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A Mentoring Toolkit: Tips and Tools for Mentoring Early-Career

Researchers

Kathleen Flint, PhDJanuary 6, 2010

AAS Winter Meeting

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Why Mentor?

• Mentoring correlates with increased success in academic career• Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey (2005): Mentoring is part of

“structured oversight” that correlates with greater success and satisfaction for postdocs

• Mentoring critical part of training for early-career researchers• NSF/NIH Definition: A postdoctoral scholar ("postdoc")

is an individual holding a doctoral degree who is engaged in a temporary period of mentored research and/or scholarly training for the purpose of acquiring the professional skills needed to pursue a career path of his or her choosing

• Mentoring plan can provide a training roadmap for both mentor and protégé

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General Tips

Encourage multiple mentors• Supervisor does not need to be sole

mentor• Multiple mentors can satisfy a

diversity of needs• Studies show this may be more

effective for many protégés, especially women (c.f. Tierney & Bensimon 1996, Promotion and Tenure: Community and Socialization in Academe; Ragins & Cotton 1999, J. of Appl. Psych, 84(4), 529)

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General Tips

Mentoring can occur in a variety of places• Within research group: group meeting?

practice talks? involve in grant writing? opportunities to mentor others in group?

• Within institution: teaching opportunities in department? other colleagues for collaboration? professional development opportunities?

• Outside institution: introduce to your networks? send to other facilities/institutions for skill development? recommend professional opportunities, session chairing, journal editing, advisory group participation?

For more suggestions, see NPA’s “Developing a Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan”

National Postdoctoral Association www.nationalpostdoc.org

General Tips

Mentoring is a two-way street• Identify roles and responsibilities for

both mentor and protégé • Consider writing them down (perhaps

using the AAMC Postdoc Compact)

Mentoring can include professional, career, and/or personal development• Mentors don’t have to do it all• Be clear about what you can offer

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Mentoring Plan: First Steps

• Encourage your protégé to perform a self-assessment • Individual Development Plan• NPA Core Competencies

• Develop/find/offer relevant activities • Schedule regular meetings • Conduct on-going assessments to

gauge progress towards goals

From NPA’s “Developing a Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan”

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Individual Development Plan (IDP)

• Identifies professional development needs and career objectives

• Helps set milestones and ways to achieve them• Facilitates communication between protégé and

mentor/advisor• FASEB IDP Template:

http://opa.faseb.org/pdf/idp.pdf • Also, provides framework for feedback/evaluation:

http://opa.faseb.org/pdf/SampleAnnualReview.pdf

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IDP How-To

• Steps for Protégés: • Self-Assessment• Survey career opportunities• Write plan to match skills and strengths with career

choices• Implement plan, revise as necessary

• Steps for Mentors:• Become familiar with available opportunities• Discuss opportunities with postdoc• Review IDP and help revise• Establish regular review of progress and help revise

the IDP as needed

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NPA Postdoc Core Competencies• Purpose: To provide guidelines for postdocs

and mentors to assess success in completing the steps needed for scientific career fulfillment

• Based on life-long learning model• Not intended to be prescriptive or limiting –

should be individualized• Download a self-assessment checklist at:

http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/core-competencies

• Consider also encouraging peer review

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Competencies Needed for Career Success in

the 21st Century

Scientific Knowledge

Communication Skills

Professionalism

Research Skill Development

Management and Leadership

Skills

Responsible Conduct of Research

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www.nationalpostdoc.org/core-competencies

National Postdoctoral Association www.nationalpostdoc.org

Mentoring International Scholars• Visa issues

• Become familiar with visa options (or with those individuals who already are)

• Monitor your protégé’s visa status

• Cultural Differences• Clearly communicate about norms, expectations

• Language Barriers• Poor communication skills can be inhibiting for a

junior researcher

• Career Guidance• Provide the benefit of your informal networks, as

theirs may be limited in the U.S.• Encourage grant writing training to learn about U.S.

agencies

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Mentoring Women

• Mentoring can be especially critical for women, so everything mentioned will certainly benefit them. Mentoring can:• Share “inside” knowledge about the profession, the

department• Expand networks• Provide encouragement and role modeling

• Women face additional challenges in finding mentors, such as:• Limited access to potential mentors due to limited

informal networks• Women often downplay their success, attractiveness

as a protégé• Few same-sex role models• Peer-perceptions of cross-gender mentoring

relationships

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Mentoring Women

• Provide assistance to women in identifying and forming mentoring relationships• Women benefit more from mentor-initiated or

mutually-initiated relationships (Stonewater, Eveslage & Dingerson 1990)

• Multiple mentor model is especially effective for women • “Collective mentoring” model can create supportive

environment, with department overseeing a mentoring team

• “Peer mentoring” can also be effective, esp. as complement to mentoring team

• Encourage protégés to look beyond research group, department, discipline, institution

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Additional Resources• NPA’s Mentoring Toolkit: www.nationalpostdoc.org/mentoring • NPA’s Postdoc Core Competencies

• www.nationalpostdoc.org/core-competencies • ORI RCR Education page on Mentorship:

• ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/rcr_mentoring.shtml • HHMI Lab Management Handbooks:

• Making the Right Moves • Training Scientists to Make the Right Moves

• Nat’l Academies (1997): Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering

• University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School handbooks:• How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate

Students at a Diverse University• How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty in a

Diverse University• AAMC Compact Between Postdoctoral Appointees and Their

Mentors