demonstrated that. And, you know, my first assistant psychologist post felt similar, you know, it was a sign to myself and to the world and others outside. Oh, you know, she's, I'm, she's heading, you know, towards that goal. And that's tangible proof that actually this isn't all futile. So yeah, I hope you find that as a useful way of thinking about that, because I certainly did. And I know I said either in there, I think it was the first episode of the podcast, you know, that people might say, Oh, you don't get it. You know, why don't you go off and do something different? Like be, you know, a buyer for Argos or whatever it was I was doing at the time they just didn't they didn't get why this was so important to me they didn't get why I was you know so upset that I couldn't find even any

Starting point is 00:04:56 you know assistant psychologist posts to apply for and when I did you know why I was so distressed when they were closing before I'd even got home from work to apply for them. So, yeah, you know, you're allowed to be on your own team, even if those around you don't get it. You always need to be on your own team. And, you know, we do doubt ourselves as humans. It's part of our incredibly tricky brains. But, you know, you're allowed to have that self-belief and that self-importance about why you're doing it. And that hopefully with, you know, the requisite stripes that you earn along your path, you know, you'll get there.

Starting point is 00:05:38 Good things will happen for you. But, yeah, be on your own team, even if those around you are giving you kind of disharmony. You know, they're not singing in unison with you. They might be singing a completely different tune. And that's OK. You're allowed to sing your own tune. And when I think about, you know, my other jobs that I've had in the past, yeah, you know, they would have sustained me and fulfilled me for a time. But really, you know, to quote Princess Poppy, they just weren't my jam. You know, they didn't ignite and enliven me and they weren't, they weren't a bit of me. And so it's okay to keep striving for the stuff that feels authentic, that feels like it is going to light

Starting point is 00:06:27 you up. Because even though I love my job, I love what I do, there are still some days where I'd rather, you know, just sit around and watch Netflix. But on the whole, you know, actually, I'm really excited when I wake up and I realize it's a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I'm like, oh, yeah, I get to do my business today. I get to do the stuff I love and I get to see clients, you know, and I've got quite a nice balance that Mondays and Fridays are days where I do just stuff for my business development or stuff in the background. And sometimes I don't do anything at all. You know, I went off recently to a Van Gogh exhibition on a Friday and had lunch, which was really nice. Last week, I had my hair done on a Friday. And today I speak to you on a

Starting point is 00:07:18 Friday as I'm recording podcast episodes. So I've managed to stack my week and organize it so that I've got a bit more breathing space on a Monday and a Friday. And, you know, you might be hearing that thinking, oh, it's okay for you. You know, I can't do that in the service I'm working in. And, you know, I hear you. I've been there. I've been there for sure. I hope that, you know, your experiences along the way and, you know, everything that you're doing and everything you're hearing from me, hopefully, helps you build confidence and a belief that you can build a career for yourself that feels really energizing and that feels really exciting and that allows you to be your authentic self. So, you know, some of the early feedback I've had from this podcast and certainly someone

Starting point is 00:08:05 I was speaking to earlier about a university presentation that I'm going to be doing, you know, she said, well, we've asked you to do it because we like how, you know, how OK you are with being yourself and how naturally you talk. So I hope you find that to be the case too, and that you can lean in to your own abilities, to be authentic to yourself. You're enough, you know, and what you've got to say and the way you think about the world is important and valid. This is quite a long introduction to this, isn't it? You know, but it's all relevant. You know, I've got to I've got to boost you out and send you out there into the world to do these really good things. And, you know, I know I've got a lot of strings to my bow currently, but I feel like, you know, everything I do and everything I've got is underpinned by my core foundations, you know, my experiences as a qualified psychologist. carry with me each individual client session, each individual supervision session, and each

