Skill Building

(Based on remarks by Kevin Eggan, Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, on 6/25/2017)

In the Early Phase

Think about the kinds of questions and the new technologies that will make you unique. Building these up and bringing exiting new ideas to the discipline will serve to justify the argument that you are uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in your field. Whether you're an inventor or an early adopter, make sure the technologies you use still look fresh when you reach the point of applying ...social network

Network: You will need letters of recommendation/reference from collaborators, faculty mentors, and close colleagues.

  • Build relationships within your department. Introduce yourself to other faculty members. Practice your very short pitch/elevator speech.
  • ​​​​​Go to conferences, which give you the opportunity to bump into more scholars. Visit the posters of the students of the faculty your want to meet. Go to talks, as presenters will linger afterwards and you may have a chance to chat with them. Make sure to have/ask a good question.
  • Have a LinkedIn profile and/or a website.

Later Phases

  • Attend smaller meetings (For example, a Gordon Conference), which will enable you to build closer relationships with other attendees. Get your voice heard and your name known. Promote your work. Practice your elavator pitch, notably for your poster, if you're presenting one. Generate a platform for yourself.
  • Get into the mindset that you're building an interesting research program. Develop an air of inevitability and a quiet sense of certainty. You're not a postdoc supplicant, but a fellow scientist. Learn to talk to faculty like colleagues. Faculty don't refer to each other as "Professor," so don't either.
  • Get information. If you have the chance during a conversation, inquire where they think the next job openings are going to be.