Music Therapy Internship Interviews: Tips for Success

I’ve had the privilege of sitting in and assisting with several internship interviews, in person and via skype, for the internship at my current place of employment. Here are some insights/opinions/thoughts/words of wisdom regarding internship interviews.

1. We have a musical portion to the interview, so if you are going to answer the question “What are your strengths?” with, “well, I’m really good at accompanying myself on the guitar and transposing songs into keys that work well for my voice range. I have gained a lot of confidence in my musical abilities.”  Then when you get to the musical portion, you should be able to demonstrate that confidence, and the ability to sing while playing the guitar at a consistent tempo and rhythm, and it should be in a key that works with your voice. When you claim to be strong at those things, and then your musical audition shows us the opposite of what you just said, it makes it seem like you can’t accurately describe your strengths and weaknesses, or that you aren’t able to self-assess, or it makes us wonder what else you are lying about to pad your resume.

2. Really listen to the questions asked, and then make sure you answer them. If you don’t understand a question, don’t guess, ask for clarification. If you still don’t know, it’s okay to say you don’t have a knowledge base for that question but you’d definitely be interested in looking into it more. Ex. We ask about the applicant’s knowledge of NMT, usually using the abbreviation.  In one instance an applicant proceeded to describe how she really loves the concepts of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy techniques and looks forward to learning about it and working it into sessions. That is awesome, except we don’t do much Nordoff Robbins work in our facility and Nordoff Robbins is completely from NMT which stands for Neurologic Music Therapy. If the interviewer uses an acronym and you aren't positive you know what it stands for, it's better to ask.

3. We understand you get nervous. We get nervous for you. It is nerve-wracking, even scary to have to perform in front of strangers who might hold the key to your future in the profession. It’s okay to be nervous; it’s okay to acknowledge that you get nervous. It’s important to know how to deal with the nerves. When you are playing focus on tempo, going faster is natural when you are nervous, make sure you are maintaining the integrity of the song and not letting your nerves drive your tempo too fast.  If you start singing and realize it’s too fast, don’t stop and start over, just slow yourself down, which brings us to the next point:

4. Keep Going!!  In a session, if you mess up a chord or get lost in the music, you are probably not going to stop playing, apologize and start over. You will have to keep going because your clients are going to keep going with or without you. We expect some hiccups in chord progressions or notes, it’s natural when you’re nervous. Keep going when they happen. We did an interview recently, and the gal hit a really sour chord on the piano, then she hit a second one. She kept singing, stopped playing the piano for a measure and came back in when she could pick the progression back up. She gets bonus points for this. You might be thinking “But she stopped playing.” Yes, but she kept the song going with her voice and found her way back. This demonstrates and ability to keep going even if you make a mistake. The song progressed even without the piano, her voice carried it through. This is much better than someone who misses a chord, stops singing, finds the right chord, restarts the song, and continues to stop and start or pause while trying to find the right chords. Keep going. We know you missed the chord, we know you know you missed it, what matters is how you deal with this situation when it happens. Missing a chord change isn’t the end of the world, how you react shows significantly more about you and your clinical skills than whether you hit all the right notes.

5. Memorize your songs or have the music for reference, but make sure you are looking up and engaging the interviewers in the music. You are after all looking for a music therapy internship. In MT we engage with the clients, it's vital to the job. If you are buried in the music then you aren’t engaged with the clients. When we are making you sightread something unfamiliar, go ahead and be buried in the music if you have to be, but in the selections you choose yourself you should know them well enough that you can look up and engage.  Pick songs appropriate to the population you are applying to work with. Please don’t play “you are my sunshine.” We've all heard it a million times. We know you can play You Are My Sunshine... MT 101.  Play your songs in different keys. If your first guitar selection is in D, play the next one in C or G or anything else. If you play every song in the same key it doesn’t show a very good musical range. 

6. Be honest. If while interviewing for the internship or touring or talking with the staff you start to realize that you don’t think it will be a good fit, It’s okay to say, “Thank you for your time, but I don’t think this is going to be the best fit for me.” It shows a good level of responsibility and self-assessment to realize it is wrong, and accept it. Don’t accept an internship you think is not a great fit, or won’t be comfortable for you, just because it’s offered to you. If you aren’t happy with the site, then you won’t do your best work, and it is hard on you, and hard on everyone who has to try and teach you.

