Newcastle Cancer Centreat the Northern Institute for Cancer Research

“Getting that first post-doc”

Anthony MoormanProfessor of Genetic Epidemiology

Overview of session

• Laying the foundations of a good CV

• Selecting the right post-doc for you

• Applying for the job

• Questions

Academic Career Pathway

Academic Career Pathway

Academic Career Pathway

Academic Career Pathway

PhD Student

Tenured Academic Position

Research Technician / Assistant / Associate

Post-doc

Independent ResearcherFellowship

Scientist

Lecturer Senior Lecturer Professor

Laying the foundations of a good CV

• Finish your PhD on time

• Publications

– First author > Joint first author > Second author

• Present research at conference

– Spoken / Platform presentation

– Poster presentation

– International > National > Local

• Techniques

– Basic

– State-of-the-art

Networking

• It's not what you know but who you know that makes the difference. [Anon]

• It isn't just what you know, and it isn't just who you know. It's actually who you know, who knows you, and what you do for a living.

[Bob Burg]

Networking

• Make yourself known

– Talk to PIs etc in your institute

– Accept any invitation to meet external speakers

– Do “research in progress” talks. Prepare well in advance.

• Attend conferences

– Don’t be afraid to ask questions

– Introduce yourself to leaders in the field

– Ask your supervisor(s) to introduce you

– If you have a poster make sure to display on time and for full length

of time. Be in attendance during “poster” sessions.

Your five year plan

Your five year plan

• Where do you want to be in five years?– Fellowship– Joint application on grant– Expert in particular technique / field– Lecturing– Industry

• How is this post-doc going to get you there?

Goals for your first-doc?

• First author publications• First author publications• First author publications

• Experience of grant preparation / writing

• Learning new techniques/skills

Selecting the right post-doc

• “Should I stay or should I go”– Plus going abroad

• Changing fields– Technique driven– Subject driven

• Cast net early and wide• But be careful ..... Very important decision

Assessing a potential position (1)• Are they ....

– ... leaders in the field? – ... the next big thing? – ... journeymen?– ... the weakest link?

• Aim as high as possible• Look up the RAE rating of department / unit• Literature search – including citation index• Money

– How much have they got and from where– Cross reference their website from funders website

Assessing a potential position (2)

• Group metrics / dynamics

– Who is publishing as first author / corresponding author?

– Size of group

– Ratio of senior : junior staff

– Clinically active heads of lab

• Who do they collaborate with?

– Website PLUS publications

• Use your contacts to gather informal information

Preparing your CV

• Clear & Concise

• Divide into sections

– Qualifications (including training courses)

– Research Skills

• Be honest, Quantify, Official training

– Other skills (e.g. languages etc)

– Meetings / Conferences

• Presentations

• Publications

• Mission / Personal Statements

Applying for a position

• Do not apply cold.

– Contact PI in advance. Ask questions about

project and team.

• Read their papers.

• Try to find project application via funder website.

• Covering letter

– Write, re-write, re-write and re-write

Interview

Interview (1)

• Smart dress

• Don’t bullshit!

• Be prepared to ….

– Give a brief interesting overview of PhD

– What your ideal next experiment would be if there were no

financial or logistical problems.

– Describe how did you trouble-shoot a technical problem

– How you approach writing your first author paper

Interview (2)

• Ask some questions

– Research related

– What have former post-docs gone on to do?

– Teaching opportunities

Feedback

• Please complete feedback forms