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Expand your skill set – or just have fun!

As UW postdocs, you are eligible to take classes at the UW. This can be a great way to expand your skills or knowledge base, explore a new discipline or research method, or just take a course of personal interest to you. We often talk about “making the most of your postdoc experience” while here at the UW. The rich array of courses offered here is one such way to accomplish this objective. Take a look at your IDP (you review yours regularly, right?). Do you have research goals, career goals or personal goals that would benefit from a class? UW employees are eligible for up to six credits of tuition-free courses per quarter, though some Schools and Colleges do not accept tuition waivers. While you already have an advanced degree and may not even need these courses to be included on your transcript, some course instructors prefer to have you registered in the course so they can expect full participation. Reach out to faculty who are teaching classes you are interested in and ask them if they are open to you auditing, sitting in or registering for the class. 

If you are registering, here are the steps:

  • Apply for non-matriculated student status. Active student status is required for you to register for courses. To apply to be a first-time or returning non-matriculated (not seeking a degree) student under the tuition exemption program, complete the online Non-Matriculated Application For Tuition Exemption. This application requires payment of a $80 non-refundable application fee.
  • Complete a tuition exemption form online.
  • Enroll through MyUW. If you are using tuition exemption, you will not be able to enroll until three days into the quarter. Always communicate with the faculty early if you are interested in a course. 

For J-1 scholars, you need to inquire with the International Scholars Operations (ISO) regarding the possibility of receiving credits for classes. As long as registering for classes doesn’t interfere with your exchange program requirement, it is possible. J-1 postdocs have successfully signed up for one to two credits in the past, but it’s on a case-by-case basis. Since as a J-1 scholar you are working full-time to satisfy your requirements, taking more credits can be difficult. You should also work with your home department HR to determine your tuition waiver benefits. H1-B visa holders do not have such restrictions on taking classes.

You can always track classes you have audited, or trainings you’ve taken at conferences (like pre-courses) in your “Further Education and Training” section in your resume or CV.  The OPA thanks Postdoc Fellow Dr. Shiyun Cao for sharing these steps with us to pass along to other postdocs.

Networking is Relationship-Building

In past newsletters, we have encouraged you to build your network of support. This includes growing mentorship connections with peers, faculty and university staff, as well as developing your network of professional, social and community support off campus. Yet we often hear from graduate students and postdocs that although they know that building networks is crucial to success, the “how” isn’t readily apparent at times.

Below are some ways for you to consider networking as a process of relationship-building:

Relationship-building. Networking is about cultivating relationships (short- and long-term); it’s not just a means to an end so you can land an internship, job or access information about upcoming research or professional opportunities. If you approach networking solely as a means to fulfill your own goals, the connections are less meaningful and they will be harder to sustain. Focus on connecting with people you are genuinely curious about, and let the conversations unfold.

Mutuality. Approach each networking relationship through the lens of reciprocity. For example, just as you hope to learn wisdom and insights from individuals who work in fields that pique your interests, individuals within your network can be inspired by your passion and curiosity. If you have questions, you can trust that others do as well. Even experienced mentors need to think through intellectual or work-related questions, and they can arrive at new understandings by learning from your talents and capacities as a mentee.

Cohort mindset. Think of networking as a lifelong process, where you increasingly make connections within a social web of intellectual, professional and community-based relationships. Growing your network decreases your isolation while optimizing your peer and mentor support. For example, depending on where you are now, you may form a writing group, or career exploration group, so you do not have to pursue these typically solo activities in isolation. Over time, opportunities for you to pay-it-forward will undoubtedly open up.

Adaptability. When you’re in the thick of setting and completing immediate goals, it can be difficult to think about where you plan to be in the next five years. Building and sustaining quality networking relationships can increase your chances of responding to future changes (stressful or otherwise) in your field or industry with flexibility, while decreasing your likelihood of making reactive professional decisions. If there is a tough problem you need to solve, individuals in your network can support you by offering multiple perspectives, lend you a compassionate ear so you can weather the storm, and keep you grounded by reminding you of your purpose.

Many thanks to Kemp Battle, Michaela Duffy, and Julia Freeland Fisher for consulting with Core Programs on ideas related to networking.

As always, we hope these strategies are helpful, and let us know what works for you!

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Writing Resources & Techniques for Grad Students

Recently we’ve received several letters from students struggling with writing. Students tell us they struggle with focusing on competing projects, managing nebulous deadlines and distilling complicated ideas to in a clear and concise way.

As Your Grad School Guide, I know can be difficult to find motivation and avoid procrastination when faced with such writing projects.

