Blog
Handy bits of advice and thoughts on careers
How do I choose a mentor? A postdoc’s guide
Choosing a mentor comes up a lot when I'm talking to postdocs. Either they come to me and say, “Oh, I need a mentor”, but haven't really got an idea what that might involve. Or their situation is making me think “you need a mentor”. I’m going to lay everything out...
Leaving planet postdoc without guilt
Escaping planet postdoc without guilt. This is a constant theme when I work with postdocs. It's either feeling guilty about leaving full stop or leaving academia Or even leaving one bit of discipline for a slightly different discipline. There are often feelings of...
5 key elements of an academic CV
#1 Tell me what your doing now One of the things that infuriates me is not being able to find out straightaway what someone's doing from their academic CV. They might lead with their PhD but they don't tell me what they're doing now. If you are currently a postdoc,...
Writing strongly about yourself in fellowship applications
Crafting the perfect fellowship application is tough. One of the big problems is being able to write strongly about ourselves. After all a fellowship is a personal funding award. We have to 'sell the product' - us. But how? #1 I before we except after me When I...
3 top mistakes postdocs make when applying for lectureships
I've worked with many postdocs who are applying for lectureships. It's a really pivotal career stage, making that lectureship leap. But there are certain things that people don't quite know or haven't quite thought of when applying for a lectureship. Let’s learn from...
What is stopping you learning?
SPACESHIP!!!! OK, not a spaceship. But a ship. Or a boat at least. But the Nerd Coach has returned from the family holiday with her powerboat licence. Oh boy (or buoy?) was it fun. My boat was a mix of the Enterprise (at least I said Warp Factor 6 in my head whilst...
