Thank you to all who made National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025 a success! From professional headshot sessions to valuable professional development opportunities, the week was a wonderful way to recognize and celebrate CMU's postdoc community.

Turnout was outstanding for Appreciation Week events, and postdocs came away from the sessions with new skills and a sense of community. The opening Meet & Greet with Lunch and Watch Party event gave postdocs the opportunity to meet members of University leadership and learn more about effectively communicating scientific research. The "Say It So It Sticks: Communicating Research for Real Impact" workshop gave postdocs a chance to create impactful pitches and share feedback with peers. The generative workshop "Writing a Teaching Statement" provided concrete guidance to crafting personal, effective teaching statements.

Thank you to the campus partners who contributed their expertise, and to the postdoc community for your engagement. We are happy to have met many of you at these events and hope to gather again soon.

National Postdoctoral Association SmartSkills Courses

Every month, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) offers an expert-led class focusing on skills that are critical to career and personal success. Postdocs who attend 10 of 12 sessions live will receive a certificate of completion from the NPA. The schedule and registration information are available on the NPA website. There are two classes remaining in 2025; the 2026 programming will begin in January. All CMU postdocs have access to NPA resources, including the SmartSkills program, with their Andrew ID.

Imposter Syndrome

Tuesday, November 18, 3:00 p.m. ET

Registration is required

At the end of this session on better understanding Imposter Syndrome, you should be able to: (1) Interpret your scores from the self-assessment, (2) Define the Imposter Syndrome and its characteristics, (3) Recognize how the Imposter Syndrome can impede career progress, (4) Use practical tools to mitigate feelings of Imposter Syndrome, (5) Help others who have feelings of Imposter Syndrome.

Speaker: Maureen Gannon, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Strategies for Navigating a Competitive Job Market

Tuesday, December 16, 3:00 p.m. ET

Registration is required

Finding and securing a position requires more than just submitting applications in any job market. When there is a lot of competition for available openings, it is even more crucial to understand your core needs, communicate your value effectively, and approach your search strategically. In this session, we will review strategies for creating a targeted yet flexible job search that can help you to successfully identify and connect with opportunities that meet your key priorities and evolve with you personally and professionally.

Speaker: Heather Dillon, career and professional development program manager, Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs, Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, University of California, San Diego

Individual Development Plans (IDPs)

Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are meant to promote professional and personal growth by formally documenting goals and facilitating dialogue, collaboration, and accountability between advisors and advisees. 

You can find resources and support for completing an IDP within CMU and beyond:



CMU Resources

Carnegie Mellon has created IDP templates for postdocs and advisors. The IDP templates are available here.

Additional Resources

For additional support in creating an IDP, you can explore myIDP, a free IDP tool designed to help graduate students and postdocs in the sciences define and pursue their career goals.

Postdoc Distribution List

The CMU Special Faculty/Postdoc Distribution List is a moderated list open to all postdocs and special faculty at CMU. Request to join with your Andrew email address. Postdocs are not automatically subscribed to this list, so please click the link!

Future Faculty Program

The Future Faculty Program (FFP) provides postdocs with a way to engage with the full range of services at The Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation and to document their professional development with teaching. You will have the opportunity to get direct feedback on your teaching (this can be a guest lecture, if you don't have a teaching appointment), attend seminars, and get feedback on a teaching statement as well as a syllabus for a hypothetical or real course.

You do not have to be enrolled in the FFP program to take advantage of these services, but it can be helpful to have this on your CV when applying to faculty jobs (and is a good way to get to know our services!). Learn more about FFP here!

The Future Faculty Program has a rolling enrollment process, and you can join at any time by emailing eberly-assist@andrew.cmu.edu.

National Postdoctoral Association

The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) seeks to improve the postdoctoral experience by supporting a culture of inclusive connection. At the individual, organizational, and national levels, the NPA facilitates enhanced professional growth, raises awareness, and collaborates with stakeholders in the postdoctoral community. As noted above, the NPA also hosts a variety of programming for National Postdoc Appreciation Week.

Carnegie Mellon has an institutional membership with the NPA, which gives all CMU postdocs free access to NPA resources, including guides, webinars, and trainings. We encourage you to sign into the NPA website with your Andrew ID and take advantage of these opportunities!

NCFDD

NCFDD is a leading provider of professional development in higher education. CMU has an institutional membership, so be sure to take advantage of this resource if you haven't already! To do so, go here and select Carnegie Mellon University from the list of members. Then, select “Activate My Membership” and complete the registration form using your CMU email address. Finally, a confirmation email will include an “Activate Account” link. Please note that the myriad resources available through this organization are not limited to professional development opportunities for faculty or future faculty. This resource is available to all postdocs, not just faculty or future faculty.

Two offerings to explore:

The Core Curriculum: This series offers 10 key skills and provides the opportunity to complete them at your own pace. The skills include “Every Semester Needs a Plan” and “The Art of Saying ‘No.’”

The NCFDD Mentor Map: Skill #7 of The Core Curriculum, “Cultivating Your Network of Mentors & Sponsors,” offers a webinar that fully introduces this tool. You can access a visual representation of the Mentor Map here.

Academic Impressions

Academic Impressions is a resource dedicated to professional development in higher education. As their website states, their goal is to "develop leaders, strengthen teams, and drive lasting institutional success."

All Carnegie Mellon postdocs have access to Academic Impressions with an Andrew ID. If you'd like to start exploring the live and on-demand trainings offered by Academic Impressions, consider the Developing Leadership Skills in Your Early Career series, which includes on-demand trainings in areas such as:

Creating a Personal Leadership Philosophy

Advocating for Yourself and Managing Up

Time Management and Flexibility

You can search the entire library of available trainings here.

Thomas Bock

Postdoctoral Associate, Software and Societal Systems

Click here to read the full Spotlight!

Ekta Samani

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Robotics Institute

Click here to read the full Spotlight!