Whether you’re developing a thesis or dissertation, or writing essays for a class, there are a number of resources at the UW for support. Here are some ideas of services to access on campus, and tips for developing as a more productive and effective writer.

Campus-based resources:

Looking for ways to beat procrastination or improve your writing on your own? Here are a few ideas:

  • The Pomodoro method. Work in 25 minute increments with short breaks in between sessions. This can help you avoid distractions and get down to business. This technique can help academics make the most of their limited writing time.
  • Develop a strategic writing plan. Ph.D. student Nue Lee details in this blog post how she plans for effective writing sessions. Lee’s plans include daily writing and scheduling blocks of time for writing in her calendar. Your strategic writing plan may differ based on your schedule and needs.
  • Consult a style guide. William Zinsser’s On Writing Well may be a good place to start for insight or inspiration.

What if you’ve tried any combination of these resources and techniques, and nothing has helped. What should you do?

  • Reflect on the things that you’ve tried so far. Did one or two of them help you manage distractions or write more effectively, even a little bit? Of the things that helped a little, what did they have in common?
  • Try dictating your ideas to a trusted friend or a recording device before even bringing pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. It may help take some of the anxiety out of the process and allow you to get your ideas out.
  • In some cases, difficulty with productivity in writing and research may be related to other factors, including anxiety or worry. If you think this applies to you, please seek support from a writing tutor, academic advisor or counselor at the Counseling Center.

Any questions? Feel free to shoot me an email.

Happy Writing,

Your Grad School Guide

Ask Your Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If your Guide doesn’t know the answer, you Guide seeks out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: your Guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Ask your Guide a question >

Postdoc Well-being

As postdocs, you are much more than just researchers, scholars and scientists. You are whole people, with families, personal commitments and a full spectrum of interests. The academy sometimes focuses on your intellectual contributions alone. Evidence now shows we do our best work if we have plenty of sleep, connect with others and have breaks for play and other “offline” activities to reset our minds.

The January 2019 issue of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s publication, ASBMB Today, is dedicated to Wellness. Several authors wrote in their tips for maintaining wholeness while doing the challenging work of being a postdoc. Take stock of where you are now. According to the Gallup Wellbeing to Work scales, feeling solid in these five domains can make a difference to your work productivity (For a well-written explanation and example of this, read Craig, 2019, Finding the help you need):

  • Purpose well-being: Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
  • Social well-being: Having strong and supportive relationships and love in your life
  • Financial well-being: Effectively managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
  • Community well-being: The sense of engagement you have with the areas where you live, liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
  • Physical well-being: Having good health and enough energy to get things done on a daily basis

For you as post-docs, it may be very difficult to feel solid in most of these categories without considerable effort. And your feelings about these categories may change day-to-day. At the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, we recommend reaching out, finding people around you (in or out of the UW) who have shared interests, and putting YOURSELF on your calendar each day, even for 30 minutes.

Our OPA team contributed to a piece on holistic mentoring to the ASBMB Wellness issue. The piece includes a guide to asking expansive questions; Given the roles you play as mentors to students and others around you, you may find this helpful. Let us know what you think — we welcome your feedback!

In the meantime, it is 2020 National Mentoring Month, so take a moment to thank someone who has been a mentor to you over the past few years. We certainly recognize you and the valuable role you play as mentors at UW and beyond, and we thank you. Even as you are serving others, you must continue to take care of yourselves. 

Your Grad School Guide: Developing leadership skills

Hi, reader! We are excited to announce that going forward, this column will no longer be called “the Grad School Guide” and is now “Your Grad School Guide.” Our new name reflects that while the blog is written by a single, anonymous author, we are culling information from sources across the UW to provide you with the best advice and resources. 

Everything else will stay the same. When you submit a question anonymously to Your Guide, you can still opt to receive a personalized response that will not be shared with anyone else. The methods of submitting a question, the kinds of questions answered and our dedication to providing you with resources and support to thrive in grad school will remain the same. Happy asking! 

How do I get into a leadership position? I am returning to graduate school after nearly two decades in the workforce in assistant positions. I am ready to move upward in my career, if someone will just give me a chance. I am afraid that even when I graduate, I will still be seen as only qualified for assistant roles. Please help, any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
–Anonymous 

This blog post was developed based on input from Dr. Bruce Avolio, Mark Pigott Chair in Business Strategic Leadership. 

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to your Grad School Guide! I am excited that you are looking to take on leadership roles in your work and I hope I can give you some advice to help you get there.

