Postdocs, Take Stock of Your Skills!

As the season turns to fall, it’s a good reminder to check in with how your career preparation is going. In past newsletters, we have shared tips and resources about career exploration, self-assessments, informational interviews, assessing readiness for academic careers and other elements that are so essential to the career preparation process. Regardless of your next job, it can help you to spend time reflecting on skills, competencies and unique strengths you’ve developed through graduate school and during your postdoc fellowship training.

You have developed skills that are valuable to your next employer, whether you are going into an academic career or seeking a position in other sectors. And you have developed skills and strengths whether you know it or not! It can help in your process, particularly if you are experiencing self-doubt or imposter syndrome when it comes to the job search (we all experience this!), to have a former co-worker or current team member give you feedback on what they see as your unique strengths and contributions to the team. Here are just a few examples of how accomplishments that may feel routine as part of your extensive training really are giving you great skills:

Completion of your Ph.D. or a postdoc project requires you to become skilled in project management, leadership and organizational skills. You are responsible for setting and meeting deadlines, reporting on results to your PI and mentors and building new collaborations as your project evolves and new questions arise. It’s also likely you’ve organized a department speaker series, hosted an outside speaker or helped to organize a conference. These activities reflect a range of skills that many positions in diverse sectors will appreciate.

You are comfortable presenting your work, which is likely very complex and technical, to a variety of audiences. Through your training, you’ve learned to ‘read the room’ and present your ideas at an appropriate level. In a research group meeting, you can be very technical. Conversely, when describing your work to your family and friends, you likely use more generalities. You’ve learned to use the power of persuasion to convince funding agencies to support your work, for your committee to move you towards graduation, to set strategic visions for your project and to motivate other team members. These skills are invaluable both inside and outside of the academy.

You have learned to make progress even when not all of the information is known. The most exciting projects are the ones with outcomes that are unknown but once figured out, lead to new questions and avenues to explore. This requires comfort with ambiguity: the definition of a graduate and postdoc experience. Often times, the whole picture is unknown when you start a project, but you figure it out as you go along. Your ability to think on your feet, to manage stress, and to tolerate change is remarkable and should be highlighted.

A more expansive list of skills and competencies can be found here: (1) Professional Skills and Competency Checklist, (2) Core Competencies Self-Assessment Checklist, (3) UW OPA blog on transferable skills. By reviewing these common capabilities upon which employers evaluate applications, you can determine which skills you have already developed, and more importantly, identify those that need further attention before you feel fully qualified for a job. Also, remember that if a posting matches your skills by roughly 75 percent, it’s a good idea to go ahead and apply (see The Muse). Employers often identify all the traits an ideal candidate will have; however, most don’t fit the bill 100 percent. If you’re close, go ahead and apply! You are ready for your next professional adventure.

Moving Past Perfectionism Into Wholeness

In this newsletter, we want to continue building on ways to cope with perfectionism by adding a few more ideas and strategies in support of your health and wellness as graduate students. Consider trying these out, and see what might work for you:

Feeling anxious. Often, perfectionism goes hand in hand with feeling anxious. For example, you may be pre-occupied with negative thoughts such as “I will never be good enough.” This is especially prevalent in academia where it can appear as though everyone else has gotten it all figured out. To manage this, try re-focusing your anxious thoughts and instead say to yourself, “I am working on this project one task at a time, and that is good enough.” Or “I don’t always have to be on top of things,” or even “My overall worth as a person is not defined by being an ‘excellent student’.” We know this is easier said than done, and yet just like with any life-long wellness strategy, it will take consistent, regular practice and setting yourself up with a wellness accountability partner or two.

