If you're reading this, you're either wandering around my website or you're approaching a place in your PhD where decisions about the future can no longer be procrastinated and you're starting to think about a postdoc.

If you're feeling a little clueless about the process or just generally overwhelmed, that's okay! Much of the process of transition to a postdoc is opaque to many people and full of "hidden curriculum" types of nuances, so it's not your fault. The goal of this article is to hopefully provide you with tools to move forward, or at least get you thinking so you can develop a strategy of your own

The foremost thing to ask yourself is: should I do a postdoc?

To transition to a postdoc shouldn't be viewed as the default next step to getting a PhD. There are plenty of opportunities to explore that aren't research-based or academic and they range from communications to policy to biotech and more.

If your answer to this question is maybe, then it's worth starting the process of searching for a postdoc and talking to people, while at the same time exploring and applying to other jobs. Having your doctorate opens up many career options for you, so I encourage looking at other jobs if you're not sure an academic postdoc is the move for you. The goal is to find and do what makes you happy and fulfilled, whatever your goals are. The reason I encourage you to do both (begin academic postdoc search process while exploring and applying to other jobs) is because this will likely help clarify whether it's the right call for you. You can always pull out when you realize it's not for you before committing to anything. Of course the flipside is true - you may find the prospect of a an academic postdoc, if it's the right fit, energizes and motivates you. Lastly, some non-academic jobs require or highly favor candidates who've gone through a postdoctoral stage. This is however widely variable and you should read job descriptions and/or do informational interviews to find out what the best approach for you is. I just wanted to make sure to mention it.

Bottom line: take time to reflect on what your goals are and what energizes you, and explore the various paths you can take there.

Other things to consider as you read this article

1) My words aren't meant to be prescriptive. Everyone's PhD experience is unique, and the postdoc is the same way. Take all advice with a grain of salt; mine and others'. Take your time to reflect on what's important to you - your needs and ambitions. 
2) There are some numbers suggested in this article that might seem high to you. I provide a rationale for why I think those numbers are appropriate, but if that rationale doesn't fit your case, change up the numbers.
3) You'll notice at no point do I suggest browsing job ads. That's because, although they're useful for finding jobs, they're not the only way. This is one of those ‘hidden curriculum’ types of things in academia. The reality is, there are tons of labs that do not post job advertisements and the way they hire is through prospective postdocs cold emailing them. If there are people you want to work with as a postdoc, just email them (see below). Definitely check job ads, but don't limit yourself to applying to labs based on them having an advertised position.
4) Other caveats: I'm a neuroscientist based in the U.S. The suggestions I make might therefore be more relevant to the life sciences and to U.S. based researchers or those seeking positions within the U.S.
5) Postdoctoral positions exist outside of academia (for example some large pharma and biotech companies have such positions), but the strategies I outline here are mainly intended for those pursuing an academic postdoc. 

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I. The Postdoc Field

By the time they approach their defense, some people have a clear idea of the scientific field within which they'd like to do research. Others, like me, might have wide-ranging interests or simply more than one interest that they've struggled to choose from. Once again, that is okay! You don't need to know precisely what your career-long research interests are at this stage.

So, how do you identify the ideas and research direction that interest you? There are multiple ways of doing this:

Go to conferences. Try to attend conferences during you final year or two of PhD with the intention of being exposed to new ideas and meeting new people. This might be your field's regular flagship meeting (for example in neuroscience that would be SfN), or smaller, more intimate conferences (e.g. GRCs or Keystone Symposia).

Read papers. You're a scholar, an academic, you've been reading papers for several years at this point, so why is it a suggestion here? It's to remind you that if you've mainly been reading papers within your narrow field, and if you feel like you might want to branch out in your postdoc, you should take the time to expand the scope of your reading. If you read a paper you thought was cool, make a note of the lab.

Use your network: Are there PIs around you whose opinion you value? Have a chat with them and ask for suggestions. They don't even need to be PIs, have conversations with students and postdocs around you about scientific ideas. One advantage of talking to PIs within a field you're interested in is that they might actually have personal relationships with prospective mentors you might consider, and they can either make an introduction for you or at least provide you with some inside info about that lab's scientific vision and working culture. I will make a plug here for some outstanding humans I know, some of whom are hiring. If you are interested in their work, check out their labs!

