

Post 3 of Matt Boedy’s The Job Search Series in ESN’s Navigating Career Stages collection. Find Post 1 here and Post 2 here. [Read more…] about The Job Search, Part 3: The Campus Visit
InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
Post 3 of Matt Boedy’s The Job Search Series in ESN’s Navigating Career Stages collection. Find Post 1 here and Post 2 here. [Read more…] about The Job Search, Part 3: The Campus Visit
Post 2 of Matt Boedy’s The Job Search Series in ESN’s Navigating Career Stages collection. Find Post 1 here.Â
As a reminder, my defining thesis for these posts is: we need to make the job process into the ‘will of God.’ Or in other words, we need to discover how God can work in us and among us during the search process. [Read more…] about The Job Search, Part 2: The Interview Process
Kelly Seaton continues her series on finding a postdoc in the sciences. Previously: One Postdoc’s Journey, Where Should I Begin?, Identifying the Right Position
What questions do you have about the postdoc interview process? Do you have any interview experiences or advice to share?
Photo credit: solarnu via Flickr
Once you have submitted your applications and landed an interview, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Be prepared! This may seem like an obvious point, (and not even worth mentioning!) but there is more to preparation than meets the eye.
2. Relax. You are interviewing them to see if they are a good fit for you, as much as they are interviewing you for the position. If you are relaxed, enthusiastic, and engaged in the interview process, it will be more enjoyable for you and you will stand out in the field of candidates.
3. Engage with everyone you can. I have known multiple cases where postdoc candidates were offered other positions in the same department, based on their seminar and interactions with other professors afterward. This is especially critical if funding in the interviewing lab is not certain. If nothing else, it gains you exposure to others in the department and the beginning of departmental interactions if you should accept the position.
4. Ask questions. What is the lab atmosphere like? Do people collaborate both within and outside of the lab? What opportunities are there for publications, and what are the PI’s expectations for the number and frequency of publications? Does the PI encourage and fund postdocs to attend national conferences? Do they have funding available for your research, or are you expected to provide your own funding either before or within a year of joining? Are postdocs allowed to pursue outside opportunities such as teaching? Do not be afraid to ask questions about what matters to you and your career goals — you want to make sure it is a supportive environment conducive to achieving your future career goals.
5. Follow up. It may seem old-fashioned, but send a thank-you to every person you interviewed with. An e-mail will suffice, but be sure to thank them for their time and include something specific that you talked about — e.g. “I really enjoyed hearing more about your research into the role of Heat Shock Proteins in myocyte death during cardiovascular disease, etc.†When you write to the primary PI, reiterate your interest in the position, how your interests fit with the lab in general, and that you look forward to hearing from them again soon. Now that I’m on the other side and interviewing technicians, it shows me that the candidate is engaged, and appreciates the fact that I took time out of my busy day to talk to them.
Another good way to follow up is to ask to for the contact information of former postdocs from the lab. They will be able to answer more questions about the lab environment, the PI’s mentoring style, and how it prepared (or didn’t prepare) them for their career after the postdoc.
What questions do you have about the postdoc interview process? Do you have any interview experiences or advice to share?
Kelly concludes her series with advice for starting your new position.