Fearing failure. Ever spend too much time over-thinking and re-writing the same paragraph without going any further on a paper draft? Us too. Sometimes it’s fear of failure that keeps us stuck in a perfectionistic rut. Just like with any project, a way to move past getting stuck on writing is to set realistic and manageable goals for yourself. For example, rather than spending too much time on a single paragraph, try non-stop free writing for 15 minutes. While you are free writing, notice any perfectionistic feelings or thoughts but resist responding to or internalizing them. Stay engaged in your 15 minutes of writing, then take a five minute break. Then do another 15 minute round of writing; afterwards, you might have at least two paragraphs (and one or two ideas) to build your overall draft from. Doing manageable rounds of writing can help you see that you are making progress.

Resisting perfection. The stakes feel so high in grad school, especially when you feel like you are somehow “not smart enough”; when you are the first in your family to go to college let alone grad school; or when you don’t feel like you belong on campus. In these situations, you may feel the pressure to constantly prove yourself. Not only is this unrealistic and will impact your health in the long run: it is so far from the truth. While it’s important to be open to feedback from advisors and mentors in grad school so you can grow on intellectual and professional levels, it’s also important to let go of the need to be perfect for anyone. Mental health professional Ilene S. Cohen suggests several steps for letting go of perfection:

– Change your mindset. Resist the idea that you need to work hard in the hopes of gaining a person’s approval.
– Build self-reliance. Be open to failure and learn from trial and error.
– Learn to let go. Practice letting go of negative ideas you have about yourself.
– Make your own decisions. Trust in yourself to know what decisions are best for you.

Finally, working on undoing perfectionism also involves being in community. Reach out to trusted peers, loved ones and friends outside of academia, mentors and mental health professionals who can support your growth as a graduate student and your wellness as a whole person. Also, when you have the space and capacity to be supportive to your grad student peers, consider reaching out to let them know.

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Postdocs, Start on the Right Foot at UW!

The OPA had the pleasure of welcoming a group of new postdocs to the UW at our orientation on September 20, 2018. It was great to spend time with everyone at both the orientation and professional development sessions, as well as the Taco Bar to celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week. We truly value your role at the UW and want to help you achieve your professional and personal goals as you move toward an independent career.

For those who could not attend, or have maybe been at the UW for a bit but still have questions about resources and opportunities, we share some highlights of the resources and career development thoughts here:

The mission of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) is to holistically support postdocs throughout the UW. Our website provides resources for all aspects of your professional development: career exploration, skill building, writing productivity, grant writing, mentoring and support networks. In addition, you can schedule an appointment for a one-on-one discussion of your pathway to independence, strategies for managing conflict and career exploration.
The UW Postdoc Association (UWPA) works to establish and support a committed network of UW postdocs and provide professional support (e.g. career seminars, research symposium). The UWPA works to support postdoc parents with an innovative Postdoc Parent Group! Postdoc leaders are creating opportunities to improve postdoc experience at the UW.
A newly formed Diversity Postdoc Group is starting off this week, recruiting new members. Thanks again to postdoc leaders for stepping forward to create this group aiming to provide community building, mentoring and targeted professional development, and improve research and training culture. See announcement below for contacts and information on the first meeting.
If you are interested in an academic career, please look for upcoming announcements from the Future Faculty Fellows workshop and the Science Teaching Experience for Postdocs (STEP) program; both are open to all UW postdocs. We recommend attending the Future Faculty Fellows early in your postdoc experience as it helps you plan for your future.
The UW Career & Internship Center provides downloadable guidance documents focused on the job search for academic careers and diverse career pathways.
If you find yourself in a difficult situation and would like some advice, you likely know that you can reach out to your mentors, department chair and administrators, and us at the OPA. An additional resource is the Office of the Ombud, where you can receive confidential, neutral and informal guidance concerning job security, career advancement and research collaborations, and planning for difficult conversations.
The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) provides access to funding (e.g., KL2) and workshops focused on career development and grant writing.
Finally, when looking to unwind from a long day of research, make your way to the Intramural Activities Building (IMA) or the Waterfront Activities Center (WAC) where, for a reduced rate, you can access the pool, fitness classes, workout facilities, and boat rentals. There really is no cheaper gym membership in town, and they have a Gear Shed where you can check out outdoor gear for your next adventure.

