September 2022 President’s Corner

The time has finally come: breathe in, breathe out. That’s what you’ve been told your whole life to calm your nerves before any type of interview. But this is the most important interview you have had in your entire life. The moment you have been anxiously working towards your whole graduate school journey. How did it approach so soon? Are you as prepared as you should be? Will you be offered a position as an extern at the clinical site of your dreams?

These are some of the things I worried about the most during my externship prep and going into interviews. The most important reminder I want you all to remember is that you are not alone. Everyone has these fears and everyone gets through the externship process. Here are some helpful things to keep in mind as you begin your externship journey:

1. Where do I even start to look for sites? This can be the most challenging barrier to overcome with the entire externship application process: where do you even apply? HEARCareers is an incredible resource that is free for students to look up different facilities that are in need of externs for the upcoming year. On HEARCareers you are able to filter  by location, if a site offers stipends, how many externs the site will be accepting, and when applications are due/requirements for applications.
2. Is my resume good enough? Take it from a perfectionist: re-reading a resume, especially your own, and trying to prioritize items is very difficult. Luckily, you don’t have to be on your own with this! The Academy offers a free resume review service by professional audiologists working in a variety of settings to look over your resume for you! Take advantage of this incredibly valuable (and did I mention, free?) resource! Check out this month’s Advisor’s Corner for other resume tips!
3. How can I be the most prepared for my interviews? Sometimes, you may not feel completely ready for any type of interview. And that’s ok! The most you can do is to study your material beforehand and know that you are interviewing the site as much as you are being interviewed as a potential extern. One of my favorite SAA Blog posts goes over the tips and tricks for externship interviews.

In terms of my own additional tips to you, here are a few that got me through the difficult few months of externship applications and interviews:

• Be yourself. Yes, as corny as it is, externship sites want to see your personality and what qualities are going to make you an incredible future audiologist. Allow yourself to be authentic and answer questions honestly and as you would naturally!
• Do your prep work. It’s so important to not just know your audiology facts, but do your research on the site itself! Most sites want to know why you are applying to that site in particular. What services does the site offer that you want to learn more about? What population do they work with? Why are you the perfect extern for that site? Make sure you know why you are interviewing at the site in the first place and why they stood out to you!
• Be excited! As nerve-wracking as the interview might be, also be excited! You made it to the interview–that is a HUGE accomplishment! Know that they are interviewing you for a reason and be confident in yourself.

Remember, the externship process is a part of your journey to becoming an audiologist. Everyone goes through it and as scary as it is, you are not alone. Make sure to check out these additional resources to be even more prepared.

And above all, you GOT this! 🙂

Alexis Leiderman
2022-2023 SAA President