The bird app: You can actually find useful information on twitter (wild, right?) and lovely scientific communities. If you're an outsider to a field but have some questions or are interested in seeing some of the discourse by those researchers, twitter can be helpful. Many scientists will jump in to answer your question even if they don't know you. You'll also see PIs announce jobs with some info about projects involved. I have a particular affinity for those who post not only what they hope a postdoc candidate offers, but also what they have to offer the postdoc in terms of mentorship and support. There's of course no quick and structured way to enter academic twitter other than to just make an account and follow different people until you find the content you want, so this bullet point is more helpful if you already happen to be on the website.

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II. The Lab List

Okay, now you have a bunch of ideas and have probably started to get a sense of the labs you're interested in. I highly recommend making a spreadsheet where you list the labs you're interested in and suggest making it at least 15 groups. I actually had 36 on my spreadsheet, spanning at least five fields/sub-fields. But I have broad interests and so I wanted broad reach, hence the high number.

What gets you on my list? Interest. That's it. That interest can stem from their scientific scope, their technical skills, something I heard about their culture that appealed to me, I talked to a postdoc by their poster at a conference and they seemed really happy with the lab, vibes, whatever. If I had a general interest in the lab it made the list.

The reason I suggest having at least ten labs on your list is because the goal should be to interview with 3-5 when the time comes. From my list of 36, I emailed a shortlisted 5 and interviewed with 3 of them. Having a few labs on your starting list that represent a big field shift for you is a good thing because maybe you have a chat with the PI in that field that is just so exciting that now you all of the sudden see yourself doing that work. It happens.

I made a template spreadsheet which you can feel free to modify and use in whatever way works best for you. It really doesn't have to be fancy.

download prospective postdocs list template (.xlsx)
downloads

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III. The Trimming

Now you need a way to go from perhaps dozens of prospective labs to a handful. I suggest aiming for having 5-8 labs on your shortlist. Let's say you email 6 labs; you might only get responses or interest from just half of them. Another reason to I think it's beneficial to meet with multiple labs even if you aren't super excited about all of them yet is that it provides you with a broader perspective on scientific approaches/lab cultures/etc. It also gives you more opportunities to practice presenting your work and meeting cool researchers that will be your colleagues regardless of whether you join their lab.

To trim your list down, there are going to be a lot of considerations, and they will vary depending on your goals and lifestyle. However, if you're the kind of person who only cares about the science and will go wherever, that's valid and you can probably skip this part.

So, what I'm going to do is list some criteria you might want to consider. When defining the criteria for yourself, take your time and be thoughtful about it. This is a significant commitment after all, and at this stage of your life and career you deserve to work in a place that fits your needs and interests as much as possible. I split the criteria into two layers of trimming one that you can do with just a bunch of googling and the other is one that takes some talking to people. I want to emphasize that these are listed in no particular order.

Layer 1: what can be evaluated without needing to reach out to anyone

Cost of living: we all know that postdocs are underpaid for their skill level and life stage. If cost of living is an important factor for you, it would be wise to find out what it's like for postdocs in the city you're interested in (can also use tools like this).

Climate: hate the cold so much that it will make you miserable? Avoid Boston. 

Family & friends: if living near friends or family is important to your mental health or overall happiness, consider prioritizing this.

Childcare costs: got tiny humans? I hear they cost a lot to care for, and in some cities that amount can get absurdly expensive.

Lab alumni: if you know the kind of position you would like to be in after the postdoc (industry, R1 position, LAC faculty, etc.) you might want to note how many postdocs have successfully reached those positions (if any) from the lab. I would be careful with this though, because people choose all kinds of career paths and it's not always about the lab or mentor. This one is a little challenging to check sometimes because some labs don't have lab websites where they keep alumni updated. You can find out more by talking to people in the lab or the PI later.

Diversity (of institution or city): this was an important one for me for a number of reasons, it might be for you. For example, if you belong to a marginalized group and the area is one known for racism for example, how would living there impact your mental health and safety.

Visa considerations: if the postdoc lab is in a place that will require onerous immigration-related paperwork that you don't want to go through or can't do, might as well take those labs out of consideration. This was another one I used to trim my list.

