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Advice Topic: Postdoc

Postdocs Rock! Here are 5 Reasons Why

Postdocs are vital members of the University of Washington ecosystem.  During National Postdoc Appreciation Week (September 18-22), we here at the Graduate School wanted to point out just a few of the many reasons why:

  1. Postdocs are often the first point of contact for graduate students and undergrads working on a research team, and provide countless hours of mentorship and guidance to this next generation;
  2. Postdocs are energetic teachers of classes, touching even more graduate and undergraduate students here on campus through their seminars and lectures;
  3. Postdocs often contribute substantial intellectual ideas and strategies to their research groups, making our world-class research at UW even better;
  4. Postdocs are often essential contributors to faculty projects, grants and publications in ways that help their faculty mentors be even more productive;
  5. And finally, you postdocs are here at UW, investing in your own professional development, and we applaud your investment in your future!

For all these reasons, the OPA, in partnership with the UW Postdoctoral Association (UWPA), recognizes and honors the over 1,000 postdocs working across our 3 campuses in every School and College.

Since 2009, National Postdoc Appreciation Week recognizes the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to U.S. research and development. Institutions from across the country participate by holding special events. In 2010, this week was officially recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives.

We will be celebrating you on September 20, 5:30-7pm in the Health Sciences Building Rotunda.  If you are a postdoc – or a postdoc supporter – join us for tacos and beverages.  The OPA will be hosting an orientation with key campus resources that same day 3-4pm and a workshop on planning your pathway to independence aimed at early stage postdocs 4-5pm.  Both of those sessions are in Health Sciences T-531.

Join us, and thank a postdoc!

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Tips for Postdocs from National Postdoc Association Meeting

On March 18–19, 2017, leadership from OPA and UWPA participated in the 15th Annual National Postdoc Association meeting in San Francisco. Three members from the Fred Hutch Student and Postdoc Advisory Committee also attended, and a postdoc from  Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) so Seattle was well-represented! There were many good working sessions and an opportunity to learn from our peer institutions and other postdoc-led organizations.  Here are just a few insights for postdocs gathered from the meeting – we will be sharing more in the coming weeks.

  • Seek experiences outside your primary research group. Peter Fiske, plenary speaker and consultant/entrepreneur, advised spending as much as 20% of your time exploring other resources and experiences on and off campus.  Academic training is good at providing deep expertise, and yet “you have a keel without a boat”. PhDs have a tremendous amount to offer, but need more experience in adaptability, collaborative problem-solving, leadership to be successful in future careers, in and outside academia.
  • All jobs come through relationships. Expand your network. Networking is about genuine relationships created through shared interests or connections; it is not about shallow schmoozing with dozens.  Use your existing network of peers and advisors to connect you.  Ask for help. Join our UW Postdoc LinkedIn group as one starting point, and seek out other online spaces (including Twitter) where your professional societies or disciplines connect.
  • Know your rights. As a pregnant postdoc, you have federal protections under the ADA and Title IX.  We will do a separate blog post on this to clarify rights of pregnant and parenting postdocs.  One national survey showed only 40% of pregnant postdocs requested some kind of accommodation during pregnancy (e.g. modifying schedules, avoiding lifting, limiting toxic exposures, etc.) as compared to 70% in other sectors. You need to ask – it is a protected right!
  • Build your Mentoring Plan: We heard advice from the NSF program officers that the culture is changing for postdocs from an apprenticeship model (where you learn by doing and watching) to professional training model.  Be explicit with your research advisor about the time you want to spend on professional development, how and why. And build your mentoring team also, so you have a broader base of input to guide your career development.
  • Include Work/Life Balance in your IDP. Resilience is coping with, bouncing back from, and adapting to difficult situations – and academic life is full of them. Resilience requires we invest in ourselves and the things that renew or sustain us. Set goals and milestones for dimensions of the “wellness wheel” that are important for you now (e.g. financial, physical, nutritional, relational, spiritual…).  Schedule yourself on your calendar to make sure these things happen.
  • Make your dollars go further. Apply for travel awards through professional societies and foundations. Ask your PI or department to match what you bring in.  Seek external sponsors for events you want to hold (e.g. donating pizza to a lunch gathering). Consult with the librarian who researches funding sources and can advise you on tailoring your searches (at UW it is the Graduate Funding Information Service).
  • Culture Fit: If you are considering a position, how do you find out about the organizational culture there? Culture goes beyond stated vision and values to daily practices, and how people engage with each other. Culture is “the way we do things around here”. Ask a range of people about it during your interviews and site visits. Also, do the self-reflection and assessment work to learn what is most important to you in a workplace culture (what makes you happy and productive?). Do your research and ask yourself: Will you thrive, personally and professionally in the organizational culture?