Starting point is 00:09:28 individual lecture I've been to, you know, because of the way that we build over time as clinicians. I'm multi-layered, you know, and I'm, you know, I'm built of a lot of the words of others and the experience of others. And I'm pretty fortunate that, you know, on the whole, hearing to think about whether actually what they're asking of you is reasonable, what their opinions of you are, you know, are based on actual facts and not just their own, you know, beliefs and opinions. So, yeah, tune into what you're thinking about what you're doing and just listen to, you know, whether whether the feedback you're getting, if it's not great, is feeling like it's coming from a place that's trying to help you be different or better, whether it's kind of constructive feedback. So well done, you. You've got this job. you've got this job that you've really, really been excited for. So, you know, you've had the moment of seeing the job advert or hearing about it for the first time. And you just, you know, you read it and you think, that's it, that's my job. That's happening, that's happening for me. And I got that when I applied for my first assistant post that I did get,

Starting point is 00:11:06 believe me, I applied for a fair few. I didn't even get interviewed for. So, um, but yeah, the one I got, um, you know, I saw, yeah, this is it. You know, I am ready for this. This is mine. And the same with my, um, second assistant paid post. Um, I just saw it and I was like, that's mine. That is my job and I'm coming for it. And nothing is stopping me. I'm just going to be relentless about it. This is my job. Whereas in contrast for my first qualified job,

Starting point is 00:11:40 yeah, I just, I'm really excited about the opportunity. But there were so few jobs at the time that I don't know if I actually would have ended up working in CAMHS if it hadn't just been that they, you know, they offered me the job, but it ended up working out completely beautifully for my first four years of qualified. So, you know, you've got this job, you've got the job offer, perhaps you're waiting out your notice at your old job and those can be slow and painful weeks. But you know, maybe you're listening to this, you know, about to start your new job, or maybe you're, you know, you haven't got a job at the moment and you're going to your dream job or next job. And you're like, so now what? So I thought it'd be really useful to tell you about some of the things that I've done ahead of, you know, chunks in a week off of unpaid leave in between my jobs. And that might not be achievable for you, you know, depending on your circumstances. But for me, it always feels like a little bit of golden time, you know, to be able to have a little rest and a

Starting point is 00:13:01 little recharge and to help me transition from one stage of my life to the next. And I actually went away with my mum. We went away to Spain for a few days and rented an apartment there with a pool. And, you know, we were eating nice food and having some sunshine and, you know, reading and, you know, having some naps, you know, long lines and things. And that was a really nice way for me to be able to go from a relevant job, but not under a qualified psychologist to my first assistant psychologist post under a clinical psychologist, it felt like the big real deal. But I also absolutely had this pressure of, oh, what enough? What, what, what, what? Am I enough? Can this, you know, can I really do this? You know, I've told them I can. And so I did lean into the pressure to feel like I knew a little bit about what I was doing. And so I did ask my

Starting point is 00:14:06 soon-to-be supervisor whether there was any reading recommended. And I believe she would have recommended, you know, a forensic older adult book or something along those lines or working with an inpatient population. So I did read that from my sun lounger just to feel like I was getting myself versed in, you know, the right conversations even in my head, you know, the right language to be using to talk about those things. So that might be something that you feel like would be useful. But also know that you are enough. You know, they have they've offered you the job because you're the best person for the job, you know, with your knowledge, skills and experience. So, you know, do know that you you are enough, you know. And actually, I think with retrospect, with hindsight, what I realize is that probably what I was wanting was to walk into that

Starting point is 00:15:06 job on day one and feel like I'd been there six months. But that's not realistic. You know, all of us need time to grow into new roles. And, you know, we're going to be different to others, you know, so it might be that they're taking on someone else new in your team at the same time. And that was certainly the case for me. My friend, well, she's now a friend. I didn't know her before. But we both were offered a job at the same time in the same service. And yeah, you know, we're different clinicians and we were there then.