Lab funding: if the lab doesn't have the funding to support your work, that can cause a bunch of issues for you. But it's not always easy to determine the funding situation before actually interacting with the PI and lab. Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to check places like RePORTER (this will only list public funding from the NIH). Additionally, the lab doesn't have to be funded in excess, just appropriately funded.

Scientific environment of the department: your science doesn't happen in a vacuum, right? You're going to be interacting with a lot of people in your department (seminars, journal clubs, whatever) and it would be nice to know whether there are researchers that fit your interests in the department. This could also be useful down the line for potential collaborators, brainstorm buddies who enrich your work, or even secondary mentors. 

Layer 2: what can be evaluated by talking to people in your network, checking twitter, or chatting with trainees in the prospective lab

For these criteria, it can be useful to talk to professors you know who might know some of the PIs on your list or at least know of them. It also helps to talk to people currently within the lab you're interested (or alumni). I found that it's best to do so if you already have an existing relationship with the person, but you can also cold email a current or former postdoc and just ask for a 30-minute call to chat about their experience. With any of these approaches, just be aware that once again, one person's experience won't necessarily be yours, but gathering as much information as you can is the best possible way to make a decision IMO. Also note that reaching out to alumni is really valuable in cases where the environment is particularly toxic because it's hard to get that information from current lab members who might hesitate to share out of fear of retribution. It's sad to say but it's true; so, try to talk to alumni as well.

Lab culture: this was the top criterion for me. More important than the science, honestly. I reasoned that I'll be spending most of my time in the lab working with my labmates, and if the environment is toxic, I'm not going to have fun, and if I'm not having fun, why am I there? You're already underpaid and undervalued as a postdoc (more on that later), why subject yourself to abuse and toxicity on top of that, right? You can get clues about lab culture in different ways before ever even reaching out to the PI. Because I prioritized this criterion so much, I didn't email any PI who I didn't think could potentially be a good cultural fit.

Training and mentorship philosophy: some PIs explicitly detail this on their websites (examples here, here, here, and here), but it's still not common practice. One of the things you can glean from conversations with alumni or current trainees in the lab is the values of the lab you're considering. What are the PI's expectations of postdocs? How much creative and intellectual freedom does the postdoc have in designing projects or choosing research direction? How available is the PI (and does that fit your needs)? Does the PI encourage professional development opportunities and training outside of research (or at least not get in your way if you were to seek them out? Do postdocs have resources to attend conferences and network? When leaving the lab, how does the PI support postdocs? Things like that. I also recommend explicitly asking these sorts of questions to the PI during the interview process when you get there. You might feel like it's inappropriate, but it's really not. I asked all of these straightforwardly and received straightforward responses that helped me make better informed decisions.

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IV. First Contact

You've trimmed your list down to a shortlist, and now it's time to contact the PIs on your list. If your current mentor or others in your network have a relationship with a PI you're interested in, you might opt for asking them to send an introductory email connecting you to the prospective PI. In my case, I opted to reach out myself to everyone on my list. Also in my case, every PI was someone who's never met me or engaged with my work before (to my knowledge). So, it was cold email time. Unfortunately, there isn't much guidance out there for how to establish contact and what to include in the first email. Some PIs do mention on their website how to reach out (i.e., should you include a cover letter, CV, names of references, etc.), and if you see that you may choose to follow those instructions. Ironically, in my case I didn't check if the PIs had guidance on their sites and just sent the cold email, but later found out that they had guidelines on their website. So, it might not actually matter? Unclear, *shrugs*.

Below is an example of a cold email I sent to a PI I was interested in. I used this same structure (while changing content of course) for all five of the PIs I wrote, and received responses from all five. With the three of those whom I moved forward with, we scheduled informal interviews (chats, really) before going further. I know some people have subject line paralysis, so if it helps my subject line for this was a simple "Inquiry about postdoctoral position". This was sent Nov 2020. (click image to enlarge).

download postdoc inquiry email (.txt)
downloads

I never submitted a cover letter when contacting a PI about potentially doing a postdoc with them. But I do know some people like to do that, and some PIs even expect it. If it helps, the general structure of the inquiry email above can double as a cover letter too. Also note that your email can totally be shorter than this one, but I would definitely avoid going longer. If you don't get a reply to your cold email, that's fine; it happens. After 10 business days, send a follow up. You can also ask someone you know who is connected to the PI you're trying to reach to nudge them to check their inbox. Whatever you do, don't take a no-response personally. If the PI is interested, the next step will probably be an informal zoom interview or going straight to an in-person visit.

