1. The Individual Development Plan (IDP): Creation and Sustainability
Rachel Begley, Director
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

2. Discussion Topics Why is an IDP important?
Postdoc/Student & Mentor Responsibilities
Taking Control of Your Career
Next Steps-Developing Your IDP

3. I D P What is an IDP? ndividual evelopment lan
provides a framework to identify and pursue professional development and career objectives.
Rachel

4. What can an idp do for you?
Help you to identify both short-term and long- term goals that can push you towards action
Serve as a communication tool between postdoc/student, faculty mentor, and others
Function as a visual representation/reminder of how you will spend your time achieving your goals
Serve as a display of milestones along the way that can be acknowledged and celebrated
Rachel

5. Why is filling out an IDP important to you?
Job market is challenging right now
Good News: there are a lot of career options for PhDs and postdocs
The IDP helps you to identify your skills, interests, and career path
The most successful postdocs & PIs have a plan

6. AN IDP Tells your PI that you do not plan on working for them forever
Or does it, what will your self assessment tell you?
Your PI will not plan your future for you
If you they don’t know what your plan is, how can they help you get there?
Generally people want to help and do the right thing if they are made aware
Lays the groundwork for you to break away
Lessens surprises and anxiety
Let’s you know when funding is potentially ending
Provides template for your future position

7. If you don’t have a destination and a route mapped out, then you can take any direction to get there
12,000 miles
12,000 miles

8. 2,300 miles
I-80 to I-70 to I miles

9. National Consensus
Growing national consensus, from the NIH, NSF, AAMC, NIGMS, FASEB and other organizations, is that on-going training for (soft) skills is essential to a research-oriented scientific career.1
A nationwide study of 7600 postdoctoral researchers found that postdocs who developed training plans with their advisers at the start of their appointments reported greater satisfaction, published more papers, and experienced fewer conflicts with those advisers. 2
1 Nancy Schwartz, NPA Introduces Core Competencies, The POSTDOCket, Summer 2010
2 Davis G. (2005). “Doctors Without Orders.” American Scientist, 93 (3), supplement 1-13
Rachel

10. National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Core Competencies
The NPA has established six core competencies to offer guidance to individual postdoctoral scholars who must seek out relevant training experiences, in collaboration with mentors, institutions, and other advisors who provide this training.
Source: The NPA Postdoctoral Core Competencies Toolkit:

11. The Six Core Competencies
1. Discipline-specific conceptual knowledge 2. Research skill development 3. Communication skills 4. Professionalism 5. Leadership and management skills 6. Responsible conduct of research
Source: The NPA Postdoctoral Core Competencies Toolkit:

12. The Core Competencies are meant to serve primarily as:
A basis for self-evaluation by postdocs
A basis for developing training opportunities that can be evaluated by mentors, institutions, and other advisors
May be incorporated into a framework for evaluation and feedback using the IDP
Source: The NPA Postdoctoral Core Competencies Toolkit:

13. Postdoc/Student and Mentor Responsibilities

14. Postdoc/Student Responsibilities
Take charge of your own professional development; actively seek opportunities outside the laboratory (e.g. professional development seminars and workshops in oral communication, scientific writing, and teaching)
 Seek regular feedback on your performance
Work towards progressive responsibility and management of your research project as it matures

15. Mentor Responsibilities
Review IDP and provide feedback
Regular reviews of progress
Provide networking opportunities (colleagues, conferences, etc.)
Provide guidance

16. Taking Control of Your Career: Filling out an IDP

17. myIDP http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
myIDP is a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences
Exercises to help you examine your skills, interests, and values
A list of 20 scientific career paths with a prediction of which ones best fit your skills and interests
A tool for setting strategic goals for the coming year, with optional reminders to keep you on track
Articles and resources to guide you through the process
Free!

18. myIDP http://myidp.sciencecareers.org

19. myIDP Process Step 1: Self Assessment
Skills:
The myIDP skills assessment has seven categories (based on the NPA Core Competencies):
scientific knowledge
research skills
communication
leadership and management
professionalism
responsible conduct of research
career development
Source:
Rachel

20. myIDP Process Step 1: Self Assessment
Interests:
This assessment is intended to help you define the scientific tasks that you enjoy doing and would like to include as integral elements of your career.   It might also highlight tasks that you would like to avoid.
Values:
This assessment is intended to help you answer:
What is most important to me?
What rewards or outcomes do I want from my work?
Source:

21. Source: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
myIDP Process Step 2: Career Exploration
Learn about career options for PhD level scientists, and compare your skills, interests and values to each option.
Consider Career Fit
Read About Careers
Attend Events
Talk to People
Choose a Career Path
Source:
Rachel

22. Source: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
myIDP Process Step 3: Set Goals
Create a plan for this year Once you have completed the career exploration and selected two long-term career goals to aim for, the next step is to create a plan to get yourself there. In this section, you will set three types of short-term goals:
Career advancement goals to help you move forward in your career
Skills development goals to improve upon skill and knowledge areas in which you may be deficient
Project completion goals to help you stay on top of the various projects you are working on
Source:
Rachel

23. Reaching Your Goals Goals need to be meaningful to you
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action Oriented, Realistic, Timeframe)
Develop your skills
Keep yourself accountable
Write your goals/put them into myIDP
Assess your plan

24. Source: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
myIDP Process Step 4: Implement Plan
Identify your Mentoring Team:
Why is this important?
Mentors can provide both personal and professional guidance throughout your career, helping you to reflect on your skills, interests, and values; refine your career and professional development goals; and stay motivated and focused on achieving those goals.
Source:
Rachel

25. Source: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org
myIDP Process Step 4: Implement Plan
myIDP Summary:
You can print out the entire IDP or individual sections of the IDP
Share parts of your IDP with your research supervisor when you meet to discuss your progress
Print out the calendar
Print skills
Submit the plan to your institution
Completion Certificate:
The certificate is an auto generated checklist which indicates your current progress in completing each section of myIDP
Source:
Rachel

26. Now it’s time to take action!
The plan is just the beginning of the career development process and serves as the road map.
Put your plan into action
Revise and modify the plan as necessary. The plan is not cast in concrete; it will need to be modified as circumstances and goals change.
The challenge of implementation is to remain flexible and open to change.

27. On-campus programs & opportunities
CWRU Postgraduate Audit Program (10% tuition for Postdocs)
Fellowship Courses for Graduate Students (no tuition charge)
Responsible Conduct of Research – Information & Training (free):
Research Seminar Series (free)
Weatherhead Executive Education Programs (50% discount for Postdocs)
Research ShowCASE (free)
Career Opportunities for Trainees Series (COTS) (free)
CWRU Career Center

28. Resources
The NPA Postdoctoral Core Competencies Toolkit
myIDP:
Contact Information
Rachel Begley, Director
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Tomlinson Hall 215

29. You can always change a plan,
but only if you have one.
--Randy Pausch