Starting point is 00:15:40 And that has to be OK. You know, we can't necessarily be comparing ourselves to other people in the team or the service because that's just not gonna you know it's not gonna lead to happy outcomes for us because you need to be your genuine self and they've obviously offered the job to you and so you know well done you so I always think it's also quite nice to mark um to mark these achievements tangibly and my husband always says you're not a dog you don't need a treat and I'm like yes I do yes I do so it might not be food related but you know it might be that um you know I buy myself some new clothes to match this milestone in my life. So I definitely had like an assistant

Starting point is 00:16:27 psychologist wardrobe. Some of them are still around now, I won't lie. And, you know, a pair of shoes that I could look down at my feet if I was feeling like I was floundering and think, oh, yes, yes, I am an assistant psychologist because I'm wearing my assistant psychologist shoes. So that might be useful for you as well to feel like you're wearing your, you know, significant job uniform. And, you know, I still I still treat myself like a dog. Now, you know, when I sold the first I decided in my head a batch number of how many our tricky brain kits it would take. And then I'd celebrate by buying myself a nice perfume that I'd wanted for a while. So I definitely rewarded myself like a dog then.

Starting point is 00:17:12 And you might find it helpful to have, you know, a new perfume or fragrance in your life as well to, you know, signify, you know, I'm an assistant psychologist now. I'm a research assistant. This is the fragrance I wear to celebrate and mark where I am right now. And also know that all of us sometimes sit at our desk and think, I don't know what I'm doing. And it's that case of the imposter syndrome showing up. And I'm just thinking now about a resource that shows, you know, I think it's our levels of danger as we go forward in our careers. So to begin with,

Starting point is 00:17:56 we feel like we know absolutely loads and we'll tell anybody who listens about it. And then as we go forward in time, we realize how little we know and that's when our imposter syndrome sets in so what I'll do is I'll tidy up what I've just said and put it into a resource that you can download so the details of that will be through the show notes so check that out if that sounds like that would be useful for you and I would say as you go forward in your career it's always OK to not know, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:26 and to level with level with clients or supervisors, you know, or whoever you're working with. Actually, I'm not sure. You know, I was tempted to wing it there. But yeah, I don't know the answer. And I did that as recently as last week. I said to a client, well, I'm not quite sure about that that's not cropped up for me before but let's think about what that would mean to you and let's think about how we could come up with a plan that feels like it would be you know robust enough and at the end I said well how did

Starting point is 00:18:58 it feel when I said that I didn't really I don't really know this hadn't cropped up before I hadn't used this particular resource in this way with a client before. And so we'd need to kind of create that for ourselves. And, you know, the client said, well, you know, it is what it is, you know, it's, I wouldn't want you to be lying, you know, and just, you know, trying to look like you're winging it. It's okay. And because, you know, because people are bespoke, there cannot be one one size fits all. So, yeah, even today someone spoke to me about an honour, honour, I can't even say it, an honour. I'm going to leave this in as well. I'm going to leave this in the podcast edit so that you realise that I am human.

Starting point is 00:19:41 An honorarium. And they started then launching off to thinking about this honorarium. And I said, I'm sorry, but I don't know what an honorarium is. You know, I imagine it means it's kind of free-ish, but yeah, you're gonna have to fill me in there. So yeah, then she had to tell me what an honorarium is. Yeah, Google it. So what did I do literally minutes after getting my first assistant post? Well, you know, to begin with, I was by myself, you know, I was in my partner at times flat and I was by myself and I just felt like, amazing. And I waited for him to get home and he said, oh, how did did it go how did the interview go and I said oh I didn't get the job I got a different one yay um because um yeah there was

Starting point is 00:20:36 one job advertised I didn't get that job but they liked me and said that actually there's another job coming up and they'd like me for that one so um that's how that worked so um yeah and we just you know i just felt really really happy really really excited and you know ready for this next step of my of my journey um towards being what for me was a clinical psychologist but i appreciate that you might be listening to this as an aspiring sports psychologist or, you know, forensic or health or counselling, occupational, educational, so many lovely directions your career can take. So I hope that this is relevant and I welcome any feedback. You know, if you feel like actually the way I talk about things isn't relevant for your particular discipline.

Starting point is 00:21:25 Give me a shout and let me know because I want this to be, you know, useful for all aspiring psychologists. That's the plan. Of course, I'm going to speak most convincingly about clinical psychology because, of course, that's what I've done. And that's my experience. experience but I hope that all of you listening regardless of what your own discipline is that you find there is a reason to stick around and to hang about okay we're gonna take a short break here and I'll be back to talk to you about growing into those relevant experience shoes speak to you soon shoes. Speak to you soon. fight 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 Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh psychologists. They offer their advice, hope and encouragement to aspiring clinical psychologists.