We closed with a brief workshop sharing tools and strategies for making the most of your postdoc experience. It is important to start planning your career progression, build your mentor team (individuals that are invested in YOU), set goals that are attainable and specific, explore diverse career pathways, and learn how to network more effectively. There are some great planning tools that can help you, such as ImaginePhD.com. Importantly, be open to new ideas and don’t be afraid to jump in a new direction. Keep a look out for our OPA professional development programming and e-newsletters where we will take a deeper dive into: Effective Individual Development Plans; Pathway to Independence; Careers in Industry; Diversifying Your Funding Portfolio, and much more. We want you to enjoy your time as a postdoc at UW, so let us know how we can help you be successful and feel supported.

It’s the big 5-0 for GSEE!

In 1970, the Office for the Recruitment of Minority Graduate and Professional Students was established at UW. While GO-MAP* has undergone several name changes, it has always worked to improve access, support and well-being for underrepresented minority graduate students.

In academic year 2019-20, this amazing office turns 50! I have charged a planning committee to establish a year-long plan to recognize, celebrate and advance the extraordinary achievements of GO-MAP. The planning committee will develop programming, public events, communication campaigns and various other endeavors to mark this important anniversary. Here’s to 50 more brilliant years!

– Becky Aanerud
Interim Dean, Graduate School

*GO-MAP was the name of a program that is now called GSEE, the Office of Graduate Student Equity & Excellence. Learn more.

Learning to Let Go of Perfectionism in Grad School

I am a perfectionist by nature, but the professors have told us not to be that way in grad school. How do I shut it off? – Anonymous

Some of the content from this article was first published by Core Programs. It has been revised and updated.

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for writing in! I applaud your self-awareness to know that perfectionism is part of your nature and something that may keep you from putting your best foot forward in graduate school. Please know that you are not alone in struggling with perfectionism. The culture of academia tends to promote the notion that your work is always under the toughest scrutiny, leaving little room for error or work that may be rough around the edges.

Your professors are likely telling you to let go of perfectionism because that mindset is extremely difficult to sustain in graduate school. Let’s consider why that may be true. For some students, perfectionism may lead to staying up all night to finish a paper, which — especially when done repeatedly — may be detrimental to their emotional and physical health. Other students may set goals that are impossible to reach which may lead to procrastination, avoidance and feeling not good enough.

I encourage you to shift your thinking so you can acknowledge yourself as a whole person. Four thoughts below may give you ideas for how to approach your work differently:

Accept – Perfectionism reduces you to the sum of what you can and can’t accomplish. The reality is you can’t do it all, and you can’t do it all perfectly. Be concrete and intentional in your goal setting each quarter, so you can do work that is manageable and meaningful to you. Adjust your goals as you go so you know what is really possible to accomplish now, this weekend or this week.
Invite – Perfectionistic thinking distorts the way you perceive the quality of your work and can contribute to isolation. Instead of feeling like you have to buckle down and work harder, make time to ask peers, faculty advisors and colleagues to talk through your work with you and help you to clarify your ideas. Framing something as a “work-in-progress” can take some pressure off. Knowledge production is a process, not a product. Nobody just “gets there” from sheer self-determination.
Ground – Perfectionism can perpetuate obsessive thinking on school or work-related projects. Intentionally spend time with friends, family and community who know you are more than just a graduate or professional student. Your community can help remind you that you are a partner, sibling, parent, friend, artist, dancer, gamer, hiker… the list goes on and on.
Enough – Accepting “this is enough” means that you have done the best you could given the time, experience and resources available, and it is time to be done. It also means you are enough, just as you are. Remember that intellectual and professional development are constant processes that require supportive feedback, self-revision and personal growth over time; you won’t get there all at once, and that’s OK!

I hope this gives you some ideas of how to move forward. I also want to leave you with additional resources that some of your fellow grad students have found helpful:

The Battle Between Perfectionism and Productivity: A Ph.D. student gives some well-tested advice for figuring out why you are struggling with perfectionism and how to cope with it.