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V. What When

When should you start building your postdoc list? When should you begin to reach out to people? Do you need to have published X number of first author papers before reaching out? What about coauthored papers? 

These questions are not unusual and are in fact a common source of stress and anxiety for senior graduate students. I honestly believe that there isn't a correct timeline for searching for a postdoc lab. There are too many variables for there to be one correct way. That said, there are things that you can control timeline-wise, so let's talk about it a little. I'll use the questions above to frame these points.

(Note: considerations for timeline also include whether or not you will be doing virtual interviews or in-person visits. I interviewed in a pandemic, so it was all virtual. It sucked because I prefer in-person interactions, but it was useful in that it took up way less time that if I had to fly to multiple cities)

When should you start building your postdoc list?
There cannot be a time that is too early, but there can be a time that is late. Throughout your PhD, take note of papers that blow you away, PIs or postdocs you hit it off with at conferences, or questions that you came across and thought "I would love to do this next". All of this will be useful to you when it comes time to build an actual list. If you know a rough date by which you plan to start a postdoc position, I recommend starting to build your prospective lab list at least 9 months before, preferably one year before. For reference, I was aiming for a July start date, and began building postdoc list in September the year before.

When should you begin to reach out to people?
Again, depends on whether visits and interviews will be virtual or in-person. I recommend reaching out to your shortlist as soon as you have it honestly. As long as you articulate your intended start dates, there is no such thing as starting the conversation too early. I could be wrong here, but I just don't see a downside. Also keep in mind that you may have to revise your shortlist if you don't get positive responses from the labs you want, so having a cushion of time helps. For reference, I was aiming for a July start date, and began reaching out to labs in late November the year before. 

Do you need to have published X number of first author papers before reaching out? What about coauthored papers?
There is no rigid rule here. It really is up to the PI you're talking to and the status of your manuscript. Some dissertation papers take longer to come together than others, some people publish 3 first authors in their PhD and some publish one. It's so variable that it just comes down to communication. If you don't have a publication yet, but have a paper in the pipeline, let the PI know in your email and include it in your CV as "in prep". If it's ready to be posted on a preprint server like bioRxiv, work with your current mentor on posting it and getting the work out there.

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VI. The Interview

The header of this section is a little misleading here in that there is no single "interview". It's really a process rather than an interview, and thoughtful PIs will take all aspects of this process into account when considering a candidate. The next step after sending out your emails is getting responses from interested PIs wanting to schedule a zoom or phone call with you to discuss your interest further (some PIs may even go straight to an in-person visit). You can think of this as an informal screening interview. It's a chance to introduce yourselves to each other and touch on your scientific and career interests to see whether there is potential for this being a good fit. If both of you feel good about it, the PI will want to schedule a visit. 

When I sent out my emails, the covid19 pandemic was at one of its highest peaks and vaccines weren't yet available. So all my visits were virtual. If at all possible for you, I would try to visit in-person. It's just a more informative experience. So what does a visit entail? It really varies and there is no standard. That said, it will typically involve you giving a talk to either the lab or the department. Then you'll have a meeting/interview with the PI, in addition to meetings with lab members. Meetings with lab members can be several one-on-ones or a group meeting over lunch.

Ahead of some of my visits, I asked the PI whether it was possible to schedule meetings with other faculty in the department that his lab interacts with a lot. I asked for this because I wanted to get a sense for the scientific community I'd be joining, not just the lab. And because it was virtual, my experiences are completely limited to zoom meetings. I also asked to meet with postdocs in the department to get a sense of how postdocs in that department feel. Are they supported? Is there a sense of community?

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The Visit - chats with the lab

Okay, so what should you discuss with current lab members during your visit? I've broken down questions into themes here. You don't have to ask all of these, they're just things for you to think about and choose what to ask. My hope is that they serve as a reminder of things you may not have thought to ask, or perhaps thought would be inappropriate to ask. Some of these may be better to ask if you're having a one-on-one meeting rather than a group meeting. 