7. Have some questions to ask. Find something you are curious about. Ask about group dynamics with the clients, ask about group dynamics with other staff, ask what the typical schedule looks like, ask about how much time will be spent in groups versus doing reading or written assignments or documentation, ask about groups you are interested in, ask what the person interviewing you likes most about the program or the facility, ask which group they think is the most challenging for interns to pick up. Ask questions, it shows you are really interested and actually listening to what we’re saying. 

8. Try and relax and be yourself and let your personality come through. Remember why you chose Music Therapy as a profession. Know the answer to “Why do you want to do an internship in this setting?” or “Why are you passionate about working with (older adults, dementia, children with autism, inpatient psych, hospice, or any other population the internship requires you to work with)?  If we ask you why you want to work in our setting or with our population and you don't know it looks rather suspicious. Did you just apply to every local internship because you have to do one? If you aren't passionate about our populations, that's okay, but then maybe our internship isn't the best choice for you. I was applying to an internship when I was in school and I got to the question on the application that said, "Why are you passionate about working with young children?" and I realized I wasn't passionate about working with young children. When the internship supervisor emailed me to find out if I was still going to turn in an application I was honest with her. I explained when I got to that question I realized their site wasn't going to be the best fit for me and where I hoped to go professionally. She thanked me for not applying since it wasn't what I was really passionate about.

9. Send a Thank You note. After you finish your interview, send the internship director a thank you note. (this goes for job interviews, too) If you prefer to send an email that’s okay, and more efficient, but an actual Thank you note is better. Regardless of whether you are offered the position, it gives one last positive impression of yourself. Thank them for their time. Make it personal to the site you are interviewing with, don’t write a generic note that could be going to anyone or anyplace. Try and put in a few details that came up in the interview about things you’d look forward to working on/with if you were offered the position. It’s okay if it’s short and sweet. “Thank you for taking the time to interview me for the internship position at __________. It was really exciting to hear about the work you are doing with Jug Band, and with community outreach MT groups. I have a strong interest in NMT and would love to gain more experience with this area.  I really enjoyed hearing about your program and the internship requirements. I appreciate the opportunity to come in for an interview and feel like your program would be a good fit for me. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, _______. 

10. Have fun. Be excited. This is an exciting time. This is the final step towards being a professional Music Therapist. This is a time to network and get to know some people in the field. Show that you are excited about Music Therapy. Pick songs you like that are also appropriate to the population. We want to see that you are passionate and enthusiastic about what you'll be doing.

11. Don’t overanalyze what happened once the interview is over. Know that you are doing the best you can at this moment and if it’s meant to be then you will get an offer. Just because you don’t get an offer from one site doesn’t mean we don’t believe you will make an excellent Music Therapist. It also doesn't mean you are never going to find an internship. Maybe we just didn’t feel like you fit into the group dynamic of our staff. Maybe you need a little more work on guitar. Maybe you mentioned how you really enjoy working with a different population and we agreed that you would be better off doing an internship with that other population you are really passionate about. Maybe we had 20 applicants for Fall, and we had to tell 19 really qualified MT students that they didn’t get it. It’s hard for us to turn you down, just like it’s hard for you to be turned down. Believe me, we hate making the rejection calls as much as you hate getting them. It's hard to disappoint really qualified applicants. Unfortunately we only have so many spaces to fill. 

Best of luck to all of you who are in the middle of applying for internships. If you have specific questions about interviewing feel free to ask. Be your passionate, enthusiastic selves, and you’ll find the right place for you. Welcome to the profession.

Presenting Yourself Professionally in Internship Inquiry E-mails

I have seen some rather unfortunate first impressions from students networking at conferences or inquiring about internships. I've written a few posts sharing some insights and opinions for MT students or recent grads looking into internships on how to present themselves in a professional manner, and how to make a good impression. This is another one of those entries.

If you are a MT student looking into internships, the way in which you first present yourself creates a lasting impression on the supervisors and other staff you are contacting. Last week my coworker, the MT internship director at the facility in which I work, received an email. The subject line said, “I would like to apply for the internship at your facility” the body of the email said, “thanks, Name.” That’s it. The entire email was “thanks,” and the person’s first name only. Then she got a second email with the subject line, “my name is NAME and I’m a student at SCHOOL, and I’d like to know more about the internship at your facility.” The body of the email just said the student’s name again. So our MT director emailed back and asked what starting date he was hoping to apply for and listed the starting months we typically offer. The response she got was subject: “I’d like to apply, any date is fine” with the body of the email stating, I'm hoping for spring, summer, fall, or 2015. Then 2 minutes later a second email with the same subject as before with the body reading, “wait is it even possible to start in February of this year?” Then 3 minutes later another email with subject line "nevermind" and body of the email stating, "Nevermind that last one, I'm interested in Summer, Fall or 2015." That's it. We have yet to actually have him sign his full name to any of his emails.