Starting point is 00:23:07 This book helps to put in perspective the variety of journeys people take to become qualified. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in, 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 It's the Clinical Psychologist Collective Oh

Starting point is 00:23:59 Oh oh honestly is it just me who could listen to my jingle guy's voice all day sometimes it's gonna move me to tears it's just lovely so yeah i hope you love having these jingles in your head because i i sing them i sing them constantly So my first assistant post, honestly, I did not know I was born. I had my own office that I shared with my colleague. And, you know, I was in private practice. And so there was the stationary budget was limitless. And so we were given the stationary catalogue and, you know know invited to flick through it and order what we wanted basically so we had a nice spongy sort of wrist support mouse mat and a wrist support thing for the keyboard and you know a desk tidy

Starting point is 00:24:55 you know and when I compare that to when I worked in the NHS as an assistant I didn't even have my own desk and I did some sessions in a cupboard. And then when I was qualified, everyone loves agile working, right? You know, I didn't have a chair. You know, I really didn't know I was born. So if you find that you've got like a really good setup and you've got your own chair, celebrate that, you know tag me in on linkedin celebrate your own chair put put a sign on it you know saying your name and your chair spin around on it do your own office chair olympics you know yeah you've got your own chair you've made it in life um so yeah that's certainly more than i've had across my career at times but you know we are able to bring out a game regardless of our settings, hopefully. But yeah, agile working is an ace for me.

Starting point is 00:25:51 You know, I remember when I was working at Argos head office, I kind of had those little baffle boards around my desk. And I had pictures of when I'd been away traveling to be able to look on when times felt hard. So I like, you know, I like having nice things to look at. I like having pictures that feel significant, that feel important. So, yeah, I think I definitely operate best with my own space that's mine. I don't have to sanitize the keyboard, you know, so that's that's that's where I will operate optimally for me. But if you're currently having your own agile working challenges, then I hear you. So when I got my first qualified post, it had been off the back of the recession that was happening at the time.

Starting point is 00:26:40 And there were very, very few jobs. And at that time, places on clinical training were reducing not mid cohort or anything that would be catastrophic you are the weakest link goodbye oh it wasn't like that but you know suddenly we were a cohort 15 and then the year after us were 17 and the year after that I think went down It might have been 15 again, or it might have been below that. But I think at one point they had a cohort of 10, which is very different to a cohort been to a fair few interviews but I had no job to go to and actually I found that I kept getting pipped to the post by people that had already been qualified for a few years and you know I was I was good enough at that time as a newly qualified band seven but it's very hard to compete with somebody who you know might be stepping down from

Starting point is 00:27:42 an AA to come and do band seven or, you know, to compete with any qualified psychologist that had been doing it for a while. Because I was, of course, fresh off my clinical doctorate boat. And so, yeah, that's, I just found that I kept losing out until I didn't, you know, until I got my first qualified post. And at that point, yeah, I had a little bit of downtime. So I finished in September. Then I had October off and November off. And I think at some point in November, I knew I was going to be starting.

Starting point is 00:28:13 And so at the beginning of December, I did start my job. And yeah, I had a little bit of time, you know, eating lots of things with lentils in to try and make the money go further and drawing on my savings a bit as much as possible. And also, you know, my partner, partner, who's now my husband, wasn't going to see me destitute and out on the street, because that would have meant he was on the street as well. So, you know, just had to get through it. Because, of course, what we know about certainly about the clinical doctorate is that it's a period of training contracts so long as you meet those milestones and you get there and you know you do what you're supposed to be doing then with any luck you will become a qualified

