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Peer Mentoring Teams for Career
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Design Considerations and Facilitator Training Manual
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Motivating INformed Decisions (MIND)
Preparing UCSF for a Changing Biomedical Workforce
Jennie Dorman, Gabriela Monsalve, Elizabeth Silva,
Theresa O’Brien, Keith Yamamoto, and Bill Lindstaedt
Supported by an NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
Grant number: 5DP7OD018420-05
http://mind.ucsf.edu
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Instructions for Attribution
Acknowledgement:!
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If!you!use!or!adapt!these!materials,!acknowledge!“UCSF’s!MIND!program,!funded!by!
‘Broadening!Experiences!in!Scientific!Training!(BEST)’!award!#!5DP7O D0 18420!
from!the!National!Insti tutes!of!Health.”!!!
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Suggested!citation:!!
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Peer!Mentoring!Teams!For!Career!Exploration:!Design!Considerations!and!
Facilitator!Training!Manual.”!Dorman,!Monsalve,!Silva,!O’Brien,!Yamamoto,!and!
Lindstaedt.!Motivating!INformed!Decisions!(MIND)!program,!University!of!
California,!San!Francisco.!2018.!
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Acknowledgements
Dean!Elizabeth!Watkins,!who!offered!invaluable!input!on!the!proposal!that!garnered!
funding!for!the!MIND!program,!and!who!con tinues!to!champion!and!support!career!
development!for!students!and!postdocs.!Alexandra!Schnoes,!who!helped!conceive!the!
MIND!program!and!has!been!a!dedicated!facilitator!ever!since.!The!entire!staff!of!the!Office!
of!Career!and!Professional!Development,!for!th eir!career!counseling!expertise!and!
generous!colleagueship.!Trish!Labosky!of!NIH!for!her!encouragement!and!feedback!on!
what!parts!of!our!experience!might!be!useful!to!others.!Konstanze!Zeit!of!IDEO,!for!sharing!
her!method!for!launching!high-performance!teams,!which!we!used!as!the!basis!for!
designin g!our!Peer!Team!Launch!event.!!Joe!Hannah,!Kate!Dunsmore,!and!Calla!Chancellor!
for!thoughtful!discussions!of!the!kind!of!professional!development!that!graduate!students!
and!postdocs!need.!Stephen!Filios,!for!providing!admini strative!s upport!for!the!peer!team!
process!this!year.!To!all!60!facilitators!of!the!MIND!progr am,!whose!ideas!and!questions!
have!improved!this !training!and!whose!efforts!have!breathed!life!into!the!!peer!mentoring!
process.
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©!20 18!The!Regents!of!the!University!of!California! i!
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Table of Contents
.................................................................................................................................................... i
Instructions for Attribution ........................................................................................................ ii
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii
Forward ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction for Program Developers Considering Using Peer Teams ....................................... 4
Genesis of this manual ....................................................................................................................... 4
Why peer teams for career exploration? ............................................................................................ 5
Who participates in our peer mentoring teams? ................................................................................ 6
Principles of peer team composition .................................................................................................. 7
How often should peer mentoring teams meet? ................................................................................ 9
Why facilitated peer teams?............................................................................................................... 9
How to recruit facilitators? ................................................................................................................. 9
What if someone leaves the peer team? .......................................................................................... 15
Staff time required for peer teams? ................................................................................................. 16
In sum ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Introduction for Peer Team Facilitators ................................................................................... 19
Structure of Training Process ............................................................................................................ 19
Chapter 1: Preparation for Facilitator Training Day 1 .............................................................. 21
Big picture on what MIND (and your peer team) is trying to accomplish* ....................................... 21
Why use peer teams to reach these goals?*..................................................................................... 22
How participants described the value of peer teams mid-year* ...................................................... 23
How will we know if we achieve our program outcomes?*.............................................................. 24
Who will be in my Peer Team? ......................................................................................................... 25
Facilitator Responsibilities................................................................................................................ 26
Career exploration contracts ............................................................................................................ 28
Sample handout facilitators make to track progress ..................................................................................... 30
The MIND Program Pledge (including our confidentiality policy) ..................................................... 32
Chapter 2: Facilitator Training Day 1 ....................................................................................... 35
