Best Practices for Mentoring Postdocs
- Compact Between Postdoctoral Appointees and Their Mentors. Drafted by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Graduate Research, Education, and Training (GREAT Group) and its Postdoctorate Committee. This document covers key areas of concern.
- Computer Science Postdocs - Best Practices. Memo from the Computing Research Association.
Mentoring Resources
- Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty (PDF). Developed by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), this resource includes chapters on the following:
- Mentoring and Being Mentored
- Staffing Your Laboratory
- Getting the Most Out of Your Mentoring Relationships: A Handbook for Women in STEM. From the Association for Women in Science.
- National Postdoctoral Association Resources
- Mentoring Plans for Postdoctoral Scholars. Includes recommendations on how to draft a mentoring plan, effective mentoring activities, and other resources on effective mentoring.
- Mentoring International Postdocs. Video vignettes and an accompanying discussion guide prepared by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and presented by the Office of Research Integrity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sample Assessment and IDP Templates
- Progress Assessment Tool for Postdoctoral Scholars (DOCX). Tech's Office of Postdoctoral Services drafted this tool to help with annual performance reviews. Feedback on this draft can be sent to postdocs@gatech.edu.
- Written Goals and Expectations Form (PDF). A tool for use in the first meeting between a mentor/PI and a mentee, which was developed by Augusta University.
- Sample Annual Review (PDF). Progress assessment form from Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) that can be used for any discipline.
- myIDP. A free, web-based tool that guides scientists and engineers through the process of developing an IDP.
- Note: myIDP requires a private login. Once complete, trainees can print out the skills assessment and/or goal-setting forms.
- IDP Handout. PDF version of myIDP
- Postdoctoral Career Development and Assessment Process. The University of Pittsburgh has created a process that is useful for any discipline. It features the following:
Mentoring Plans for Grant Applications
- FASEB
- National Institutes of Health
- Revised Policy on the Use of Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers Required in Annual Progress. Reports beginning Oct. 1, 2014.
- National Science Foundation
- Proposal Preparation Instructions - see Mentoring Plans in Section j
- Georgia Tech Resources
- Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Policy statement and training programs.
- Career Development Opportunities for Postdocs
- If you need a description of the resources offered by the Office of Postdoctoral Services for your grant application, please email postdocs@gatech.edu.