1. Goal-Setting Strategies for Scientific and Career Success
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Goal-Setting Strategies for Scientific and Career Success
Bill Lindstaedt, MS
Director
UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

3. What is your long-term goal?
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
What is your long-term goal?
What skills, experience, and milestones do you need to be successful??
Writing
Presentation
Networking
Teaching
Communication
Mentoring
Leadership
Management
Research
Clinical
Now, you may already be looking at this IDP worksheet, and be thinking: this looks like a lot of work!
It’s true, and doing this process completely will likely take you another day of your own time.
Today we’ll be getting you started.
So, why put this effort into making a written plan?
At end, emphasize GETTING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES, and FEEL-GOOD MOMENTS
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

4. During this workshop, we will…
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Introduce the Individual Development Plan (IDP) process and tool.
Walk you through the steps of creating and using an IDP:
Self-assess your science-related skills
Start setting goals using the “SMART” principle
Create a plan for keeping yourself accountable
Learn strategies for sharing your plan and recruiting help from mentors.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

5. What is an Individual Development Plan (IDP)?
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
What is an Individual Development Plan (IDP)?
An IDP is a written plan for professional skills development.
Individual: Your unique training and career goals
Development: Improvement / maturation needed to achieve your goals
Plan: Specific steps and goals rather than a random walk
It’s not just a plan… it’s a process
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

6. Real results: Sigma Xi national survey*
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Real results: Sigma Xi national survey*
Postdocs who discussed a plan with their mentor had…
Higher satisfaction scores
Higher advisor ratings
More productive
30% more first-authored papers
25% more grant proposals
*Sigma Xi study by Geoff Davis, “Improving the Postdoctoral Experience: An empirical approach”, 2005 6
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

7. Why does an IDP make a difference?
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Why does an IDP make a difference?
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Focuses your efforts
Written => contract
Between you and yourself
Between you and your mentor
“The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. In conversation you can get away with all kinds of vagueness and nonsense, often without even realizing it. But there’s something about putting your thoughts on paper that forces you to get down to specifics. That way, it’s harder to deceive yourself or anybody else.”
- Lee Iacocca
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

8. What does an “IDP” look like?
A written list of goals mapped onto a timeline.
Projects
Skills
Career planning

9. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment of current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!

10. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment of current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!

11. Identify your career goal (and a Plan B)
Helps give your goals focus.
Trainees: If you don’t know…
Set a goal: identify a career goal!
NEXT WORKSHOP: “Finding the Right Career Path for You”
Re-evaluate annually.

12. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment of current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!
Each year, this will be where you look back at your prior goals, and note your progress toward reaching those goals. NEXT…. Assess your current level of skills…

13. Self-assess your progress on projects
What were your project goals for the past year?
Have you achieved those goals?
If not, why? What can help you this year?

14. Self-assess your skills and knowledge
In what skills do you excel?
What skills need improvement?
What do you need to learn more about?
You can choose a selection of these skills/knowledge for setting goals this year.
Our list is modified from the National Postdoctoral Association’s Core Competencies (nationalpostdoc.org).

15. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment on current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!

16. This weekend, I’m going to clean my apartment!
Setting Goals
Specific
Measurable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time-bound
This weekend, I’m going to clean my apartment!
S – break a large goal into smaller tasks

17. Setting Goals Specific Measurable Action-oriented Realistic Time-bound
– smaller task
– can measure success?
– how verbs
– difficulty and timing
– set a deadline
S – break a large goal into smaller tasks

18. Dust the living room shelves,
Setting Goals
Specific
Measurable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time-bound
By Sunday at 8 p.m., I will:
Dust the living room shelves,
Scrub the bathtub,
Vacuum the floors.
S – break a large goal into smaller tasks

19. Set goals: Example for improving teaching skills
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Set goals: Example for improving teaching skills
Skill to improve
Method
Timing
Become a more engaging teacher
Get advice from:
Teaching Center staff
2 faculty who I think of as engaging lecturers
1 month before my first guest lecture
Guest lecture a course to practice
Teach at least 2 lectures this year; schedule it this month.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

20. Set skills-oriented goals
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Set skills-oriented goals
Activity
Identify 1 skills area where you need improvement.
Complete the goal setting table for this skill.
Pair with a neighbor:
Share your skill area and goal(s),
Partner gives feedback: is goal SMART?
Partner provides 1 additional method for developing this skill.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

21. Set goals: Ideas from the class
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Set goals: Ideas from the class
Skill
Method
Time Mgt
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

22. Set project-oriented goals
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Set project-oriented goals
Identify 1 project you need to work on this year.
Complete the goal setting table for this project area, breaking the project into small tasks.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

23. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment on current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!

