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Finding mentors and guidance while in a postdoc?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I'm between a grad program and a job, in a post-doc. In my grad program, I had great mentorship and guidance; in my post-doc, I have neither. I feel very adrift and mostly alone. (This may echo what others say about jobs that are not near other universities).

Maybe I feel like mentorship and guidance would be helpful for me at this point, and I don't know where to find it. There is also general loneliness, but that may be distinct. I've been trying to read and stay up to date on the field, and keep writing to stay engaged. It's all been moderately helpful, but I wonder if others have tips as to how to navigate this in-between phase? Maybe even how to stay motivated on the job market when no mentor seems to "have your back"?

I'm sorry this reader is dealing with this, but these are excellent questions that hopefully we can help with!

One thing that I did earlier in my career was apply for a 2 week NEH summer seminar, which was fantastic. I got to meet quite a few other early-career folk there, along with a few accomplished senior members of the profession who I developed helpful mentoring relationships with. While, to be honest, a lot of my early-career experience involved learning to stand on my own two feet, as it were, finding my own way without much guidance (something that I think is probably inevitable for a lot of early-career people), I will say that their mentorship was incredibly helpful at crucial times in my development and on the job-market. So, I'd definitely recommend applying to summer programs/institutes.

Does anyone else have any helpful tips or experiences to share?

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5 responses to “Finding mentors and guidance while in a postdoc?”

  1. Bill Vanderburgh

    I remember having very similar feelings in my first job out of grad school. Setting up a new life in a new place is difficult to begin with, and losing the network/friends/mentors I had had was a big change for the worse. This is probably something we should do better on as a profession.
    The folks who hired OP should be at least somewhat available for social and/or professional connection–if not, why did they hire a post doc?
    What about the PhD supervisor and/or committee? Are they still willing to read drafts or give advice? I’d guess most supervisors don’t want to just abandon people they’ve invested years in. Reaching out to express the facts in the post might be a good move. Maybe they know of other people in the area OP could meet.

    Reply
  2. Larry McCullough

    I worked for 45 years as a philosopher-medical educator. The idea that a fellow would not be mentored takes my breath away, inasmuch as it would not be acceptable in medical education to offer a post-doc fellow without a program of mentorship in teaching, research methods, scholarly work and publication, and grant writing (all of which post-docs in medical ethics need, if they wish to succeed in medical education). The reported experience invites the hypothesis that the post-doc described is simply a way to get some extra hands in the kitchen at lower cost than that of an assistant professor and without the commitment to possible tenure. As I continue peruse the ads in JIP, I discover supporting evidence for this hypothesis. The APA needs to set standards for post-docs, to prevent both the adademic neglect of post-docs and their exploitation as yet another form of cheap labor. Absent such guidance, it is time for department chairs to provide leadership (for which they are being paid).

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  3. Eternal Kitchen Hand

    Larry McCullogh,
    “The reported experience invites the hypothesis that the post-doc described is simply a way to get some extra hands in the kitchen at lower cost than that of an assistant professor and without the commitment to possible tenure.”
    I have never known a postdoc to be otherwise, nor does anyone else I know. I have known one PI to provide some informal mentoring, but they viewed this as a personal favour, not a responsibility of their role. The upside is that, if you outperform the average assistant professor in terms of publications and student evaluations, then you might be hired for another postdoc (almost certainly in another country, or perhaps continent) before your current postdoc runs out. It’s a step up on VAP/adjuncting, but it’s still an awful way to live. If I didn’t enjoy the work itself, I certainly wouldn’t do it, and I wouldn’t start now, when things are even tougher than when I started.

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  4. A few tips

    Some suggestions, as I’ve also just ended a postdoc and managed to enjoy it, which, I heard, is not all that common:
    1. Sit in seminars taught by your home department faculty and get to know them better;
    2. Ask if you could present your research at one of their colloquia series;
    3. Submit to conferences, as many as possible, and go meet people there;
    4. Set up coffee meetings with other faculty members.
    In general, you should be proactive and approach people to build connections. This is not just for doing postdocs, though, but really applies to early career stages pre and post PhDs.

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  5. friend

    I had the same experience after graduation in my first job. I think it was a real challenge, but also an opportunity to learn to stand on my own feet as Marcus puts it. Maybe give a try to survive without mentors by finding helpful peers. Eventually, I found it wonderful to have peers helping each other and growing senior together:)

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