And don’t forget that all UW postdocs, faculty, and staff are eligible for a free membership with NPA because UW is a sustaining institutional member.  You get access to resources behind their firewall and also connected with their networks. Please email OPA if you are interested in the affiliated membership from NPA.

Postdoc Resolution Passes Faculty Senate!

On March 2, 2017, the UW Faculty Senate voted unanimously in support of this Class C Resolution which will be sent to all faculty as a notification this week. The Resolution was drafted by the Faculty Council on Research in consultation with the UW Postdoc Association and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. We are happy to share this important step toward greater institutional support and wider recognition across the faculty and administration of the essential roles postdocs play in our research, teaching and service missions at UW. We share the full text of the Resolution here and will also post a copy on our OPA website. One proposed next step is to form a Task Force to address key policy and practice issues across the UW postdoc population. If you have input for this group to consider, please contact us at uwopa@uw.edu.

Class C Resolution

The Faculty Council on Research recognizes the invaluable service provided by postdocs to both the research and education missions of the University. Post-doctoral researchers are a critical part of the University’s research enterprise, and provide key mentoring and education to UW graduate and undergraduate students.

The postdoctoral experience is nationally recognized as a temporary and transitional period of advanced mentored training toward an independent career. As an institution and as individual faculty advisors, it is vital for us to commit to recognizing that postdocs are on a pathway to career independence. The National Academies of Sciences has studied the postdoc experience extensively and put forward clear recommendations in 2000 and in 2014. With this resolution, the FCR outlines the commitments and practices that would strongly support the UW in achieving parity with national guidelines and peer standards.

Further, by improving our support and services for postdocs, the UW can continue to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. Prior to the re-opening of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in 2015, the UW was missing a go-to place for resources, guidance, professional development programming, policies, and coordination of diverse services across many UW units relating to postdoctoral affairs. Centralizing some of these services will provide efficiencies in that faculty supervisors and departments will be able to utilize and adapt rather than building anew, which will additionally help reduce inequities and inconsistencies in our treatment of postdocs at UW.

WHEREAS, the National Science Foundation Survey shows University of Washington ranked 9th nationally out of 323 institutions by total numbers of postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in 2014;

WHEREAS, several national bodies, including the NIH, NSF, the federal Office of Management and Budget, the National Postdoctoral Association, and the National Academies have defined the role of postdoctoral researcher as “a temporary position of advanced mentored training in research,” and recognize the “dual role” of postdocs as employees and trainees;

WHEREAS, we must, as a university employing over one thousand post-doctoral researchers, commit to fulfilling our obligations toward these vital members of our research and learning ecosystem and align with national guidelines and peer institutions.

BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to make the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs within the Graduate School a permanent part of the University organization with the responsibility of coordinating policies, practices, and procedures for postdocs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University recognizes the University of Washington Postdoctoral Association (UWPA) as an organization of interest for the postdoctoral research body of the University and for the University. The University should support, promote and respect the independence of the Association.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to create a Task Force for Postdoctoral Affairs to include members from key unit responsible for postdocs, such as: Academic HR, the Graduate School, the Office of Research, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, the Faculty Senate, School of Medicine, and the UW Postdoctoral Association.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to charge the Task Force for Postdoctoral Affairs to develop the policies and practices that would bring UW in line with national guidelines and peer institutions, including but not limited to the following issues:

  • Limiting the years possible under the various job titles encompassing postdoctoral researcher training, with the goal of promoting postdocs into more independent and permanent positions in a timely manner;
  • Enforcement for the dual role of postdoctoral researchers as both employees and trainees with reasonable release time and support for professional development including workshops, travel to conferences, or teaching opportunities;
  • Commitment to faculty mentorship for postdocs, including advising on Individual Development Plans and diverse career trajectories;
  • Identification of point people within each unit serving postdocs to serve as coordinators with the central Office of Postdoctoral Affairs;
  • Consistency with offer letters extended to postdocs to include clear reference to salary, benefits, terms of appointment, grievance options, role expectations, and connections to university resources;
  • Streamline the job classifications used for postdoctoral research fellows to facilitate tracking and accountability from first hiring to exit;
  • Centralize data collection and tracking of postdocs, including the satisfaction with their training and tracking of employment after leaving in order to quantify the quality of research training received at the University;
  • Through relevant policy, faculty code, or by-laws changes, include postdoc representation on relevant University bodies such as the Research Advisory Board, the Faculty Council on Research, and others.

Approved by the Faculty Council on Research, January 2017
Approved by the Senate Executive Committee, February 13, 2017
Approved by the Faculty Senate, March 2, 2017

When Is It Time to Move On?

A postdoc experience is often a leap of faith.  You might make decisions about what’s next for you after your doctoral program based on need, opportunity, ambition, passion, interest, or a combination of these factors.  Once you land a postdoc position, you will learn different things about yourself, and certainly you will also learn things about your research group that were not always clear through the interview process.

With this newsletter, we pose the question – when is it time to move on? There are numerous factors to consider, but the main thing to know is: it is healthy to ask this question, regardless of your current experience (whether 6 months or 6 years into your postdoc).

Is It Time to Change Groups?

  • Are you getting the opportunities for growth and experience that are important for your next career steps? It is not uncommon for a PI to hire a postdoc because of a skillset they bring to the group.  This is a good thing; but, if you are simply reproducing skills and experiences from your graduate research, you are not growing. You are just working.  A postdoc should be both – work and professional growth.
  • Are you in a mentoring or work environment where you can flourish? Postdocs have diverse needs when it comes to mentoring and work environments.  Learn more about your own needs and seek an environment, a mentor, and a research group that provides the experience you need to become your best.
  • What about letters of recommendation? If you truly have a difficult relationship with a PI, you will likely be concerned about the kind of letter of recommendation they will provide. This is among the reasons we often advocate for building a mentoring team, or a deeper bench of supervisors and researchers who can speak for you. Develop your own succinct, dispassionate narrative of what happened with a given faculty advisor if the relationship has truly broken down and you feel you cannot trust a letter from them. You can think about core elements that are useful to share, such as: I wasn’t getting enough independence in this particular lab group and I need to grow further; we had differences of opinion regarding best directions for the work; I learned a considerable amount but we never connected and it made it difficult to sustain the working relationship… You can make it a positive story – one that emphasizes what you are seeking more than what you are not getting. Regardless of your feelings, it doesn’t look good to future employers if you talk badly about your former supervisor.

Is it Time to Leave Postdoc-ing Behind Altogether?

  • Postdoc experiences are great for building your professional network, gaining more skills and experience, and also doing important self-reflection regarding what kind of career is really going to be meaningful for you.
  • When you’ve garnered enough skills and experience to be competitive, move on! Because of imposter syndrome, some of us may never feel truly ready.  Or myths may circulate about what it takes to be competitive in the job market.  Do your own research on what your field needs, and get feedback from several people about your track record. Hiring committees are comprised of many people and it can help to get diverse perspectives about your strengths and where your gaps may be.
  • Or, after more time in an academic research setting, you may now have enough information to know this isn’t the right trajectory for you.  Maybe for what you want to do next, you don’t need more advanced research training, but instead need to cultivate other skills or experiences. A variety of self-assessment tools can help you identify where your particular interests and skill sets are pointing you, and you may be surprised by the answers.