How to Overcome Perfectionism: This tool from an anxiety-awareness organization in Canada gives steps for recognizing and coping with perfectionism.

This’ll Do: Kelly Edwards, associate dean of Student and Postdoctoral Affairs in the Graduate School, explains her family’s saying “this’ll do” and why she has carried it into the workplace.

As well, if you are still feeling overwhelmed or simply want more specific strategies for coping with perfectionism, I encourage you to consider short-term counseling with the UW Counseling Center. Managing academic stress as well as moods and thoughts are all topics appropriate for short-term counseling, according to the Counseling Center.

All the best,

The Grad School Guide

Ask the 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 the guide doesn’t know the answer, the guide will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

5 Tips for Managing Your Time Wisely

Depending on your grad program, we know that you are busy with course work, teaching classes or writing your thesis or dissertation, while also fulfilling life and work responsibilities off campus. We see you and know how hard you are working! Below are time management strategies that we hope will be helpful as you work toward your goals in the coming weeks and months.

Review your time. It’s important to know exactly how you are spending your time, before coming up with a time management plan that works for you. Take note of what your usual distractions are: Facebook? Email? As you develop your schedule, create times where you can turn off those usual distractions. Save them for a break or reward at the end of a productivity session.

Schedule productivity. What times of the day or evening are you the most focused and ready to work, so you can study or write? Block out those times on your schedule, and do manageable chunks of work. For example, focus on reading or work on a paper non-stop for 25 minutes, then take a five minute break. This “Pomodoro” technique has been shown to help people make steady progress towards completing a project (hint: none of us can focus for four hour blocks!).

Set priorities. Time management doesn’t work if you have too much on your plate, so set priorities in order to have better control over your schedule: 1. Block out hard deadlines for things like final projects, conference presentations, funding or internship applications, etc. 2. Make incremental progress on long-term projects, while prioritizing other tasks with immediate deadlines. 3. Take stock; Are there some commitments you need to say “no” to, or “not right now”? It is OK to postpone certain activities or engagements — or even drop a class from a heavy course load — if the timing isn’t right for you.

Develop your system. After you have reviewed your time, identified the best times you are productive and set priorities, set up a calendar or task system that will work for you. Some students work well with online calendaring, while others prefer physical to-do lists. Some students usw both! The goal is to set something up that will help you use your time wisely each day and each week. Sometimes to-do lists can feel daunting, so choose two or three tasks you will accomplish each day, then enjoy the satisfaction of crossing them off your list once they are completed.

Fuel yourself. You are a whole person, not just a graduate student, so (let go of the guilt) and make space each week to spend quality time with friends and loved ones and to do your favorite re-fueling activities. Also, make getting enough sleep a priority as it will improve your focus, help you think creatively and ensure that you are your best self. Finally, when you complete a task (no matter how big or small), reward yourself by watching an episode of your favorite T.V. show, cooking yourself a nice meal, or having friends over for games night. Here are more examples of affordable ways to treat yourself.

Feel free to let us know what time management strategies work for you!

Best,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
UW Graduate School

Start Fall Quarter Off On the Right Foot!

To all graduate students across the tri-campus University of Washington community, we extend a warm welcome and welcome back! There is a definite buzz in the air, as everyone plans for grad school experiences, tasks and projects that lie ahead or are already in progress. And while we know that there will be demands on your time — including many opportunities to cultivate your interpersonal, academic and professional growth — we hope the following tips help you make the most of your grad school experiences in the coming weeks and months.

Acknowledge imposter syndrome (but don’t stop there). If you’re feeling that you’re somehow not smart enough or don’t have what it takes to succeed in graduate school, you are not alone. Many grad students experience what’s called imposter syndrome — feelings and self-talk that makes us doubt our sense of belonging, our strengths and talents, and our capabilities. And we can experience imposter syndrome in different ways, based on our various identities and backgrounds. But you know what? These doubts are simply not true. You are good enough, and you do belong here. Approach being in grad school like it’s a marathon, not a sprint, with goals and milestones that you can achieve one step at a time. Check out these tips for coping with imposter syndrome.