I have lots of tips and ideas in store for you, but I also want to encourage you to reach out to folks at your campus Career Center or an advisor within your department. They may have additional ideas that are more tailored to your needs within your discipline and career. I’ll list the contacts for the career centers at the end of this post. Your department’s website will have more information about your graduate program advisor or graduate program coordinator.

I asked Bruce Avolio, professor at The Foster School of Business and director for the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking, about what makes a good leader. Dr. Avolio says “there are successful leaders without these qualities, but the prototypical leader that most people highly respect have many of the following”:

Personal qualities:

  1. Open to new and different experiences and perspectives. Has a global mindset.
  2. Attitude: positive, hopeful, optimistic and humble.
  3. Authentic and has a strong moral identity. This means acting in a moral and ethical way and being just, highly self-aware of how you impact others, and transparent. Willing to take hard stands on important issues.

Orientation to work:

  1. Motivated to lead! This means you are interested in influencing others and spending the time to learn how to do so. Motivation to lead is usually a starting point for leadership.
  2. Work ethic: conscientious, proactive, resilient and efficacious.
  3. Able to suspend judgment and gather more data before coming to conclusions.
  4. Willing to sacrifice self-interests for the good of the larger group.
  5. Future-oriented in terms of goals and objectives.

Interactions with others:

  1. Empathetic and understanding. Can take other people’s points of view
  2. Builds trust and goodwill by being consistent and following through
  3. Uses positional power in socially constructive ways
  4. Intellectually stimulating and encourages others to see different scenarios, assumptions and different world views
  5. A good steward

Here are some of Your Guide’s ideas for developing these skills:

  1. Identify individuals you respect in current leadership roles and even previous leaders. Observe these people and read about them to see how they show up for leadership and how they treat others, what they focus on, their core values and beliefs, their role models and mentors, etc. (This task is directly from Dr. Avolio!)
  2. Practice being empathetic to a coworker, peer, teacher or someone else.
  3. Reflect on your morals and values. You may find journaling, doodling or list-writing helpful with this. Think about what you care about and how these values will inform your leadership.
  4. Take a class in active listening.
  5. Join a Registered Student Organization (see links below) and take a leadership position within the club. If you don’t find a club that suits your interests, start your own!
  6. Volunteer with a local non-profit in a position that allows you to flex your leadership skills
  7. Look for opportunities (formal or informal) to mentor an undergraduate student in your field.
  8. Read a book written by someone with a different background or identity from your own to broaden your perspective.

Phew! There are a lot of ideas here, but if you pick only one and set an intentional goal to work on it this year, I am confident you’ll make astounding progress!

Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself! Starting grad school is a big, important step in taking more leadership roles. Celebrate the things that you are already doing to advance your career and put some trust in your process.

Sincerely,

Your Grad School Guide

Resources:

SACNAS

STEM graduate students talk about impact of student group SANCAS, which will receive this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award.

Investing in Career Exploration

Happy New Year, and welcome to the start of winter quarter! We hope you set aside time during the break to relax, to have fun, and to acknowledge the milestones you’ve achieved in grad school thus far, no matter how big or small. We know that the first week of the quarter can feel overwhelming. Even so, we encourage you to be proactive about career exploration and carve out just one hour (or even 30 minutes) per week to invest in your future.

Explore your options. Whether you’re just beginning to think about a career path, committed to landing that ultimate dream job, or considering a few professions — taking a step back to assess your professional skills and interests will help you affirm or concretely identify your options. Assessments can help you reflect on questions like, “Does the mission of the organization I would like to work for resonate with my values?,” “What am I looking for in a job or career?,” or “What skills do I bring to the job I am applying to, and what competencies would I like to gain if I were hired?” Below are just a few career assessments and resources to get you started.

– Self-Assessment: Values
– Identify Your Strengths
– Graduate Student Professional Skills and Competencies Checklist
– Career Preparation Toolkit for Grad Students and Postdocs

Expand your connections. One of the most important aspects of successful career planning is building your professional network. You can grow your network by meeting individuals at conferences, joining professional associations and attending social and community events. Individuals in your network are invaluable for a number of reasons. They can share first-hand information about what it’s like to work in their professions and industries. They can impart job search insights (e.g. You could ask them, “If you were entering the field now, what would you do differently to prepare for your career?”). They can refer you to potential employment opportunities that you can apply to now or in the future (note: Did you know that 70–80 percent of jobs are not officially posted anywhere?). Check out these informational resources on networking.