Whatever your situation, handling yourself professionally through the transitions will go a long way. Asking yourself – am I in the right place, am I getting what I need – is a lifelong practice that will serve you well in finding the best fit in work environment, supervision, and portfolio. And taking a proactive approach will help assure you get what you need. You never know until you ask!  If you need help thinking these issues through, or practicing how a conversation could go with your faculty supervisor, please always feel free to sign up for an office hour or make an appointment with the OPA senior faculty advisors.

Additional Resources:

The Postdoc Experience Revisited

The University of Washington, along with many peer institutions, is working to integrate the recommendations for revisiting the postdoctoral experience made by the National Academies of Sciences in 2014. We will keep you posted on progress as we move forward, and we invite you — postdocs, leaders within your units, faculty champions — to advocate for and adopt these changes locally. The following are excerpts from the primary recommendations of the report:

1. Limited Period of Service: The committee endorses the recommended practice, put forward by the NIH, the NSF, and the National Postdoctoral Association in 2007, that postdoctoral research training is and should be a “temporary and defined period.” Postdoctoral appointments for a given researcher should total no more than 5 years in duration, barring extraordinary circumstances.

2. Title and Role: In many instances, positions currently occupied by postdoctoral researchers are more appropriately filled by permanent staff scientists (e.g., technicians, research assistant professors, staff scientists, laboratory managers). The title of “postdoctoral researcher” should be applied only to those people who are receiving advanced training in research. When the appointment period is completed, postdoctoral researchers should move on to a permanent position externally or be transitioned internally to a staff position with appropriate…salary.

3. Career Development: Host institutions and mentors should, beginning at the first year of graduate school, make graduate students aware of the wide variety of career paths available for Ph.D. recipients, and explain that postdoctoral positions are intended only for those seeking advanced research training. Career guidance should include, where feasible, the provision of internships and other practical experiences. The postdoctoral position should not be viewed by graduate students or principal investigators as the default step after the completion of doctoral training.

3.3 Mentors, in addition to providing guidance based on their own experience, should become familiar with and disseminate information about all forms of career development opportunities available either at the host institution or through their professional society.

4. Mentoring: Mentoring is an essential component of the postdoctoral experience and entails more than simply supervision. Mentoring should not be solely a responsibility of the principal investigator, although he or she should be actively engaged in mentoring. Host institutions should create provisions that encourage postdoctoral researchers to seek advice, either formally or informally, from multiple advisors, in addition to their immediate supervisor. Host institutions and funding agencies should take responsibility for ensuring the quality of mentoring through evaluation of, and training programs for, the mentors.

5. Data Collection: Current data on the postdoctoral population, in terms of demographics, career aspirations, and career outcomes are neither adequate nor timely. Every institution that employs postdoctoral researchers should collect data on the number of currently employed postdoctoral researchers and where they go after completion of their research training, and should make this information publicly available.

Getting the Most Out of Your Postdoc

At the UW and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, we are committed to you getting the most out of your postdoc experience here. There are a few national policies and high-level recommendations that can be useful if you need leverage to ask for time from your faculty advisor, or to step out at take risks, or to start exploring career pathways. There are many more, which we highlight in our Postdoc Handbook. Just to get started, here are a few based on work from entities including the NIH, NSF, National Postdoctoral Association, and others.

  • National Definition of a Postdoc
    • The NIH, NSF, and National Academies of Science have adopted a consistent definition. A postdoctoral fellow (postdoc) is “an individual who has received a doctoral degree and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path.”
  • Dual Role of Postdoc
    • The federal Office of Management and Budget states that postdocs have a “dual role” as both an employee and a trainee entitled to reasonable release time for professional development while on federal research grants. Professional development can include travel to conferences, networking or informational interviews, attending workshops, volunteer or service opportunities, and teaching opportunities.
  • 5 year term limits
    • Based on federal recommendations, postdocs should be limited to a five year term limit across several employment titles. The focus here is for you to make the most of your time in your postdoc and then to launch into the job or career you are ready to have!
  • Annual reviews and IDP requirements
    • Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are required for NIH supported postdocs and recommended along with annual evaluations for all postdocs as important mechanisms to encourage constructive feedback for postdocs, clarify responsibilities and expectations, record accomplishments and performance, and establish future goals for career growth and development.