Starting point is 00:28:55 psychologist but there is no guarantee of a job and that was absolutely allowed you know around loud and clear when I was qualifying in 2011 so So there will be an ebb and a flow, you know, sometimes there will be more jobs and sometimes there will be less. But yeah, happily, I was able to start work in the tail end of 2011 in time to get paid for Christmas, which is always really nice. But what I like about this time off between jobs is that ability to reflect and to consolidate and to allow myself to transition to this next step, this next stage, because they are significant and they matter. And, you know, I just like a little bit of pause and, you know, what we talk about is rest and digest, you know, just, you know, just do a bit less,

Starting point is 00:29:47 you know, breathe a bit more. If that was now, I'd be probably going out for runs and stuff more. I think I was less fixated on any kind of exercise at the time, probably doing Pilates and things like that. But yeah, I would now I'm a mummy. I'm super good at using time off, you know, there weren't kid gloves and I thought I needed kid gloves. I thought I needed, you know, when you are newly qualified, you know, you can have to like, you know, work up to doing X, Y and Z. And, you know, there wasn't that, you know, it's like, well, you are a qualified psychologist, you are the real deal, you know, you've earned your stripes, now go. But it wasn't like my caseload built as a flood immediately that bit um you know trickled in in a gradual predictable way um but yeah there wasn't that period of you

Starting point is 00:30:53 know oh you know just see how you go get used to making decisions you know get used to doing that and being part of the team you know sometimes i was just sent to kind of, you know, be in a meeting as the psychologist in the team. Do you know what I mean? It wasn't like I was shadowing a proper psychologist who knew what they were doing. You know, I was it. And that was actually really helpful for me. It didn't feel like being chucked into deep water. It felt like someone was believing in me. And so bear that in mind if you find that you're feeling a bit floundery, you know, maybe it's actually a mark of someone's confidence in your ability to do that job. But if you feel like things are overwhelming, always shout out about that. As I said before, my, you know, I like to mark occasions and chapters with wardrobe. So I definitely had a qualified psychologist wardrobe and I was forever gutted that my favorite I'm a qualified psychologist dress got a hole ripped in it by my NHS lanyard which made me really sad because I loved that dress and it just wasn't repairable you know where the hole was it just wasn't repairable so look after your favorite

Starting point is 00:32:03 I'm a assistant psychologist or I'm a research assistant psychologist outfits because NHS lanyards don't always like them. So as I said, I love celebrating your successes. So please do come and connect with me on socials. I am really easy to find on certainly LinkedIn. I'm Dr. Marianne Trent. Tag me in or, you know, some other way. Let me know about this post and I will help you celebrate because it's big and it's important. And well done you.

Starting point is 00:32:37 If you are listening on YouTube, then please subscribe and like and comment and click that little notification bell to be told when I produce more content. My kids told me to say that they spend a lot of their time watching YouTube. They love it. And I said, Mommy, you've got to start asking people to click the notification bell. So there you go, kids. Mommy's done it. They also want me to have merch. We were shopping with my eldest a few months ago and there was a shopping list and on the back of it was like a picture of the Grief Collective book. And my eldest was like, mummy, quick, stick it on your back and call it merch. It really made me laugh. And I was like, well, no, because then I won't know what I need to buy. And I also look very silly. So, yeah, no plans to launch any merch coming soon, guys. But yeah, subscribe, like, you know, tell your friends, do all those lovely things to help me

Starting point is 00:33:37 to be able to create and continue to create this hopefully useful quality content for you as an aspiring psychologist, whatever the stage of your journey you are at. Thank you so much for listening and I will look forward to catching up with you very soon. Take care. guide. With this podcast at your side, you'll be on your way to being qualified. It's the Aspiring Psychologist podcast with Dr. Marianne Durant. My name's Jana and I'm a trainee psychological well-being practitioner. I read the Clinical Psychologist Collective book. I found it really interesting about all the different routes there are to get there and there's no perfect way to become one and this kind of filled me with confidence that no I'm not doing

Starting point is 00:34:55 it wrong and put less pressure on myself. So if you're feeling a bit uneasy about becoming a clinical psychologist I definitely recommend this just to put yourself at ease and everything will be okay. But trust me, you will not put the book down once you start.

The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Yay! You've got the job! So Now What? Your How to Guide to starting new roles

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