Enhancing career development of postdoctoral trainees: act locally and beyond

Omary, M. Bishr; Shah, Yatrik M.; Schnell, Santiago; Subramanian, Shoba; Swanson, Michele S.; O’Riordan, Mary X.

doi:10.1113/jp277684

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…In addition, institutional Offices of Postdoctoral Education, the National Postdoctoral Association in the USA, and some national and international scientific societies host seminars/webinars and publish guidelines that provide extensive advice on the structure and content of these documents (e.g. [ 8 , 24 ]). Almost all these seminars and advice columns direct postdocs to solicit feedback from a wide circle of peers and mentors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

et al. 2023

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To attain a faculty position, postdoctoral fellows submit job applications that require considerable time and effort to produce. Although mentors and colleagues review these applications, postdocs rarely receive iterative feedback from reviewers with the breadth of expertise typically found on an academic search committee. To address this gap, we describe an international peer-reviewing programme for postdocs across disciplines to receive reciprocal, iterative feedback on faculty applications. A participant survey revealed that nearly all participants would recommend the programme to others. Furthermore, our programme was more likely to attract postdocs who struggled to find mentoring, possibly because of their identity as a woman or member of an underrepresented population in STEM or because they changed fields. Between 2018 and 2021, our programme provided nearly 150 early career academics with a diverse and supportive community of peer mentors during the difficult search for a faculty position and continues to do so today. As the transition from postdoc to faculty represents the largest ‘leak’ in the academic pipeline, implementation of similar programmes by universities or professional societies would provide psycho-social support necessary to prevent attrition of individuals from underrepresented populations as well as increase the chances of success for early career academics in their search for independence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

et al. 2023

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“…Numerous opinion and advice pieces have been published on how to write these documents (e.g., Anderson 2019, Reyes 2020, Smith 2020a& 2020b. In addition, Offices of Postdoctoral Education across institutions, as well as the National Postdoctoral Association in the USA, and some scientific societies host frequent seminars/webinars and provide extensive advice on the structure and content of these documents (e.g., Omary et al 2019, Shaw et al 2015. Almost all of these seminars and advice columns direct postdocs to solicit feedback from a wide circle of peers and mentors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot program

Guardia

Kane

Tebo

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In order to successfully obtain a faculty position, postdoctoral fellows or postdocs, must submit an application which requires considerable time and effort to produce. These job applications are often reviewed by mentors and colleagues, but rarely are postdocs offered the opportunity to solicit feedback multiple times from reviewers with the same breadth of expertise often found on an academic search committee. To address this gap, this manuscript describes an international peer reviewing program for small groups of postdocs with a broad range of expertise to reciprocally and iteratively provide feedback to each other on their application materials. Over 145 postdocs have participated, often multiple times, over three years. A survey of participants in this program revealed that nearly all participants would recommend participation in such a program to other faculty applicants. Furthermore, this program was more likely to attract participants who struggled to find mentoring and support elsewhere, either because they changed fields or because of their identity as a woman or member of an underrepresented population in STEM. Participation in programs like this one could provide early career academics like postdocs with a diverse and supportive community of peer mentors during the difficult search for a faculty position. Such psychosocial support and encouragement has been shown to prevent attrition of individuals from these populations and programs like this one target the largest leak in the pipeline, that of postdoc to faculty. Implementation of similar peer-reviewing programs by universities or professional scientific societies could provide a valuable mechanism of support and increased chances of success for early-career academics in their search for independence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The career development of postdoctoral researchers typically focuses on these scholars as the future of the research workforce (Omary et al , 2019), with attainment of a tenurable research position as the “golden egg” job. However, Omary et al (2019) note that only about 10% of postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences obtain a tenure track position, and that consideration of the various career paths open to highly skilled researchers is important to consider in training and development of these scholars. It is through this lens, one that is critical of the traditional conception of the academic tenure track as the end-game of postdoctoral training, that this article tackles the postdoctoral experience and reflections on career development through the personal narratives of two social sciences researchers – who are also two of the authors of this article.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can you tell me more about your postdoctoral experience? A personal narrative review of the postdoctoral position in the social sciences

Niang

Khoury

Brunelle

et al. 2021

SGPE

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Purpose This paper is the result of a collaboration and sharing of experiences of two postdoctoral researchers. The purpose of this paper is to put these experiences into perspective by cross-referencing our respective personal narratives with an analysis of the existing literature on the postdoctoral experience in the social sciences. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a non-exhaustive systematic literature review using the database PsycInfo and the multidisciplinary Web of Science Catalogue database to find relevant articles published from 2000 to today. Of the 946 articles identified from the database, only 12 were included in the literature review. The authors also included four articles identified from other sources, such as Google Scholar. Secondly, the authors used a method inspired by reflexive personal narrative writing, which allowed us to share our postdoctoral experience and examine how it compares or complements the existing literature on postdoctoral experience in the social sciences. Findings The literature highlights three significant criteria that play a major role in the postdoctoral experience across disciplines: professional identity, work–life balance and relationship with supervisor. While the majority of the current literature seems to highlight the importance of career prospects in the daily lives of postdoctoral researchers, the other two aspects seem to be somewhat less explored. However, personal factors as well as the relationship with the supervisor appear to be of major importance in the search for work–life balance, feelings of competency and overall satisfaction among postdoctoral researchers. Research limitations/implications At the theoretical level, this paper allows a better understanding of the experiences of postdoctoral students in the social sciences, which seem to be less documented than those in scientific fields (e.g., Science, technology, engineering and mathematics postdoctoral fellow). Practical implications On a practical level, it constitutes a tool for reflection for postdoctoral researchers in the social sciences as well as for academic actors working to support and develop the well-being of these researchers (e.g. teachers, supervisors, administrators), all with the aim of optimising academic practices. Originality/value These results are discussed with respect to the specificity that our subjective personal narratives can offer to understand postdoctoral experiences, particularly in the social sciences, and thus offer reflections on ways to attend to individual psychosocial and relational needs that can foster an improved personal and professional training.

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Enhancing career development of postdoctoral trainees: act locally and beyond

Cited by 12 publications

References 12 publications

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot programme

The power of peer networking for improving STEM faculty job applications: a successful pilot program

Can you tell me more about your postdoctoral experience? A personal narrative review of the postdoctoral position in the social sciences

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