Today’s Agenda ................................................................................................................................ 35
Peer team logistics ........................................................................................................................... 35
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Basic anatomy of a peer team meeting ............................................................................................ 37
Exercise: Peer team role play ........................................................................................................... 38
Exercise: Helping participants frame useful contracts ...................................................................... 46
Resources and supports for facilitators ............................................................................................ 48
Resources and referrals for participants ........................................................................................... 49
Chapter 3: Preparation for Facilitator Training Day 2 .............................................................. 50
Homework ........................................................................................................................................ 50
What to Expect – Facilitation tips and reassurances ......................................................................... 51
What to Expect – Career exploration process ................................................................................... 52
Known challenges and pitfalls of career reinvention ........................................................................ 53
Strategies for potential facilitation challenges ................................................................................. 55
Phrases to move discussion forward ................................................................................................ 59
How to tell that your team is working well ...................................................................................... 60
Feedback sheet on peer team experience .................................................................................................... 61
Glossary of MIND terminology* ....................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 4: Facilitator Training Day 2 ....................................................................................... 65
Today’s Agenda ................................................................................................................................ 65
MIND Program Year ......................................................................................................................... 66
Pre-planning with your Co-Facilitator ............................................................................................... 67
Peer Team Launch – Facilitator guide ............................................................................................... 70
Handout for peer team launch ..................................................................................................................... 75
Example of scheduling aid to bring to peer team launch ............................................................................... 76
Anatomy of your first peer team meeting – facilitator guide ........................................................... 77
Sample Handout for First Independent Peer Team Meeting ......................................................................... 81
Chapter 5: Selected background on the MIND program .......................................................... 83
Conceptual foundations of the MIND program ................................................................................ 83
This Year’s Catalytic Course Agendas – with new elements highlighted ........................................... 84
Community ground-rules set by this cohort on the first day ............................................................ 87
Information for Participants about Peer Teams ............................................................................... 88
Instructions for MIND participants: “How to Responsibly Leave your Peer Team” .......................... 93
Informational Interview Report Assignment .................................................................................... 94
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*Starred!sections!are!optional!for!facilitators!who!are!alumni!of!the!MIND!program.!
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Forward
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Whether!you!are!a!faculty!or!staff!member,!Ph.D.!student,!or!postdoc,!if!you!are!considering!
starting!a!peer!mentoring!team,!this !manual!is!for!you.!!!
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§ In!the!“Introduction!for!Program!Developers,”!we!share!some!factors!worth!
considering!as!you!design!your!peer!mentoring!team(s).!We!also!summarize!our!
experience!recruiting!facilitators!and!detail!the!staff!time!needed!to !sustain!our!
system!of!peer!teams.!!!
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§ In!the!subsequent!chapters,!we!reproduce!the!training!curriculum!that!we!
developed!over!the!past!four!years!as!we!trained!60!individuals!to!facilitate!41!
pee r!mentoring!teams.!This!curriculum!continues !to!evolve!every!year!based!on!
feedback!from!both!facilitators!and!peer!team!participants!alike.!!!
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These!materials!are!set!in!the!con text!of!career!exploration,!since!that!is!goal!of!our!
program.!!If!you!would!like!to!use!peer!mentoring!teams!for!a!different!purpose!(like!
writing!papers,!dissertations,!or!grants)!we!are!happy!to!provide!a!.docx!version!of!this!
document!for!you!to!adapt.!!Just!email!us!at!mind@ucsf.edu.!
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Best,!
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Jennie!B.!Dorman,!Ph.D.!
Co-Principal!Investigator!and!Curriculum!Director!
