Navigating Postdoctoral Life: Comprehensive Support and Career Services for New and Returning Postdocs
Welcome!
To help those new to their postdoctoral appointments get started, here is a list of important steps and resources:
- Check out rental housing options (apartments.com, apartmentguide.com, craigslist), Penn State's off-campus housing site, and/or home ownership programs. (Student Affairs also has detailed information on tenant rights if that's helpful.)
- Get a PA driver's license.
- Acquaint yourself with the local bus schedule and the RIDEpass mass transit program.
- Get a Penn State ID.
- Check out the National Postdoc Association Survival Guide.
- Explore child care options if that applies: Winnie.com, StateCollege.com
- Find research at Penn State and explore that research on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
- Consider joining an Employee Resource Group.
- Check out the Penn State Postdoctoral Society (university wide, governed by postdocs) and Postdocs of EMS (an exellent model of postdoctoral self-organization within a college).
- Start planning your PA bucket list!
For current postdocs, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs offers a range of services:
1:1 or Small Group Postdoctoral Career Coaching:
- Personalized career coaching sessions for postdoctoral scholars and fellows.
- Review and refinement of LinkedIn profiles, CVs, resumes, and cover letters.
- Guidance and support for career clarity, discernment, and job search strategy.
Virtual Forums for Job Search Support and Community Building:
- Two opt-in groups, right now specific to tenure track and industry job searches. For access, email: postdoc@psu.edu.
- Utilization of an online platform for peer interaction on topics such as networking, strategies, hope/success, institutional knowledge, interviewing, negotiating, and considerations to teaching and diversity.
- Networking opportunities to connect with fellow postdocs.
Career and Professional Development Programming:
- Weekly email listing relevant postdoctoral programming (local and national), insights, timely articles, and opportunities.
- Diverse year-long programming content to enhance career prospects, including in-person, hybrid, and online formats.
Annual Postdoctoral Research Symposium:
- Showcasing the research and leadership of postdoctoral scholars and fellows, complemented by meals and guest speakers.
- Networking and collaboration opportunities for community engagment.
Opportunities for Continual "Feedforward":
- Interests/priorities surveys encourage the reporting of firsthand insight on the postdoctoral experience.
- Post-event surveys encourage suggestions that inform future years' programming.