 Professionalism and presenting yourself well starts with the first contact you make with a prospective employer, supervisor, colleague, etc. The subject of a professional email should be succinct and state the subject. In this case a good choice of subject would have been “Internship inquiry” or something related. The body of the email then contains information. Please write in complete sentences. Use a professional greeting, then state a little about yourself and your reason for contacting the person you are contacting. Then give your contact information so we can easily respond to you or send you the information you are requesting. Use a formal closing as you would in a written letter. One basic example email: “Dear Ms. Last name of director, My name is Jane and I’m a student at Name of College. I’m interested in completing an internship with POPULATION and would like to know more about your facility and internship requirements. I’m hoping for a start date either Spring or Summer of 2014. Could you please send me an application packet? Here is my contact information: jdoe@college.edu, 555-555-5555, 1234 College St, #15  City, State, Zipcode. Thank you. Sincerely, Jane Doe.”

Sadly the gentleman who sent us the first 5 emails with long subjects and no body to the email and no formality has caused himself to appear very immature. He has made us question his ability to be professional. He has made us question his ability to clearly communicate since he sent so many short emails in a few minutes of time, which came across as stream of consciousness rather than thought out communication. Having never met this gentleman, he has already set himself up negatively in the minds of the professionals in our office who interview and select interns. At this point, even if he has an amazing application the chances of him being accepted as an intern in our facility are almost non-existent because his initial impression has been so unprofessional.

Internships are very competitive. You want to put your best foot forward from the very beginning. Don’t forget that an email is still a professional means of communication and the way you word and format your emails can and will reflect positively or negatively on you as a person and as a future employee. Take the time to clearly communicate your intentions and interest. Be sincere. Be respectful. Be professional. Finally, PLEASE PROOFREAD. Look back at what you wrote before you hit the send button. For that matter almost everything typed has spellcheck these days, so use it. Make sure you used proper english - punctuation, capitalization, full sentences, spelling. Don’t let a poorly constructed email be the reason you are passed over for a job you really want.

One more example, because we are human and sometimes we rush things and make mistakes. We once got an email inquiry that was very well thought out, except the young woman wrote that she was interested in the internship at SITE and the site she listed was a different facility than ours. We got a response less than five minutes later that said, “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I sent that without reading it first. My apologies. I am interested in the internship at your facility, FACILITY NAME. I didn’t take the time to proofread until after I hit send. I apologize for my mistake. — This was actually okay. It acknowledged the mistake she made, it showed she was accepting responsibility for said mistake. It also showed that she did pay attention to what she sent; she noticed she made a mistake and she made immediate actions to correct that mistake. Problem solving skills at work.

In conclusion, when inquiring about emails don’t put the entire message in the subject line. Construct the email in the same way you would format a professional cover letter. If you don’t know how to do that, google it, there are templates for professional communication letters. Use a concise but clear subject line. Use proper greetings and formal closing. Think about what you want to say, and put it in the body of the email. Read through it before you hit send. Be professional in your initial communication with prospective internship sites. That first inquiry is what is giving us our first impression of you. Make it a good one. Present yourself positively.

Professionalism and Initial Presentation of Self

This is a first post in what I assume will turn into an ongoing series of opinions and insights for MT students, or recent grads working on networking, applying to internships, looking for jobs, etc.  This particular post is about professionalism with presenting information about yourself in a networking situation. It stems from an experience of some friends and coworkers at a recent MT conference. If you want to be taken seriously when passing out a “business card” there are right and wrong ways to do it. It is wonderful if you are creative and want to design your own personal information cards to present to internship directors and future colleagues and cohorts, however no matter how cute your construction paper hand made cards are, they will end up making you look somewhat immature. If you do choose to go that route make sure that you are cutting straight lines. If you REALLY want to draw/color your own business cards, you may want to start by going to Target/Walmart/Office Max/Staples etc and purchase the Avery (or generic equivalent) business card sheets. They are convenient in that they are perforated so you just pop them out and then you have straight edges and uniform sizes. While you are at it though, it also comes with a website and information on how to design your own cards using the computer/internet. If you have an ink jet printer, you can print out your business cards without the use of glitter or glue. The information will be legible as it will be typed, and they look like you could have possibly special ordered them or had them printed professionally. Believe me, I’ve printed my own networking business cards this way many times. You can scan in a designed logo or image, or you can select from their print-art options and backgrounds. The Business card sheets also tell you how to print them properly so everything is aligned well. There are also some lovely business card websites that will let you order professionally designed cards where the first 100 are free. 

