60 likes | 90 Vues
Good Post-doc/ Bad Post-doc. “Publish lots of papers”. Focus on quality, not just quantity (avoid weak journals) Avoid books and special issues (or write 2 papers)
E N D
“Publish lots of papers” • Focus on quality, not just quantity (avoid weak journals) • Avoid books and special issues (or write 2 papers) • Get appropriate (critical) people to read your stuff and weigh up their advice carefully (especially if they seem to have had success themselves) • Send hardcopies of published papers to everyone you can think of (even if you don’t know them!) and attach a nice note
“Avoid distractions” • Avoid getting sucked into things that won’t have an obvious gain • Teaching a lot! (some is good) • Running field trips (unless you can use it to network more) • Editing/reviewing special issues (huge sink of time) • Some things have an obvious gain • Organising a conference session (perhaps hook up with some one more established??) and propose a session at EGU)
“Get out of your comfort zone” • Think about your “portfolio”, • e.g., modelling plus field work, plus lab experiments, and try to become more interdisciplinary • If a PDRA on some one else’s grant think of • Trying for a personal fellowship (NERC, RSE etc.) • Applying for NERC grant a Research Co-Investigator • Move around to other universities is possible (even if only temporary can still put it on your CV) • Offer to give talks in other departments (use your contacts and get out there even if you have to pay!).
“Applying for jobs” • Choose your referees carefully • Ask for feedback on what your referees write about you • Try and cultivate the best contacts (don’t be shy!). Arrange to meet key people at conferences, visit other places to give talks • Write a strong personal statement • Emphasise your unique contribution/skills in your CV • Try and network as much as possible, both in the UK and internationally (even if you have to pay!) • Prepare well for interviews • Show that you have found out about the background. • Think about the panel members and their interests.
“Other suggestions” • Be wise to the fact that your post-doc could be a dead-end project and get out before it is too late (one paper is enough). (Even established scientists can be useless!) • Self promotion doesn’t have to be tacky! • Practice conference talks several times beforehand (in front of a critical audience) so people are wowed by you!