How to Succeed in the Dietetic Internship Application Process

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post but I thought I would start back up. For those that don't know, I just went through the process of applying to dietetic internships (DI). Dietetic Internships are similar to residencies where you spend 9-10 months doing rotations in different specialties within the dietetics field. You have to complete a dietetic internship before you can sit for the exam to get your RD credential. The process of applying to a DI is tough and very detailed. So I wanted to write a blog post on my experience and give advice on what I found helpful when going through this process.

DICAS: This is the main application you have to fill out to apply to dietetic internships. This application is due February 15th each year for those participating in the Spring Match.

• My biggest piece of advice would be to start on this ASAP. I started filling it out a year before the deadline. Filling out your basic information, classwork and current experiences made my life so much easier later on.

• Another thing that I found helpful was creating a LinkedIn account once I started getting experience. Once I completed something such as a volunteer event, job, internship, etc., I would update my LinkedIn profile and include everything that I did. That way when I went to fill out DICAS, I didn't have to try to remember every task that I did.

• Letters of Recommendation: Ask early for these! I asked 3 months ahead of time, and you could probably ask even sooner than that. You might have people who are known for not submitting letters of recommendation until last minute, so asking early will guarantee that you are at the top of their list.

• Reread your application as many times as possible. Get other people to read it as well because the more you read it, the more likely you might not catch a mistake. I printed my application out and had friends read it and write their suggestions

Open Houses: Internships typically have open houses that go into further detail about their internship than what is on their website. This is such a great opportunity to meet the director, future preceptors and current/ past interns.

• I cannot emphasize enough that you need to attend these! During my interviews each DI director told me that they remembered me from their open house.

• Bring copies of your resume and give one to the director, if there is an opportunity to do so. I personally handed my resume out to the directors after the open house and introduced myself. This is probably the main reason they remembered me. If you go to an open house and don't ask questions or talk to the director personally, they probably won't remember you.

• I already addressed this but ask questions. This is a great way to be remembered by the director and for them to see your interest in their program.

• Dress like you are going to an interview. Looking professional gives a great impression to the director that you are serious about their program and your professionalism.

• Bring a portfolio with a notepad and pen. Some programs will provide you a pen and a sheet of paper to take notes but others won't, so it is best to be prepared. Take notes on topics discussed that are not listed on their website. These will be great resources to include in your personal statement.

• Ask the interns all your questions and concerns. Interns are great resources and will give you the most honest feedback about the program. Feel free to even exchange contact info if you have a question that comes up later.

• Don't bring your family or friends to the open houses. The best piece of advice I received was to treat the open houses as interviews. You won't bring your family to an interview, so don't bring them to an open house.

Personal Statement:

• This is the most time consuming part of the whole process and internships don't make it any easier. A majority of internships want individualized personal statements that state why you chose to apply to their internship specifically. This is where going to their open house becomes helpful. You have information about their internship that is not listed on their website that you can include in your personal statement to make yours stand out.

• Get multiple people to read it, and the more people the better! If you can, get your DPD director to read it. There are also a lot of great resources out there on how to start your personal statement and what to include. I found a lot of helpful free resources on All Access Dietetics. DICAS also requires you to answer a set of questions in your personal statement which is helpful when formatting it.

• Make your personal statement flow like a story. The questions that you have to answer should not be obvious and choppy. Make your answers to these questions flow together into one 1000 word essay. This is what makes a good personal statement.

• This might be an obvious tip, but don't make your personal statement longer than 1000 words. Some internships won't even read your personal statement past 1000 words. And if an internship wants a shorter personal statement than follow the same guidelines.

• Do NOT read other people's personal statements. You want your personal statement to sound like you, not someone else. This is harder to do than you think because when you first sit down to write it, it can be hard to know where to start if you don't have a format or an example to read.

