1. Good Post-doc/ Bad Post-doc

2. “Publish lots of papers”  Focus on quality, not just quantity (avoid weak journals)  Avoid books and special issues (or write 2 papers)  Get appropriate (critical) people to read your stuff and weigh up their advice carefully (especially if they seem to have had success themselves)  Send hardcopies of published papers to everyone you can think of (even if you don’t know them!) and attach a nice note

3. “Avoid distractions”  Avoid getting sucked into things that won’t have an obvious gain –Teaching a lot! (some is good) –Running field trips (unless you can use it to network more) –Editing/reviewing special issues (huge sink of time)  Some things have an obvious gain –Organising a conference session (perhaps hook up with some one more established??) and propose a session at EGU)

4. “Get out of your comfort zone”  Think about your “portfolio”, –e.g., modelling plus field work, plus lab experiments, and try to become more interdisciplinary  If a PDRA on some one else’s grant think of –Trying for a personal fellowship (NERC, RSE etc.) –Applying for NERC grant a Research Co-Investigator  Move around to other universities is possible (even if only temporary can still put it on your CV)  Offer to give talks in other departments (use your contacts and get out there even if you have to pay!).

5. “Applying for jobs”  Choose your referees carefully –Ask for feedback on what your referees write about you –Try and cultivate the best contacts (don’t be shy!). Arrange to meet key people at conferences, visit other places to give talks  Write a strong personal statement –Emphasise your unique contribution/skills in your CV –Try and network as much as possible, both in the UK and internationally (even if you have to pay!)  Prepare well for interviews –Show that you have found out about the background. –Think about the panel members and their interests.

6.  Be wise to the fact that your post-doc could be a dead-end project and get out before it is too late (one paper is enough). (Even established scientists can be useless!)  Self promotion doesn’t have to be tacky! –Practice conference talks several times beforehand (in front of a critical audience) so people are wowed by you! “Other suggestions”