Application Process Tip #5

Get into the habit of updating your resume on a regular basis.  It's hard to look back on former volunteer opportunities, jobs, and internships and remember your exact dates of service, duties and the job description.  I've found that it's much easier to talk about your experiences while they are happening rather than try to look back and remember the details.  I've also found it helpful to save copies of the job description to help narrow down the most important bullet points to highlight on your resume regarding your contribution to the job or volunteer project.

Also, don't be afraid to ask your friends and family if you can see their resumes to get different formatting and style ideas.  There are a million different ways to write a resume so look at others and use the internet to find a style that you like.  Just make sure it's concise and to the point.  A quick tip within a tip: if you have a previous career and/or a lot of other job experiences that are not very relevant to the position that you are applying for, it's ok to put "selected employment" on your resume and to highlight those positions that are most relevant to your current field.  I did this on my internship applications without a problem. 

Finally, Your resume is also one aspect of the dietetic internship application process that you can clean up and pretty much get ready to go way in advance which makes for one less thing you have to compile during the application process.

I wish I knew that...#1

These posts will all be about things I wish I knew when I was going through the application process.  Here's #1.

Good news!  The American Dietetic Association offers some scholarships for dietetic interns.  The deadline for these is February each year which is also when the application deadline falls for the dietetic internship program.  I was so busy working on my internship applications that I did not discover these scholarships until it was too late and the deadline had passed.  Make sure you check these out ahead of time and apply if you meet the criteria.  I'm sure that a lot of students are like me and don't find out about these opportunities until it's too late.

Application Process Tip #4

Document all of your "experience hours".  Record your hours, jot down important notes and take photos of any relevant volunteer or work experience.  I looked into applying to a program that wanted to see 1,000 hours of documented, relevant nutrition experience from their applicants.  I recommend using a simple Excel spreadsheet to track your hours and don't forget to take photos!  Some programs also want to see a creative portfolio of your work.  Finally, even if you end up applying to programs that do not have these requirements, you will find the log and the photos to be helpful for you to review before you interview so that your experiences are fresh in your mind and you can use them as examples of your work.

Application Process Tip #3

1       Ask your references early!  For me this was one of the most stressful parts of the application because once you ask them to write your reference it's out of your control.  Your application is not complete until all references are submitted and they have to meet the same deadline that you do.  You want to make sure that you ask those that can be good references for you but many programs have stipulations regarding who they want to see as your references.  You need to have 3 references and some programs require that two of the three be professors or advisers from your program.  I asked all of my references immediately after the application became available which was in early December.  This way they had about two full months to get online and fill out my recommendation.  I also made sure to ask before Winter Break (before most students did) so that my professors would have that time off to do my reference if they wanted to.  Even then I still had one reference that waited until what felt like the last minute (I think it was actually during the last week) to submit hers.   

Application Process Tip #2

1       Save $$!  My husband and I were fortunate enough to have renters living in our house for about a year and a half.  We knew that this internship was coming up and that we would have to plan for not only my tuition costs (most programs are $6,000+) as well as my lost income (many programs say that it is difficult to work while doing your internship).  An important note, Dietetic Interns are NOT eligible for the traditional student loans.  There is also a cost associated with the application process.  There is an application fee that must be sent to each program (usually $30-$80 depending on the program) plus a matching fee of $50 and a DICAS fee for each online application that you complete ($40 for the first program, $20 for each additional).  I applied to six programs so the application process alone cost almost $500!

Application Process Tip #1

          Start early! I began looking at the ADA's list of accredited dietetic internship programs the summer before I intended to apply.  I knew that I wanted a program with a community based focus so this website helped me to identify which programs were out there, where they were located and how much they would cost.  I began narrowing down my list of programs that I was interested in applying to based on the program focus, the location, cost of tuition and length and structure of the program.  Some programs also have information sessions and opportunities to come visit.  By the time fall semester started I had a pretty good idea of which programs I wanted to apply to. 

Introduction

As my "about me" states, I am a recent graduate of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics program at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado.  I will be beginning a 10 1/2 month dietetic internship in August.  I started this blog to act as a diary of sorts in order to chronicle my experiences as a dietetic intern.  I'm also hoping to use my blog to help other students who are going through the internship application process.  I found the entire process to be overwhelming at times and I'm hoping that my experiences can help others to avoid some of the mistakes I made and to feel a little less stress during their application period.  I welcome any questions and comments and thanks for reading!