Connect with community. Being a grad student can feel isolating at times, especially when you have so many demands on your schedule. Yet this feeling of isolation doesn’t have to be the norm. Whether you are new to the UW or returning to your campus, seek out opportunities to build intellectual and professional relationships with peers both within and outside your department. You are also a whole person — not just a student — so we encourage you to allow space in your schedule to foster relationships with community beyond the UW based on your social and cultural identities, hobbies, faith or spirituality, and values.

One opportunity to connect with peers is at the Graduate Student Resource Fair on Seattle campus, scheduled for Thursday, October 18 (3–6 p.m.) in the HUB Lyceum and organized by the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS). Save the date and attend this event to learn about campus resources available to you and network with peers from across disciplines! If you’re staying for the reception, bring your ID and Husky ID. This event is open to all UW graduate and professional students.

Build a mentoring team. Invest the time to seek out and build your mentor team who can advise, guide and cheer you on as you work towards your academic, professional and interpersonal goals. We recommend that you build yourself a mentor team, because while no one mentor can support you on all levels, a team can. As this UW Graduate School resource page states, “While mentors can be faculty members, they can be your peers, advanced graduate students; departmental staff; retired faculty; faculty from other departments, colleges or universities; and professionals outside the university.” Having a mentoring team can make the difference between surviving or thriving in grad school. Check out these UW guides on finding the best mentors for you.

Best wishes on a great start to fall quarter!

Sincerely,

Core Programs—Office of Graduate Student Affairs
The Graduate School

Phase three of the job search: Assessing the job search strategies

Debunking myths about tenure-track positions

This week, the School of Medicine hosted a two-day Future Faculty Fellows workshop under the leadership of Drs. Chet Moritz and Rosana Risques. The panels and workshops addressed all elements of a successful academic faculty application package, including how to negotiate your first position. For the 90+ postdocs present, one of the more confusing sessions was the “money panel” where we discussed all the different ways you can get paid to be a faculty member (regardless of title).

Dr. Kelly Edwards joined Drs. Moritz and Risques to describe the variety of arrangements they had each been through, from Acting Instructor, Acting Assistant Professor or Research Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with a 50% component with tenure, and full Professor “without tenure for reasons of funding.”

As you can tell, faculty positions come in a number of varieties, each with different characteristics and expectations. As shown below, the time spent at each early stage is limited. Acting appointments are optional, and are there to give you time and support needed to build publication and funding track records that will help you compete successfully for a permanent faculty position.

What’s tenure mean, anyway? It means the University is making a permanent commitment to you for your faculty position. However, it does not mean that there is guaranteed and permanent funding with that position. Each of our UW departments has different components to the salary — often referred to as “A plus B”. Part of the salary (anywhere from just 10% up to 50-60-75%) is covered by “hard” money from the department or University; for the additional “soft” money component, the faculty member is expected to cover it via grant dollars, additional teaching commitments, or clinical service.

In addition to tenure, each entry-level faculty appointment has different rights, responsibilities, and expectations. This is dependent upon your school and department, and by the Faculty Code. For example, some tenure-track Assistant Professors must provide their summer salary, usually from external grants. Similarly, some Research Assistant Professors are not awarded independent research space without external research funding. When you’re investigating a potential position, be sure to clarify the opportunities, expectations, policies and procedures for the given University and department.

Other myths we discussed included whether having a K-award or career award covering 75% of your salary was really the only way to start out as a funded junior faculty member. There are many other models, including being an active co-investigator with a diverse number of research projects and groups, even outside of your primary department. To be competitive for Assistant Professor positions, often “without tenure for reasons of funding” or even with tenure with expectations of a “B” or “soft money” component, the main thing is to show you are fundable and can compete with a variety of funding agencies. Having a diverse funding portfolio and a robust set of research collaborators can set you up for success, even in challenging economic times.

