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If you set a destination, then you will know how to (or figure out how to) get there! Reverse engineer this simple principle to advance your career. Develop specific and tailored research and career goals, and set aside time to discuss these goals with your mentor, annually. Individual Development Plans (IDPs) offer language and structure to frame your goal-setting. Examples of IDPs may be accessed at myidp.sciencecareers.org

Your primary advisor is a great sounding person to provide feedback on and support/sponsor your IDP. Meet with them regularly to discuss not just the progress of your research project and upcoming deadlines, but to discuss your career goals and skillsets you want to build. PIs are very busy, and so help them support your career by mentoring up. Link to:  Overview - Mentoring Up

But your primary advisor shouldn’t be the only mentor you rely on. You may find mentors in other faculty within your department, your collaborators, or by networking. Write them a brief email after your meeting to say hello and to begin a line of communication. Follow up by occasionally sending them updates, or if you have specific questions about career development (letter writing, informational interview): reach out and suggest a few days/times that works for you. How or where do you network? 

Fellowship grants are great tools to hone your writing skills, and to demonstrate your ability to obtain competitive fellowships. LUC postdocs have successfully obtained fellowships from:

1. NIH F32

2. Foundation Grants like the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship

Examples of: successful grants and language for Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training section for an F32 are available - email PDO at PostdocOffice at luc.edu

To help you stay aware of relevant grant mechanisms, sign in to personalize your account on Pivot-RP, a Clarivate resource that uses AI to help identify funding opportunities related to your research field or training position:

1. Sign in using your LUC credentials

2. To auto-generate a list of relevant grant mechanisms:
   1. Navigate to Profile Tab: provide a summary of your research in Expertise
   2. This will auto-generate a list of Funding Matches, which are updated in the Advisor category. This list may be accessed by hovering your mouse over the Home icon and selecting Advisor.
   3. Note that this list may be lengthy, and so utilize Filter function to generate a curated list

3. To directly perform a search of available grant mechanisms:
   1. Navigate to Funding: perform a search to find funding opportunities that match your expertise and project
   2. You can save these searches to come back to later under Tracked category

Networking is important because science is, after all, a human enterprise that relies on collaboration, mentorship, and exchange of ideas. Start locally - The PDO offers regular seminar series and opportunities to connect with other LUC postdocs. More informally, get to know your fellow post-docs in the department/school/campus.

Nationally - Look for opportunities for social engagement at national or international meetings. If these seem too daunting, stay after a talk that you found very engaging to introduce yourself to the speaker and to ask a couple questions. Email them afterwards and stay connected!

Postdoctoral years often overlap with formative years in one’s life where significant events like finding one’s partner, starting a family, relocating, receiving a diagnosis, taking care of a family member, loss of a loved one, etc. may happen. Life will always happen no matter what phase of career we are at. So learn to take care of yourself via First Stop Health’s virtual counseling offered for free to LUC postdocs. And seek help while navigating difficulties of daily life by accessing Employee Assistance Program offered via Perspectives AllOne Health. More information on how to access this service may be found here. Additional and alternative resources, of course, are available or accessible online or via your primary care provider.