Lifestyle
• How is the postdoc salary for you in this city?
• What's a regular commute like?
• What are some things postdocs do around town here when not in the lab?
• Where do most postdocs in the department/institution live? How's the cost of living?
• (for people with tiny humans) What are the costs of childcare like? How are the schools?
• What is the postdoc community like? Do you hang out/support one another?

Lab Culture
• How do people get along in the lab?
• What is the structure of responsibilities in the lab?
• (when speaking with technicians or students) Do you feel like there are healthy and respectful dynamics between lab members regardless of seniority?
• How often do conflicts arise? How are they resolved?
• Are you happy with your project and with the lab?
• Are labmates collaborative? Or is every postdoc an island?
• Do you train each other and help each other out?

Mentorship
• What’s it like working with this PI?
• How available is the PI to you? (this is especially important to know for more established PIs)
• How do you feel about the PI's expectations of you?
• What happens if one’s project fails (or fails to rise to the desired level of impact)?
• Do people get to take projects when they leave?
• How do you feel about the PI's investment in your project and your success?
• (related to above) Is the PI a micromanager?
• How do you think your PI handled (or is handling) the pandemic?
• When people leave the lab, what (if anything) do they take with them? How are they supported?
• Does the PI support postdocs investing time in their own career advancement (fellowship apps, prof dev workshops, etc.)?

Resources
• Let's say you need to buy a new piece of equipment or a reagent, what's that process like? Do you feel that you're able to appropriately carry out that work?
• What are the core facilities available to you, and how easily are you able to use them?
• Do you have opportunities to interact and potentially collaborate with other researchers in the department or does the lab stay isolated?
• (for those to whom it's relevant) How is the immigration office in the department?

Remember that everyone's experience will not necessarily be yours, and people have varied experiences and reflections depending on how long they've been in the lab. Once again, the goal is to gather as much information as you can before making a decision for the next 4+ years.

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The Visit - chats with the PI

It's time to talk to the PI. This tends to happen at the end of your visit. Some times an offer may even be extended in this meeting, although oftentimes the PI will wait until they've heard feedback from other lab members on how the rest of your visit had gone before extending an offer to you. Think of this as the "tough questions" meeting. They're not really tough, but some of them may be intimidating to ask. Just remember, you're highly skilled at this stage and will likely be underpaid (sigh), so you have every right to ask direct questions and advocate for yourself. Just like above, I will list a bunch of questions here that you might want to bring up in your conversation. But, let's start with what you should be prepared to be asked about too.

Questions you should be prepared to answer
(these may not be asked directly like how I'm wrting them, but be ready to answer the spirit of the question)
• Describe your scientific findings in your PhD and why it's important to the field. Be able to put it in context of what's known and show that you're excited about it. Even if it's not directly relevant to the work of the lab you're interviewing in.
• Why are you interested in our group? They will expect you to be able to articulate what put their lab on your radar. Hopefully, some version of this answer was already in your initial email to the PI, but this is an opportunity to really emphasize your background and future interests and how this lab fits within that context.
• Do you have a research project in mind? I was asked this in all my interviews. My answer to all was "I don't have projects in mind, I have interests. My hope is that I will take the time to brainstorm a project and try my hand at different things soon after joining." This answer was in line with what I wanted to do, it may not work for you. If you have a clear idea of what you want to work on, say that. Additionally, you may find that some PIs expect you to know exactly what you want to do and even propose a short research statement on it. I didn't want that so I avoided it.
• What are your research interests? What questions motivate you? What are you passionate about solving? This is important because you're not interviewing for a technician or student position. You need to show your ability to synthesize ideas, be curious, think critically, and have some vision. At this point in your PhD training, you're ready to do this. 
• What are your core technical skills? This is about what strengths you bring to the lab.
• At the end of this postdoc, what do you hope to have achieved? What are your career goals?
• When can you start?

Questions to ask prospective PI 
(you'll notice some of these are repeated from above. that's because it's useful to get the PI and trainee perspective on these issues)
Lab Culture
• What is the structure of responsibilities in the lab?
• How often do conflicts arise? How are they resolved?
• There are techniques your lab has that I'm not familiar with, will there be people available to train me on them?

