Searching for a postdoctoral position: how to find what is right for you

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Searching for a postdoctoral position how to
find what is right for you!

• Angela J. Grippo
• Stritch School of Medicine
• Loyola University Medical Center

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Goals for a Postdoctoral Fellowship

• To prepare you for a job
• To learn new skills
• To become an independent researcher
• To learn how a laboratory functions
• To form collaborations
• To publish

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Methods to Use

• Talk with your current mentor
• Talk with faculty within and outside of your
  department
• Use the internet
• Contact potential researchers directly

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First Steps

• Update your C.V.
• Talk with your mentor- who does he/she know?
• Draft a cover letter/initial e-mail
• Determine any necessary deadlines
• Ask if you can visit the lab

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Curriculum Vitae

• Important information up front
• Publications
• Research support
• Honors and awards
• Research summaries can be used in place of
  publications
• Remove college activities unless very important
• e.g., graduation distinctions

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Factors to Evaluate

• Mentoring style
• Level of independence
• Funding sources
• Laboratory environment (social and professional)
• Facilities and equipment
• Potential for collaborations
• Mentor-postdoc compatibility

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Intangibles

• Its all in the marketing
• Be assertive
• Talk about your good qualities

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Useful Websites

• National Postdoctoral Association
• www.nationalpostdoc.org
• National Academies Committee on Science,
  Engineering and Public Policy
• www7.nationalacademies.org/postdoc/index.html
• Postdoc Net
• www.postdocnet.com
• Postdoctorate Net
• www.postdoctorate.net
• Science Next Wave
• http//nextwave.sciencemag.org/pdn/