– Career Conversations (aka “informational interviews”)
– An Introvert’s Guide to Networking
– How to Network at Events

Embark on identifying and building your skills. Career exploration also entails being able to identify and develop your professional skills whether you are master’s or doctoral student. As outstanding UW graduate students, you are already honing a range of transferable skills that you can utilize in future careers. Take an inventory of the skills you have gained from past and current jobs and volunteer experiences so you can tailor your resume or CV for specific job applications. If there are skills you’d like to develop, and you can dedicate the time, consider being a volunteer or intern at organizations that pique your interests. If you haven’t done so already, join Handshake, the UW’s online job and internship database.
We hope these career exploration strategies work for you — and don’t forget to connect with your campus’ career center for additional support and resources.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Lauren Fine: Talking politics with family (and not losing your cool)

Lauren Fine“Listen, and listen more than you talk,” says Lauren Fine, a doctoral student studying political communication at the interpersonal level. It’s good advice, generally, but it’s especially prudent if you’re struggling to discuss politics with family or friends at holiday gatherings.

If you’re engaged in political discussion with close others in close spaces, “try to ask questions to understand not just what your family members think, but why they think that,” and understand the core values motivating their beliefs, Lauren says.

“We like to think we’re these very rational creatures, but we’re not,” she explains. “We have emotional, value-based reasons behind our beliefs. I’ve found if you can get someone to tell you about their values, it’s a lot easier to understand their beliefs.”

Another strategy for communicating with family in political discussion is to use “I” language instead of “you” language.

“In my research about political communication on Facebook, the conversations that are the most volatile are the ones where people say things like, ‘How could you think this?!’ And, ‘You’re so wrong!’,” Lauren says. Conversations tend to be more civil when people focus on telling their story, instead of telling the other person why they’re wrong. “It’s a less conflict-based approach, and more about having a conversation, because you’re family, or you’re friends, and you care about each other,” she says.

Finally, Lauren reminds you to keep some perspective. “Your family’s and friend’s political beliefs are not the only thing about them,” she says. “I think it’s easy for us to get caught up in the moment and let political disagreements ruin our holiday because we’re just so frustrated with someone.” This doesn’t mean to avoid politics all together — it can be constructive to engage in these discussions — but don’t let political conversation dominate your holiday.

Even if you don’t convince anyone to believe as you do, these conversations can still be constructive. That’s because “once your friends and family know you think differently than they do, chances are they’re going to be more open to seeing that somebody who believes differently from them is not necessarily a bad person,” Lauren says.

She relates this to the theory in political communication of “the spiral of silence,” which occurs when people think everyone else believes a certain way, so they don’t express their view, even if they think differently from the perceived-norm. There may be other people who hold the same dissenting view, but that view is never aired.

“I think this is a natural human tendency,” Lauren says, “but I think it’s something we should try to combat.” By expressing your political view — even if it may be unpopular among your family and friends — you can help break the spiral of silence, and that can make people more open to sharing and hearing different opinions in the future, she says.

Heading for the Finish Line

Whether you are enrolled in your very first quarter, or entering your third or more year of graduate study at the UW, the fall is always a busy time for meeting project deadlines, fulfilling work obligations, and taking care of family and community. We know you are looking forward to a well-deserved break. As you work through this week and the next, consider trying out the following strategies in order to help you finish the quarter on the right foot.

Protect your time. One way to stay on track during these last few weeks is to set boundaries with how you spend your time. Block out time slots you know you have to honor, such as hard deadlines for school, work, and family. Hold off on scheduling meetings and appointments that can realistically be postponed for a few weeks or more. Prioritize time in your daily schedule for short breaks away from your work space, to get some water, and for wellness and stress management activities that meet your particular needs.

Reach out for support. Every now and then life totally happens and we fall behind on papers and projects. Rather than spend time worrying about the possible outcomes of not turning in a final project, we encourage you to be proactive by asking your professor for an extension. You can do this by drafting an email to your professor. Briefly state why you are behind (e.g. family emergency, personal illness, need more guidance on understanding key concepts). Include any questions you may still have about the project. Finally, include a concrete plan for turning in your project in a reasonable amount of time. Have a peer proofread it before you click the send button. You could also have an in-person conversation with your professor during their office hours: just bring a draft of your project completion plan to help guide your conversation. More often than not, you will find that your professor is understanding and will work with you.

Reward yourself with self-care. It can all feel like one big blur after you’ve completed all your work for the quarter. We truly hope you dedicate time during the break to participate in activities that support you in feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and centered. This can include reading a non-academic book, cooking for yourself or loved ones, hiking or zumba, or catching up on episodes of your favorite tv show. You’ve earned the time to just be!

We hope these tips resonate with you, and have a wonderful break!

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School