UW Seattle Campus Resources for Postdocs

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs convened a brief but rich Winter 2016 Postdoc Orientation last week.  For those unable to attend, we wanted to highlight a few of the resources featured during the event.  We also are debuting the first UW Postdoc Handbook (v 1.0), available by February 1 on our website to download.

Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) While research advisors, schools, colleges, and programs retain primary responsibility for postdoctoral researchers within their disciplines, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) is here as a resource for postdocs, postdoc advisors and managers. We are invested in a productive postdoc experience where postdocs can successfully transition to their next career move.

Need Career Guidance? UW Career Center
A list of online resources and in-person services offered by the Career Center for postdocs seeking careers in the academia, corporate, non-profit, and government sectors.  Some consultation services are fee-based. All workshops are open to post-docs free of charge. Check out their Academic Career Series and Non-Academic Career Series.

Looking for Community?

FIUTS – FIUTS connects students – and postdocs – to local and global communities through programs that build international awareness, cross-cultural communication, and informed leadership. Based on campus at UW, FIUTS programs create a community of international and American students, members of the local community, and alumni around the world.

Q Center – UW Q Center is a primarily student run resource center dedicated to serving anyone with or without a gender or sexuality: students, postdocs, staff, faculty, alum, and community members. They put on regular programming events, and house a lending library. The Q Center also hosts a queer mentoring program – sign up to be a mentor or receive one. Their office is located at Husky Union Building (HUB) Room 315.

SACNAS – SACNAS UW Chapter supports the mission of fostering success of Chicano/Hispanic and Native American scientists – from college to professionals – to attain advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in science. Postdocs are welcome at monthly meetings and events.

UWPA – The University of Washington Postdoctoral Association (UWPA) is an organization run by postdoctoral researchers for postdoctoral researchers. It is served by an executive committee, elected by peers, who have generously donated their time and efforts to improve the state of postdoctoral affairs at UW.

Working to Resolve Conflict?
Ombuds for consultation and mediation – The Office of the Ombud serves the entire university community by providing a collaborative and confidential environment to discuss your situation, consider options, and develop a plan for the future. Consultation and guidance regarding effective strategies to manage conflicts on your own are most common. Mediation is also available. To make an appointment, please call: 206-543-6028.

Questions about Benefits or Visas?
Benefits Office Anne Winkelman, Director

International Scholars Operations (ISO) For questions about visas, including relevant academic appointments, contact acadvisa@uw.edu.

Need Childcare Resources or Support as a Parent? Worklife and Childcare
Amy Hawkins, Director

There are other offices on campus who can help (the new Postdoc Handbook lists several). If you are in doubt about which services you need, please consult the Office of Postdoc Affairs (UWOPA@uw.edu) and we can point you in the right direction.

Originally posted on January 21, 2016.

Exploring Career Paths: Strategic Steps Postdocs Can Take

In late May 2016, we have had the opportunity to hear from some exceptional speakers on campus who offered their perspective and insights to postdocs regarding exploration and preparation for careers that will be the best fit for YOU.  We excerpted out the following top tips shared during these workshops from guests Kelly Sullivan of the Pacific Northwest National Labs, Linette Demers from Life Science Washington, Matt O’Donnell, Professor and Dean Emeritus in Engineering, Sumit Basu and Hrvoje Benko from Microsoft Research.