Confused? Come talk with us at the OPA and we’ll be happy to answer questions and sort through the questions to ask as you are evaluating different positions. Even as you are inquiring about job positions, it is important to explore what “tenure-track” means for that department or University. As you get into second visits and interviews, it can help to ask harder questions: what kind of start-up or initial period of support is available? What kind of support is there within the department or school for grants administration? What teaching opportunities or obligations are there with the type of position you have? What kinds of bridge funding are available, if needed? Remember, during the negotiation, the Chair is looking to recruit and support you at their institution. Ask for what you legitimately need, and work with the Chair to make the most complete package as you start your independent career.

Being Intentional and Productive This Summer

Summer is the perfect time to make room for activities and experiences that will help you be—and feel–prepared for the coming academic year! The pace can feel slower during this time of the year, and there’s a little more wiggle room to be intentional about visualizing and achieving your intellectual, professional, and interpersonal goals. Maybe you’re starting from scratch (or already have some initial goals) and just need a plan of action. Maybe you need some structured time and support to work on a writing project? Or maybe you’re interested in career development activities?

No matter where you’re at, below are some initial strategies that can help you create intentional space for productivity this summer!

Create a plan to meet your goals. As graduate students—and as whole people with complex lives—we know that completing your graduate degree is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to meeting your goals. And we know it takes time to reflect on the skills you already possess—and the academic, professional, and interpersonal competencies you’d like to develop in the future. Creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP) can help you map out realistic, achievable goals for your time in graduate school and beyond. Use your IDP as a roadmap for meeting with mentors and advisors. What’s great about an IDP is that you can adapt and revise as you see fit!

Make progress on your writing. Whether you are working on a thesis, dissertation, or an article for publication, set achievable and concrete writing goals for yourself this summer. In past Core Programs newsletters, we encouraged you to start out by setting aside 15 min. blocks of time to write each day. Then try working your way up to 30 min. chunks of time. You’ll eventually see that you’re making progress. Reach out to peers (they can be peers outside of your graduate program too) to schedule skype and/or in-person writing support group meetings.You can receive and share constructive feedback on writing projects and hold each other accountable to getting tasks done. Finally, here are great tips on how to move past feeling stuck in a writing rut from Dr. Kerry Anne Rockquemore, President of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.

Get involved in professional development activities. There are many ways to brush up on your professional development this summer. 1) Update your CV or resume with skills and professional experiences you have gained from 2016-2017. 2) Identify conferences you’d like to present your work at for the coming year, and mark those proposal and registration deadlines on your calendar. 3) Set up informational interviews to network with professionals currently working in fields or companies you’re interested in working for. 4) Volunteer in your local community to gain skills and to give back. 4) Contact your UW career center at Bothell, Tacoma, or Seattle for guidance with your internship or job search. 5) Check out just a few of our Core Programs newsletter links below on professional development:

Research funding opportunities. Whether you are seeking travel funds to participate in an academic or professional conference or grants to fund your research, start by learning about the breadth of possible funding opportunities available to you. Because application deadlines and eligibility requirements vary widely—and can sneak up on you when you’re busy during the academic year—it’s always a good idea to plan in advance.

Funding Information Resources

If you’re in the beginning stages of searching for ways to fund your graduate education, connect with the Graduate Funding Information Service (GFIS). GFIS is available to all UW graduate students via e-mail, online chat, or in-person appointments.
Subscribe to the GFIS blog to receive the latest funding information alerts.
Seek out funding information for all UW graduate students.
Learn about funding opportunities for UW international graduate students.
If you’re interested in learning about fellowships administered by the UW Graduate School, contact the Office of Fellowships and Awards.
As always, check in with your Grad Program Advisor regarding a departmental application for the UW Graduate School’s student conference travel awards. All tri-campus graduate students are eligible, and the request comes to the Graduate School from your GPA or designated staff in your department.

We hope you find these strategies useful, and please let us know of tips that worked for you!

Best,

Core Programs Team
#UWGradSuccess