24. Make yourself accountable
PROJECTS:
Ask mentor/buddy to meet with you at milestone deadlines.
SKILLS:
Plan how you will assess whether you have accomplished each goal for skills development.

25. Make yourself accountable
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Make yourself accountable
Make a plan for how you will assess whether you have met your skills-goal
Activity
Skill to improve
Assessing your improvement
Timing
Become a more engaging teacher
Ask faculty mentor to observe my teaching & give feedback.
Collect evaluation data from students
Day of last guest lecture 25
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

26. NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Finish your IDP: Make a monthly plan that incorporates skills-oriented, career planning, and project goals.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

27. 4 Phases of the IDP Process
State long-term career goal
Self-assessment on current progress
Set goals in a written plan
Share, implement, revise, be accountable.
Repeat annually!

28. Share, Implement, Revise Your Plan; Repeat
Put your plan into action.
Review the plan and your progress with your mentors or colleagues regularly.
Revise the plan as necessary.
Repeat: Create your IDP annually.

29. Discussing your IDP with your mentor
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Discussing your IDP with your mentor
A primary goal of creating an IDP is to solicit help from mentor(s)
Make an appointment separate from other lab meetings
An environment away from the lab will eliminate distractions
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

30. Discussing your IDP with your mentor
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Discussing your IDP with your mentor
Be positive - I’ve really enjoyed my last year in the lab and I feel I’ve made progress on project X . . .
Do not attempt to share entire IDP - prepare a concise written outline for meeting
Prepare a prioritized list of requests
Be prepared to negotiate!
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

31. Words to leave you with…
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Words to leave you with…
Keep your long-term goals in mind when setting short-term goals.
Set SMART goals.
Write down your goals.
May increase your productivity and happiness.
Revise, but keep yourself accountable!
Include accountability in your plan.
Share your plan.
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

32. Acknowledgments: Cynthia Fuhrmann-Kelch, PhD Phillip Clifford, PhD
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Acknowledgments:
Cynthia Fuhrmann-Kelch, PhD
Program Director, Academic Career Development
UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development
Phillip Clifford, PhD
Professor, Anesthesiology & Physiology;
Associate Dean, Postdoctoral Affairs
Medical College of Wisconsin
Jennifer Hobin, PhD
Associate Director for Scientific Affairs
Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB)
Andrea Stith, PhD Melanie Sinche, MS
Program Officer, HHMI Career Development Advisor, NIH
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

33. NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Contact Information:
Bill Lindstaedt, MS
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

34. IDP: Set goals Principles for How to Set Goals Write goals down
NPA Meeting, March 2007
IDP: Set goals
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Principles for How to Set Goals
Write goals down
Make goals specific and detailed; include subgoals
Write down completion dates for goals and subgoals
Make goals observable and measurable
Make goals reasonable and attainable
Make yourself accountable: assess whether you’ve reached your goal
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development

35. Set goals: Ideas from the class
NPA Meeting, March 2007
Planning Successful Programs for Postdocs
Set goals: Ideas from the class
Skill
Method
Time Mgt
Give better research talks-more dynamic delivery
Attend a skills workshop
Give presentation(s)
Attend OTHER people’s talks-what to do, not to do
9 am Monday
Next semester
3 talks before practice talk
Improve networking skills – become better at the process of meeting people
Attend a conference-
Attend sessions on how to network –
Practice using “May I join this conversation?”
Meet 5 people during EB
Attend poster session-meet people with interesting posters; exchange s
Back on campus-attend seminar lunches
Now! During EB 2009
Follow up within 2 weeks of conference
Attend 2+/sem
Cynthia Fuhrmann, Ph.D., UCSF Office of Career & Professional Development