  1. Prepare: “Career planning isn’t so much about planning.  But it is about preparing.” Having a clear roadmap won’t always help you, as it may limit you to opportunities or serendipity when something unexpected arises. Instead, invest in preparing for a range of possibilities – diversify your skill sets, cultivate curiosity, and build your networks.
  2. Assess your skills: What is academic research training you for? In part, academic research training is about asking important research questions, developing and pursuing methods to answer those questions, and using results to define outcomes and your next questions.  You are also learning how to work in teams, how to deliver results, and a full range of transferable skills. Learn to talk about your skills and interests in broader more generalizable terms than perhaps your specific, immediate research project may suggest.
  3. Assess your strengths, passion, work style: Talk with your mentor team, or those who have worked with you and know you, and ask: “what do you think I am uniquely good at?” “What do you see as my top contribution(s) to a team or project?” Use free assessments like those offered by Doug’s Guides to get a better sense of what kind of work environment will be the best fit for you.
  4. Explore what is out there: Your research training alone is not career preparation, even for academic positions.  You have to do something more proactive. Develop your “story” about who you are, what your passions are, and how you want to contribute. What opportunities exist? Ask people: I think your job sounds really interesting. How did you get here? Cultivate an opening question “I’m new to this industry/sector, can you tell me what you do?” Get involved with more than just building technical skills in your laboratory.
  5. Understand impact: Learn what is valued and expected in each kind of organization and work setting. Ask: “what does success or impact look like here in this sector, in this organization”? And then ask yourself – is that metric of success and impact meaningful for me.  Is this how I want to contribute, and where my strengths lie.
  6. Gain experience: All the guests discussed the importance of getting out “there” and developing experience and exposure in other sectors, even for a short stint: giving a talk, participating in seminars/sessions that are open to others outside the organization, doing a short 4-12 week internship. These conversations and experiences will both help you decide what sector feels like a good fit for you, and will help distinguish you if you apply for a job in that sector.

Closing tips from speakers:

  • Do something you care about.
  • Summarize who you are without using your technical expertise as a crutch.
  • Let go of worrying about what you are going to “be” – focus more on problems you are passionate about. Follow your curiosity and passion.
  • Spend 5% of your time looking for a new job, even while happy in your current one.
  • Develop relationships. They will take you places and open doors, and make your career worthwhile.
  • Be kind, and humble.  Be realistic about your limitations and acknowledge the contributions of others.

Power Skill of the Month: Pivot. Popularized in the start-up culture, “pivot” describes the ability to drop an unproductive direction or assess signs that suggest that the direction you are pursuing is not going to bear fruit.  Having the ability to pivot to a new direction, release a direction that isn’t panning out, and move on with greater energy and opportunity is key regardless of what field or sector you may work in.

Originally posted on June 2, 2016.

Managing Conflict: Strategies for Approaching Difficult Conversations

At an event in April 2016, sponsored by Hutch United and the Association for Women in Science, Emma Williams, Associate Ombud at UW, shared effective strategies for managing conflict.

First, we know that being a postdoc is highly stressful. You have many deadlines, demands, funding uncertainties and questions about your future. Research shows that people who make decisions from a stressed mental state tend to have a narrower perspective about their options. On the other hand, approaching a problem from a positive mindset – one of gratitude, generosity, and grace – can improve creative problem-solving and open up previously unseen options. In light of this, we offer a few tips the next time you experience even a minor conflict:

  1. Take a deep breath and a break. While it is important to address conflicts soon, before they fester, it is also critical to calm down before responding.  Taking a little time, even 24 hours, will often give you perspective and allow you to explore options for responding.
  2. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Ask yourself: what would you like to see happen? And, how can you make that most likely?
  3. Consider the ‘who, what, when, where, and why’.
    • Who: Is there someone who can help you have a better discussion? Bringing in another person – perhaps from your research group or from your mentoring team – can both offer support or another perspective on the conversation.
    • What: What should this conversation be about? If it is a seemingly small thing – or series of small things – in the research group, what does this pattern of behavior really signal to you? What’s really the overall concern?
    • When/where: When and where are the best place to have a productive conversation? Find a neutral territory and a time when you can both focus.
    • Why: What are your goals for the conversation? What are the results or outcomes you want to see?
  4. Practice. Ask a peer or another trusted colleague to have a mock discussion with you.  Practice the tough questions or responding to difficult scenarios, and practice remaining calm, respectful, and clear about your goals.
  5. Step away when you need to. If the conversation does go sideways, take a break.  Acknowledge the conversation isn’t productive now and you’ll come back to it. You can name a time/day when you want to pick it up again so it doesn’t linger further. You can also send an email follow up to clarify your goals for the conversation, and be descriptive about what is making it difficult to have this conversation (e.g. “the conversation broke down when…”), and then ask for what you need (e.g. “it would help me if…”).

