Dr. Judith K. Pollack (http://www.standupandspeakwell.com/) discussed the key features of the “Flower Exercise”

(geography, values, special knowledge, responsibility and salary, working conditions, people environments, my favorite skills) REFERENCE: What color is your parachute:  http://parachute.capella.edu/about

_____________________________________________________________________

 We discussed the concept of the IDP, disseminated copies of FASEB’s “Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows,”  and went through the four steps to execute the IDP process. The main page that discusses IDPs, with resources from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) can be found here:

NOTE: While IDPs were initially developed to assists postdocs in the life sciences, the process can be adopted by postdocs and their mentors in all disciplines.  Today, we have staff and postdoctoral representation in the room from math & physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and engineering. We strongly advocate spending time to develop an IDP, it is a tool that can be used to optimize your postdoctoral appointment. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Consider the online module for developing your IDP: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org

 You can begin to develop your IDP today! We’ve encouraged our participants to start this process this morning, with a goal of completing the process, including the discussions with their postdoctoral mentors by October 30, 2013.

_____________________________________________________________________

Several Offices of Postdoctoral Affairs have adapted this form to fit their particular needs. Our office is still new, so we’re encouraging our participants to use this form, as originally developed by Dr. Fuhrmann. The PROMISE AGEP and the IDP were discussed and presented in the same session of the 2013 National Directors of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology and Physiology meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, June 2013.   

_____________________________________________________________________

 It’s always good to have an eye on the goal. If you know how you will be evaluated, you know what to target. This morning, we discussed a key question, “How many papers am I expected to write in this time period?” In some cases, your mentor will give you an actual number. Should you try to reach that number? Yes! However, the process of developing scholarly research and submitted your work for publication is the important piece of the puzzle. Here are some tips that came out of our session:

————————–

• Develop several ideas, not just one. Look at your work and have a brainstorming session. Think of 15-20 ideas related to how your can publish your research. Think about techniques, algorithms, subject pools and demographics, target populations, experimental methods, types of organisms, etc. Once you have several ideas, based on your own work, your own developing areas of expertise, your own existing data, and new studies that you will be conducting over the next several months, you should begin to write. This can be a running list that can be modified over time.

• Do not plan to solely publish out of your dissertation during your postdoc. You can (and should) have some publications that come from your dissertation, but your postdoctoral mentor is also expecting publications from work that comes out of her lab or his research area. Faculty often hire postdocs to assist them with getting papers out in their respective fields. They want an independent thinker who can work efficiently and effectively on a project, and produce results.

• Target above the expectation. If your postdoctoral mentor expects you to have 8 papers within a 2-year period, shoot for 12. It’s ok to aim high. Remember that you should plan on a constant schedule of “submission, revision, and resubmission.” Most papers need to be revised, and a rejection in one journal doesn’t mean that the idea is dead. You may need to do an additional experiment, or add some statistics to your study, but you may be able to resubmit your work to the same journal or a different journal that is more suited to your methodology. If you have been “scooped” or if you can’t salvage that paper, go on to the next idea. If you need 8 and target 8, but 3 are rejected, you’ve missed the mark and only have 5 to showcase your productivity. However, if you need 8 and target 12, but 3 are rejected, you have 9, which exceeds the expectation.

• Diversify your publication portfolio. You can have some high impact journal articles, some book chapters, some conference proceedings (based on conferences that are respected in your field), and some short articles in other periodicals. however, the bulk of your scholarly portfolio should be in peer-reviewed sources.  Review the CVs of your postdoctoral mentor and other colleagues in the department

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

“You need a game plan”

Dr. Judith K. Pollack (http://www.standupandspeakwell.com/) discussed the key features of the “Flower Exercise”

(geography, values, special knowledge, responsibility and salary, working conditions, people environments, my favorite skills) REFERENCE: What color is your parachute:  http://parachute.capella.edu/about

_____________________________________________________________________

 We discussed the concept of the IDP, disseminated copies of FASEB’s “Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows,”  and went through the four steps to execute the IDP process. The main page that discusses IDPs, with resources from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) can be found here:

NOTE: While IDPs were initially developed to assists postdocs in the life sciences, the process can be adopted by postdocs and their mentors in all disciplines.  Today, we have staff and postdoctoral representation in the room from math & physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and engineering. We strongly advocate spending time to develop an IDP, it is a tool that can be used to optimize your postdoctoral appointment. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Consider the online module for developing your IDP: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org

 You can begin to develop your IDP today! We’ve encouraged our participants to start this process this morning, with a goal of completing the process, including the discussions with their postdoctoral mentors by October 30, 2013.

_____________________________________________________________________

Several Offices of Postdoctoral Affairs have adapted this form to fit their particular needs. Our office is still new, so we’re encouraging our participants to use this form, as originally developed by Dr. Fuhrmann. The PROMISE AGEP and the IDP were discussed and presented in the same session of the 2013 National Directors of Graduate Studies in Pharmacology and Physiology meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, June 2013.   

_____________________________________________________________________

 It’s always good to have an eye on the goal. If you know how you will be evaluated, you know what to target. This morning, we discussed a key question, “How many papers am I expected to write in this time period?” In some cases, your mentor will give you an actual number. Should you try to reach that number? Yes! However, the process of developing scholarly research and submitted your work for publication is the important piece of the puzzle. Here are some tips that came out of our session:

————————–

• Develop several ideas, not just one. Look at your work and have a brainstorming session. Think of 15-20 ideas related to how your can publish your research. Think about techniques, algorithms, subject pools and demographics, target populations, experimental methods, types of organisms, etc. Once you have several ideas, based on your own work, your own developing areas of expertise, your own existing data, and new studies that you will be conducting over the next several months, you should begin to write. This can be a running list that can be modified over time.

• Do not plan to solely publish out of your dissertation during your postdoc. You can (and should) have some publications that come from your dissertation, but your postdoctoral mentor is also expecting publications from work that comes out of her lab or his research area. Faculty often hire postdocs to assist them with getting papers out in their respective fields. They want an independent thinker who can work efficiently and effectively on a project, and produce results.

• Target above the expectation. If your postdoctoral mentor expects you to have 8 papers within a 2-year period, shoot for 12. It’s ok to aim high. Remember that you should plan on a constant schedule of “submission, revision, and resubmission.” Most papers need to be revised, and a rejection in one journal doesn’t mean that the idea is dead. You may need to do an additional experiment, or add some statistics to your study, but you may be able to resubmit your work to the same journal or a different journal that is more suited to your methodology. If you have been “scooped” or if you can’t salvage that paper, go on to the next idea. If you need 8 and target 8, but 3 are rejected, you’ve missed the mark and only have 5 to showcase your productivity. However, if you need 8 and target 12, but 3 are rejected, you have 9, which exceeds the expectation.

• Diversify your publication portfolio. You can have some high impact journal articles, some book chapters, some conference proceedings (based on conferences that are respected in your field), and some short articles in other periodicals. however, the bulk of your scholarly portfolio should be in peer-reviewed sources.  Review the CVs of your postdoctoral mentor and other colleagues in the department

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

“You need a game plan”