What can I be with a PhD in

Pedro Resende, GABBA 11th, Co-Founder and Director at Chaperone

Applying for group leader positions: tips to consider

Statistics are clear, becoming a group leader is a hyper competitive career path to follow. Thus, to start applying for group leader positions without a plan is not a good judgment. In this article, I would like to share with you some key tips for those considering embarking on this challenge. I gathered dozens of tips in conversations I had with group leaders while preparing to write this article. I selected a few that, in my biased view, I perceived as very important, while not being the most obvious ones. Divided in three chronological stages, by any means this is supposed to be seen as a complete roadmap for success in this endeavour. For that purpose, more space would be needed, and most certainly a personalized plan rather than general (one size fits all) tips. However, I do hope it helps some of you who are considering applying for group leader positions to avoid certain mistakes, and that it quenches the curiosity of those who are not considering this journey but are interested in this topic.

Before pressing send - first things first ¬ Get professional help from career consultants to design your application and prepare/coach you for interviews

In academia, many of us have a very dangerous belief that to get help from other professionals to advance our career is like cheating. Don’t let this stigma harm your progress. Most of the most young researchers who succeeded in making this competitive transition, took advantage of career development services to help them in writing their applications, designing their scientific presentation, and coaching for interviews, etc. ¬ Ask for feedback from other group leaders In addition to career development professionals, other group leaders can give you valuable feedback in different aspects and steps of your applications, to be used in a complementary manner to the help from career development professionals.

¬ Plan in advance Be aware that the entire process (from starting to work on your applications) to get an offer most times takes more than one year. Consider this when planning your personal and professional life.

¬ Highlight your scientific network Your research plan is very important, but institutions are also very interested in how good your scientific network is. Many scientists underestimate the importance of this factor. In Europe, the majority of funding opportunities require international collaborations of some sort, by showing that you developed a healthy network, with undergoing, and potential future collaborations, you ́re providing strong evidence that you ́ll be competitive in these calls.

¬ Study the work culture of the hosting institutions You want to avoid Institutions with toxic environments, and try to find those where your values are aligned with the institutional leadership. Basically, you want to find a work culture that can nurture your personal and professional growth, and this requires some due diligence that should not be underestimated. Talk to researchers at different levels (group leaders, Postdocs, students) currently working in that institution, and also with some that worked there but left recently. If possible, talk also with people from scientific facilities, human resources, etc, and try to get a sense of how happy they feel about their work environment.

¬ Don’t put all your eggs in one basket As said in the beginning, the odds are complicated. Some openings for group leader positions receive hundreds of applications for 1-2 positions. You should definitely not apply to all opportunities, you should have a strategic approach, but in this approach consider that you will probably need to apply to much more than 2-3 positions. Furthermore, consider that while you might receive feedback from your application and interviews while you start the process, you enter a learning curve and it’s normal that your applications become better with time, and that you feel more confident in the process with time.

Interviews - time to shine

¬ Research and study Know the work and scientific interests of the most relevant PIs in the recruiting department. Highlight potential new collaborations (even if you don’t share scientific interests, make sure to highlight that you are bringing in a new model, technology, expertise, and how that can be helpful for others in the department). After job talks, people tend to ask questions related to their own background. Knowing their work will also help you be prepared to answer them efficiently. Also, study the abundance and regularity (or lack of it) of possible finding sources (how many grants can you apply to? Are calls open every year?) - this can be a crucial factor to consider if offered more than one position. And, importantly, if you’re in a lucky position to have more than one offer, don’t contrast the respective starting packages without investigating for example how much it costs to hire staff in different countries. A postdoc salary for example can cost much more in certain countries vs others.

¬ Ask for an offer letter If you are offered a job, ask for an offer letter that clearly states all conditions agreed (including start up packages, paid stipends of lab personnel - including their career type, number and number of years to be paid - lab space, access to shared infrastructure, etc). Got the job - congratulations! Next important steps

¬ Invest in Leadership & Management training Becoming a Group Leader, in many ways, is like you’re in a totally new career. As the title puts it, you need to become a leader. You start putting down pipettes, and most of your time will be spent in writing grants, recruiting, supervising and mentoring scientists and managing projects. Group leaders should equip themselves with leadership and management skills as early as possible. For an holistic and effective development of these skills I recommend you do a combination of: 1) formal structured courses, 2) less structured actions group training actions (workshops, webinars), 3) personalized 1-to-1 career consultancy; 4) online and offline learning materials (books, podcasts, opinion articles, etc), and 5) informal peer learning with group leaders from your institution and/or other institutions.

¬ Make sure you hire the best people This is often critical as in the beginning many people are tempted to grow quickly, and hire any one who applies, since they are afraid they won’t have enough people interested. This can be a big mistake in the long term, and I have witnessed so many rushed and not well-taught recruitments by group leaders in their first years as independent researchers, that I am certain this is one of the most common mistakes. Recruiting talented people is arguably the most important aspect to consider in your first years. Hire for skills, not just for qualifications and motivation.

¬ Define your lab vision and values Take time to think about what kind of research team you want to build. What guiding principles, mission, and goals, you want your lab to have? If these are not identified, and communicated to each member of your team, people will feel lost, not purpose-aligned, and conflicts will happen.

¬ Define a clear strategy on what/when grants to apply Plan and manage effectively your grant writing time. Allocate a dedicated time in your agenda, account for eligibility criteria in advance, and balance the competitiveness/workload needed

before starting writing. Inform your institutional grant office as early as possible, and liaise with them throughout the full application preparation period.

¬ Find a mentor Mentors are always useful, from early stages of your career to more senior ones. A mentor is a more senior or experienced professional, in which you engage in a relationship focused on your short, medium and long-term growth and development at the personal, professional and career levels. This is not someone you meet for a chat for punctual advice, and mentor-mentee relationships should be developed on the basis of trust, empathy, mutual interest, and best mentor-mentee are developed organically. As a mentee, you should be involved in setting the expectations and making them clear to your mentor, as well as the regularity and format of your meetings, etc. ¤

How can Chaperone help you?

At Chaperone (www.chaperone.online), we are developing the first online marketplace of personalized career development for scientists, with the mission to democratize access to high quality career development. In our platform, you can book online 1-to-1 sessions with experienced international career consultants (advisors, specialists and coaches), covering more than 50 career topics and many country-specific job markets. Our average user rating is 4.9 (out of 5 stars), and in just 8 months we have already supported scientists from 7 different countries, coming from prestigious institutions such as Karolinska Institutet or CERN.

Scientists who experienced our services mentioned they felt more empowered regarding their career management and revealed very positive changes in their well-being, productivity and also helped make job transitions more effectively.

Different areas of career development. Through Chaperone you can have access to career information, career advice, career counseling and career coaching.

ATG - All Time GABBAs and Chaperone have recently signed a partnership. ATG members can benefit from a discount on online career development sessions by sending and email to alumnigabba@gmail.com.