Resume:

• Get as many people to read over your resume as possible. A few general guidelines for a professional undergraduate resume include:

  • 1 page in length

  • Eliminate all high school experiences and achievements

  • List your GPA, expected graduation date

  • List and describe any relevant experiences, volunteer experiences and academic experiences that relate to dietetics

  • List accomplishments, professional organizations you are a member of, conferences you attended, awards, etc

  • Don't start your descriptions with “I” and try to leave it out of your resume completely, rather start descriptions with a verb, for example:

    • “Taught the campers how to count their carbs and checked blood glucose during midnight rounds”

    • “Calculated individual patients needs for feeding tubes and TPNs “

    • “Responsible for opening up the store, closing the store and keeping the work area sanitized”

  • Don't make your margins less than ½ inch and your font size no less than 10pt

  • If your school has a career center, get them to read over your resume and make suggestions. Also look at resume examples for undergraduates.

Ranking:

• This can be stressful, especially if you can't decide how to rank your programs.

• To rank your programs, you have to use another website called D&D Digital (separate from DICAS)

• The deadline for ranking is also February 15th for Spring Match, but luckily they give you another opportunity to rank once you finish your interviews. This year they gave us from March 23rd - March 30th to re-rank programs. This is so helpful because after your interviews you may change your mind about programs.

• Then after the reranking is over, you have to sit and wait until match day which is usually the 1st Sunday in April. They don't release your match until 6 or 7pm usually, so keep yourself occupied during match day so you don't get anxious.

• How does matching work? It is hard for me to explain it, but basically if you rank a program as #1 and they rank you as their #1, then you will match. If you rank them #5 then depending on how your top 4 programs ranked you, then you might not get matched to that program. The whole matching system is designed to get you a match, so try not to stress!

Interviews:

• This is the most stressful part about the whole process and where I spent the most time preparing.

• Google interview questions that they may ask in a DI interview and try to come up with answers. Here are some example questions that I received during my interview:

  • What got you interested in clinical/ dietetics?

  • What would you do if a situation changed for you last minute?

  • What was a time when you worked as a team?

  • How would you handle criticism from a preceptor?

  • What would you do if you worked in a multicultural environment?

  • What produce would you be and why?

  • What do you think the role of a preceptor is and what are your expectations of them?

  • Describe how you would balance your work and personal life.

  • What unique qualities can you bring to this program?

  • How do you handle failure? What have you learned from your failures?

  • Why should we choose you for our program?

  • What is your biggest strength and biggest weakness?

  • Describe 3 things that have been most important to you in choosing an internship

• Use the STAR method: situation, task, action and result. This method should be used when you are coming up with stories to answer the interview questions asked.

• Do mock interviews if possible. Most schools have a career center that has many resources available such as mock interviews. A mock interview really helped me feel more confident about the whole interview process and provided me with suggestions on things that I can approve on.

• Come up with a script. Make a document with multiple questions that they might ask and type up your answers to them. Practice these questions over and over again until you feel confident.

• Come up with multiple stories that you can use to answer interview questions. Have your resume with you when you are interviewing, if possible, to help give you some story ideas.

• Most DI interviews last around 15-30 minutes, so these aren't long. There is also a mixture between in person, skype and telephone depending on the internship. So be prepared for whichever interview outlet they decide to use.

• The interviewers will ask if you have any questions at the end. Be sure to be prepared to ask as many questions as they ask from you. I had 4 questions prepared for each internship I interviewed for just in case. Make sure these questions can not be answered from their website!

• Thank you notes are very important to send out 24-48 hours after you have your interview. Hand written notes are preferred, but if you have an interview closer to match day, then an email will be just as adequate. Be sure to include something you talked about during your interview in the thank you note. For example, if you talked about community opportunities then mention it.

  • Example:

    • Dear _______,

I truly appreciate the time you and your staff took to interview me for this internship. After attending the open house, I knew this internship would be a great fit for me because of the clinical concentration, location, and the passion your interns expressed for this internship, so receiving an interview was a huge honor. I am very passionate about being involved with the local community and from what you said in our interview, this internship is passionate about that as well. I am a student liaison for my local dietetic association, _______ Dietetic Association, so knowing that ______ has a very active dietetic association is very valuable to me. Having the support and connections will help me excel as an entry level dietitian. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to interview with you and your staff.

Sincerely,

_____________