While you are in it, here are a few additional strategies that can help the conversation go well.

  1. Save your reactions. Try not to respond in the moment from an emotional place.  Take time to digest what they are saying, and stick to your plan.
  2. Consider their perspective. Ask curious questions rather than defending, such as: “Can you tell me more about that?” You may get more data, more insight into their ultimate goals. Perhaps you can also find some alignment with your own goals.
  3. Educate, don’t escalate. It can help to be descriptive about the impact of their behavior on you or on the research group. Get them to see what is going on, and guide them to come to their own conclusions about what might need to happen.

If you need help thinking through a response to a difficult situation, you can also make an appointment with the Ombud Office to help you clarify your goals and work through a productive approach. You can reach the Ombud Office at 206.543.6028 or ombuds@uw.edu.

 

Originally posted on May 5, 2016.

Postdocs, You Are Public Thought Leaders!

You have ideas what you are passionate about, and you have spent years cultivating expertise. Now, how do you get your voice heard? How can you work to advance the issues? How can you influence change?

In mid-April, the Office of Postdoc Affairs co-hosted a workshop from the OpEd Project, a national effort to diversify the voices we hear in public conversations. The facilitator Michele Weldon has 3 decades as a public thought leader through her books, articles, and media work. Certain key points stood out from the workshop:

  • Own your expertise. You are an expert in _____ because ______. What are you a go-to person for? On what basis do you have credibility in this area? Own it, even if it feels there are others around you who are more established, more credentialed, more famous. We need YOUR voice and perspective in the world for real impact to occur.
  • Personal promotion isn’t self-serving (only), it is working toward public service. That is, you aren’t just “tooting your own horn” when you say your voice matters, you are bringing attention to issues that are critical to you.  The bigger your sphere of influence the greater impact for change you can have. Reframe your approach to self-promoting activities like tweeting, blogging, writing pieces for public audiences/radio spots to building your sphere of influence for issues you care about. And, as a result, you distinguish yourself in what may be a crowded field.
  • “If you say things of consequence, there will be consequences. But the risk and alternative is to be inconsequential.” (OpEd Project saying) Anticipate nay-sayers. As you practice your response to those who will say “who cares” and “why you”, you can be ready to stand your ground with calm, clear and respectful confidence. Sometimes these doubting voices come from within our own heads. Practice saying the same calm, confident response back when that voice of self-doubt or imposter syndrome rises up. #OwnIt
  • Make a pitch to an editor. Craft a tight 4-5 sentence email that showcases the following:  So what? Why you? Why now? What’s the contribution?  Why this outlet? And then sign it with your full name and affiliations. Then cut/paste your 600-800 essay right below that (no attachments).  Editors are busy and they want to scan what you have, not take an extra step to ask for it.   You can use a descriptive email subject line: Timely commentary on ______.

We know that peer reviewed publications are still the coin of the realm as far as your own academic career goes. But how do you get people to read your peer reviewed publications? How can they make the kind of impact you’d like? Amplify your work by pairing peer-reviewed publications with pieces you write for the public conversation or using social media to get your work in front of more people in your professional networks.  Many postdocs have created their own professional websites to gather together examples of their research and engagement activities, to reflect more of who they are. Websites, coupled with social media, can expand your reach and help you stand out from others in a job search or otherwise crowded space. See Future of Ice Initiative postdoc Sarah Myhre’s website as a terrific example of this, and check out how she features both peer reviewed research and news media highlights. Have a good example of your own?  Send it to us, we want to feature it in an upcoming newsletter!

Write to Change the World.

Additional Resources:

Originally posted on April 21, 2016.