PI's Training and Mentoring Philosophy
• What’s it like working with this PI?
• What is your availability like?
• What are your expectations of postdocs? How often is there a data report?
• How much control will I have over the design and execution of my projects?
• What happens if it looks like my project is reaching a dead-end, at what point do we pull the plug? What happens next? What happens to the data generated?
• I see the lab publishes a lot of papers in journals X, Y, and Z. What is your publishing philosophy. Does a project have to reach a certain level of 'impact' for us to start preparing a manuscript?
• How are conversations surrounding authorship and credit had? This is especially important for labs that publish large collaborative projects with long author lists. 
• What is your philosophy for when a postdoc leaves to start a faculty position? What can I take with me (ideas, transgenic lines, newly developed tech, etc.)? Do you still write grants and publish on the same topics after I leave?
• How do you think the lab did/is doing during the pandemic?
• It's important to me and my professional goals to be doing [something with no direct connection to your research] during my postdoc. This means time away from the bench. It won't dominate my time but it is important nonetheless. How do you feel about that? I asked this question to everyone I interviewed with, and in my case the 'something' was DEI service and advocacy. For you, that might be teaching or something else.
• I plan to write at least X number of fellowships during my postdoc, because even if the lab doesn't need the money and even if I don't get them, it's a skill I would like to work on. How do you feel about that?

Resources
• What's the funding portfolio for the lab look like?
• Let's say you I need to buy a new piece of equipment or a reagent, what's that process like?
• What are the core facilities available to your lab?
• How are decisions about establishing new collaborations made?
• How often will I have funds from the lab to travel to conferences and present my work?

Stability 
• Where do you see the lab's scientific direction going in the next 5 and the next 10 years?
• Do you have any plans of moving the lab or changing careers over the next 5 years?

I'll be honest, I asked every single one of these questions to people I interviewed with. I asked them because I genuinely cared for the answers, but also because they served as a litmus indicator for me - to see whether the interviewer respects me enough to engage transparently rather than being offended by very fair (even if unusual) questions. I guess I just decided that if a PI was offended by any of these questions, then I wouldn't really want to work with them anyway. So, we all benefit.

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VII. More Resources

Dr. Daniel Gonzales has written a blog on how to email a prospective postdoc mentor (with examples) here.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently held a useful workshop entitled "Re-envisioning Postdoctoral Training in Neuroscience". You can watch a recording of the event here or read the published proceedings here.

Some twitter threads discussing different aspects of postdoc search: switching fields, virtual interviews and visits, and general notes on transition.

General resources (including lists of postdoc funding opportunities) found here.

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Final Thoughts

• In general, have in your mind three references - including your current PI - ready to go. They don't need to have letters ready (though it's great if they do), but you may be asked by your prospective PI for those references at any point. It can be right after the cold email, or after the visit and before an offer is made. So in general have a mental note of who you'd ask to send letters.

• Do not discourage yourself from applying to a famous lab whose work you admire solely out of fear that you're "not good enough". You're often wrong about that. Academia (and just life, really) already beats into us that we're not good enough, so let's not also be accomplices to doing that to ourselves too. Reflect on how far you've come now that you're nearing the end of your PhD, and realize how much you're capable of if you were in the right environment for your postdoc.

• Many of the questions I listed in the Interview section of this article do not have a right or wrong answer. The goal is for you to get all the information you need to make the best informed decision possible given your goals and values.

• Nothing here is comprehensive, but I did try to write down as many things as I could think of.

• Because of how long this article is, you might be left with the impression that this stage is rather overwhelming. It's not! It was actually pretty exciting for me and is for many others. It's full of feelings of potential and rich scientific conversations. While this article is long, you might find that a lot of this is already intuitive to you.

• This article has no information on negotiations for salary, relocation costs, benefits, etc. but I strongly encourage you to engage in those conversations before accepting an offer. 

• When it comes time to make your decision, reflect again on your goals and be honest with yourself. Talk to people around you and seek advice from your mentors.

• If you found this article helpful, please share it with others who might benefit.Tweet

edits

2021-11-06: minor grammatical and spelling corrections.
2021-11-07: edited for more emphasis on speaking with lab alumni.
2023-05-13: added more clarity on what I think one should do if unsure whether a postdoc is right for them. thanks to @needhibhalla and @dr_alphalyrae for prompting me to do so on twitter.