How did this topic come to mind? A friend of mine was at a conference and spoke to a lovely young woman who is a music therapy student during the internship fair as my friend is the director of an internship program and the supervising MT in the facility at which we both work. The student then presented my friend with a personal information/business card (actually a good idea if you want the internship director to send you a packet if they don’t have any at the fair or if they have run out when you get there). The card however was homemade, It was an almost square (unevenly cut) piece of construction paper, with a printed out white colored printer paper with her typed information on it glued to the construction paper. It had a glitter design drawn on it as well, hearts to be exact. That is super adorable if you are in elementary or middle school and giving your phone number and address to your new best friend so that she can send you an invitation to her birthday party. However, this is a faux pas of professionalism. She made herself look immature, or not entirely serious about her future, and that is not the impression you want to make on a prospective internship director or professional contact. Her faux pas will now serve as an example to my friend’s current interns and practicum students of how NOT to present yourself when seeking a job or engaging in professional networking.  General rule of thumb in the adult world, always avoid glitter on a business card. No one likes everything in their wallet to come out covered in glitter because of your card. 

While on the topic of networking and professionalism, here's another example stemming from an interaction my friend had with a different prospective intern she met during the internship fair. My coworker gave this student our brochure for our program which included her email address as the director of the internship. When she arrived back to work on Tuesday she had received an email from this student she had talked to at the internship fair. It said something along the lines of, “Dear first name of internship director, My name is insert name of student. I met you at the internship fair. It was nice to meet you at conference. I really liked insert names of seminars or occurrences from conference. Did you have fun? What was your favorite part? I hope you had a safe drive home. I know it’s kind of a long drive. If you want to you should totally friend me on facebook.  -Name of student.”  
As in the previous example,  this student’s thought process was in the right place, just not presented in a professional way. It is excellent to follow up with new contacts particularly if you are interested in applying for a position with them in the future, such as in the case of a prospective intern. However, her general email was not appropriately professional. A more appropriate follow up might have said something along the lines of, Dear Ms/Mr/Dr. + Last Name of recipient, I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with you about the internship program offered at Name of facility/program. You answered many of the questions I had about the intern experience and what to expect from your program. Thank you for the application materials OR I would like to request application materials. (depending on whether you got application materials or just a brochure on the program.) I look forward to applying to your internship as I feel it could be a good fit for me and my future career goals. Regardless of whether I am given the opportunity to intern with you in the future, I would like to maintain contact with you for professional networking/I would like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. Thank you for your time.  Sincerely, Name of student.  (Okay, so that’s probably not a perfect example of a follow up email, but it's an improvement) In general, with a follow up, you probably don’t want to greet them by a first name this early in your professional relationship. You definitely don’t want to tell them to find you on facebook. Not a professional networking site (that being said there are professional groups/pages on facebook where MTs go to network, but for a future job, I’d probably steer clear of facebook.) Don’t ask personal questions if you don’t personally know the individual you are emailing. Always re-read your professional networking emails and make sure they actually read as professional. Have a friend or trusted MT professor read through it and tell you if it’s appropriate if you aren’t sure. You don’t want the reason you do not get offered an internship to be because you presented yourself as immature or unprofessional early on in the process. 

Remember these first impressions really do matter, and you don’t want to be remembered in a negative way because of a silly mistake with a business card or an awkward email. Prove that you understand professional and ethical boundaries and appropriate business etiquette. 

Finally, I'd like to share a potentially lesser known action that makes you stand out it a good way. After you go to an interview, Send a thank you card to the internship director immediately following. It shows that you appreciated the time they took to consider you and gives you a chance to give one more final positive and professional impression before they make their decision. Same goes for job interviews. My internship supervisor told me this, if they are undecided between two prospective interns and one sends a thank you card and the other doesn’t, then 99% of the time they are going to choose the one who sent the card because it shows how much they really do want it.  It's an easy enough way to make a lasting impression and get just a little bit ahead of your competition.