Newcastle Cancer Centre
at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research
“Getting that first post-doc”
Anthony Moorman
Professor 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
Research
Technician /
Assistant /
Associate
Scientist
Post-doc
Fellowship
Lecturer
Independent
Researcher
Senior
Tenured
Academic
Position
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