I'm comforted to know I'm not the only one! It seems like such a weird problem to have, as it's not that I'm particularly nervous in these situations. Tonight I was at a book fair and I wanted the assistant to help me find something. He kept helping other customers even though I'd been waiting longe...

Congrats. Best of luck.

Ability to work well with others - not to dominate, not to be too reticent, able to draw out people who aren't speaking much and to help discussion flow in a constructive way, willing to consider alternative points of view, astute listening skills, able to stay focused on the task, etc. I've facilit...

I have an interview that will involve a group task, and my heart sank into my boots when I saw this on the letter. Whenever I've done groupwork with strangers I have found that people often talk over me just as I'm speaking, so I struggle to contribute my share. Friends have told me that I'm more so...

The frustration that shortlisters feel is an interesting one. I've felt it myself, I got so annoyed recently with some AP applications. When reflecting on it, I struggled to work out what was behind that frustration. I wonder if it's because I hear people complain about it being so hard to get a po...

As someone who is very much struggling to get an Assistant Psychologist or equivalent. I understand that shortlisting can be arduous and there are probably many applicants that have only taken 5 minutes to submit a generic application, but among those applicants there are many that are trying reall...

Congrats nomnom. I hope you've updated your work email signature. ;) 1.) My flight was delayed by seven hours and didn't take off until nearly five o'clock in the morning. The delay was the same length as the flight itself. My bed has never looked so lovely and cosy. 2.) Hell-flight aside, I had a g...

I wonder if this contributes to the lack of diversity in psychology? These soft skills are exactly the kind of thing a grammar/private school and Russell group University teach you. It must be hard(er) to catch a break if no one has ever taught you how to write a good covering letter / personal sta...

Ugh, Geishawife, your poor dogs. :( I hope they're OK. Your father-in-law, too. That child's behaviour is hardly the best advert for his parents' theories... Speaking of rubbish theories, today I met some parents who have bought into some very expensive and non-evidence-based programme to "treat" dy...

1.) I have an interview invitation for a research fellowship in a wonderful department and lovely city. :shock: I feel a bit dazed. I didn't expect to get an interview, as my research interests don't quite fit the brief they set out in the advert. I emailed them to ask if they could consider me anyw...

Thank you both. At first it felt as if I had no real right to grieve - I'm not part of this child's family, I'm not a friend of theirs, and I haven't even seen the child in a few years - and I've also been wondering where it all went wrong, and if things could have been handled differently. I'm tryi...

1.) A move to Australia might be on the cards. :shock: I've got through the first stage of the application process for an academic post there. 2.) I will need to live in a hot air balloon and rappel into work every day in order to avoid the spiders with which the place seems to be infested. Either t...

Recently I discovered that a young person I supported in a CAMHS inpatient ward died by suicide. Even though it's been a while since I saw this young person, they made a big impression on me, and from time to time I've wondered how they were getting on. I was there on the day they were discharged, a...

The best general advice I can think of is to make sure you emphasise a.) an understanding of the service and the particular needs and challenges its clients might face and b.) what you can bring to the service, based on your existing skills and knowledge. Don't talk much about what you want to gain ...

I've quite often been mistaken for a doctor by both patients and staff, and if anything, my own style of dress is on the scruffy side. :oops: (It's not deliberate - I just can't seem to stay uncrumpled and put together for longer than five minutes at a time!) It may not be your clothes at all. Whene...