The title to this post may be a bit misleading…this is not an instructional booklet on getting the postdoc of your dreams. How could that even be? I haven’t graduated with my PhD yet, so I’m no expert on next rung of the academic ladder. I’m sure there are books out there that give you step-by-step instructions, but if they really worked don’t you think you’d see every grad student reading them?
What this post begins is an unknown number of entries that will chronicle the choices and questions I encounter as I try to land a postdoc in Microbiology
Today, part I, deals with the question: How many labs should you apply to?
I have been told two different answers to this question.
The first answer is to send your CV to your top choices (say 2-5 labs) all at the same time.
Hopefully you hear back from the PI of each lab and arrange a visit.
If the visit is a positive experience for both parties you should indicate that you are looking at other labs and will make a decision shortly.
The second answer is to send you CV to your number one choice first and wait for a response before sending your CV to any other labs. This way the PI knows that if they are interested in taking you, you will accept the position. Thus, they are not wasting their time on an applicant that may or may not end up in the lab.
Clearly, both approaches have their pros and cons. As a postdoc, how did you go about the application process? As a PI, would the second answer make a particular applicant stand out in a good way?
How soon should you start inquiring about postdocs? I’ve heard at least a year in advance of your expected defense date. What’s your advice?
Eric, it seems to depend on your field and the lab you are looking at. For example…
The lab down the hall from us does purely synthetic chemistry. Their grad students apply for postdocs and industry positions at least a year in advance. Once reason is because money is tight for synthetic chemists and they need a lot of time to apply for fellowships.
A friend of mine had her heart set on a very very high profile lab. There was a sort of waiting-list for this lab of about 2 years. So she applied almost 2 years from her expected graduation date.
Several people in our lab have obtained great postdocs only a few months before they were set to graduate. The longer you wait, the more fantastic your CV may end up being (since you will cram in numerous new experiments in your final months) upping your chances of getting into the lab.
I am aiming to graduate by the end of the year, but plan to send out my CV this month because the NIH fellowship due date is August 8th.
I applied to six labs simultaneously, resulting in three rejections / non answers, two phone interviews (both were Vancouver labs), and one invitation to a real interview in the Netherlands a month or two later, including a research talk. Both phone interviews resulted in offers, so I took one of them, and cancelled the Dutch interview. The whole process took 2-3 months and everything was finalised with, ooh, I think 4-6 months to go, but then that’s in the UK system, which is different. (And don’t forget to build in time to get a work permit if you’re going to a different country).
I think most PIs expect you to be applying to more than one place (I was upfront with the two PIs who interviewed me and they were both fine with it), so personally I wouldn’t wait for a response from your first choice before applying to other labs. PIs are busy people and it might take weeks or even months, not to mention that they might ask you to apply for a fellowship first, which you won’t necessarily get…
Good luck! I hope you’ll keep us posted on the search!
I think you’re OK sending it out to multiple (a few, anyway) labs. It’s the same logic as job hunting. Not everyone will be positive or reply even , so if you do just one application and wait…and..wait, you’re not optimising your search.
Be honest if you get to talk to PIs, tell them you’re looking at a couple of options.
But don’t write a form letter. Each application should be unique. PIs will smell a form letter from a mile off.
Also, something to consider, off the top of my head, if you know what you’d like to focus your postdoc training in the shortlist of labs should be fairly small anyway.
nice article
Hello Elizbeth, how many labs? Not an easy question to answer but take a look at Ten Simple Rules for Selecting a PostDoctoral Position which is part of a handy series
Thanks Duncan! Those “ten simple rules” are definitely ones to keep in mind when picking/applying for a postdoc. The interesting part will be how easy it is to abide by all ten…which, of course, I will be documenting here! :)
Well, don’t make the mistake some potential postdoc just made writing to me – they addressed the email to someone else.
What would impress me if you were ‘cold emailing me for a postdoc position’? Two things:
1 – mention in the body of the email some specific piece of work that my group have done or that I state is being done and what you could contribute to it,
2 – acknowledge that you’d be willing to apply for competitive fellowships, giving a couple suggestions with closing dates.
Both of these things would tell me that you are seriously interested in my research in my lab and not just any postdoc anywhere. I might even click on the CV to have a look.
Regarding not getting a reply – I don’t reply to people who do not address me by name in the email cover message. “Dear madam”, or “dear professor someone else” get deleted pretty quickly. “Dear Sir” makes me swear a lot! But we are busy and may intend to reply but just forget. A little reminder 3 or 4 weeks later if you really really like the look of the lab may not be out of order.
And if I were to actually answer the question of how many labs, well its going to be how many labs do you have to apply to until you find one you like. Don’t be afraid of having multiple offers, but don’t string PIs along, particularly if you are writing for competitive fellowships.