Motivating!INformed!Decisions!(MIND)!Program!
mind.ucsf.edu!
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Introduction for Program Developers Considering Using Peer Teams
Genesis of this manual
This!manual!was!developed!with!funding!from!NIH!BEST!Aw ard!#!5DP7OD018420!as!part!
of!the!“Motivating!Informed!Decisions!(MIND):!Careers!fo r!the!Future!Biomedical!
Workforce”!program!at!University!o f!California,!San!Francisco!(UCSF).!
The!MIND!program!was!created!to!address!the!logistical!and!motivational!challenges!that!
doctoral!and!postdoctoral!trainees!often!face!when!they!undertake!a!careful!examination!of!
their!career!options.!!It!was!designed!by!a!diverse!coalitio n!of!stakeholders!including!staff!
of!UCSF’s!Office!of!Career!and!Professional!Development,!as!well!as!faculty!and!high!level!
leadership!from!the!School!of!Medicine,!Graduate!Division,!Student!Academic!Affairs,!and!
Chancellor’s !Office.!!
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The!MIND!program!employs!several!key!design!pr inciples:!
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§ Career!neutral.!!Many!UCSF!students!and!postdocs!are!simultaneously!considering!
careers!in!academia!as!well!as!careers!outside!academia!(Fuhrmann,!2011).!!In!the!
MIND!program!we!support!all!caree r!outcomes!and!enco urage!our!participants!to!
explore!them!all!with!equal!rigor.!
§ Low!impact!on!research.!Our!campus!has!a!well-established!internship!program!
for!graduate!students,!but!not!everyone!can!devote!the!time!necessary!to!compl ete!
an!internship.!In!the!MIND!program!we!emphasize!exploration!strategies!that!take!
less !time!(e.g.,!reading,!conducting!informational!interviews,!job!shadows!and!
simulations)!and!can!be!used!to!efficiently!consider!and!rule!out!possible!careers.!
We!also!s chedule!most!course!meetings!on!Saturdays,!when!our!trainees!feel!more!
at!liberty!to!take!time!for!their!own!professional !development.!
§ Encourage!conversations!with!advisors.!!We!do!not!require!graduate!students!
and!postdocs!who!wish!to!participate!in!our!program!to!obtain!permission!from!
their!PIs,!but!we!actively!encourage!them!to!discuss!their!career!interests!with!their!
PIs.!!!!!
§ Cohort!model!to!build!co mmunity!and!connections.!Trainees!apply!to!our!
program,!are!selected,!and!then!move!through!the!8-month!program!together,!as!a!
cohort!of!70-90!people.!!
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The!MIND!program!consists!of!two!phases:!
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1. Phase!1.!Catalytic!Course.!To!expose!participants!to!basic!career!exploration!
theories !and!to!help!them!practice!career!exploration!and!networking!skills,!we!
offer!a!21-hour,!interactive!“Catalytic!Course”![link!to!syllabus!on!website].!
Participants!take!this!cours e!as!a!full!cohort,!and!we!build!in!many!opportunities!for!
them!to !interact!and!practice!the!skills!being!taught.!!
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2. Phase!2.!Career!Exploration!in!Peer!Teams.!We!also!wanted!to!ensure!that!
trainees!remained!engaged!through!the!inevitable!ups!and!downs!of!career!
exploration.!To!reach!this!second!goal,!we!decided!to!split!the!cohort!into!smaller!
teams!that!would!meet!every!two!weeks!for!six!months!using!a!facilitated!peer!
mentori ng!approach.
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This!!ma nual!represents!the!facilitator!training!curriculum!we!developed!over!the!
past!four!years!as!we!trained!60!different!peop le !to!serve!as!peer!team!facilitators!
for!41!pee r!teams.!!It!has!evolved!in!response!to!feedback!received!from!both!facilitators!
and!participants!alike,!and!the!peer!team!experience!has!in!turn!informed!the!catalytic!
course.!
Why peer teams for career exploration?
Since!2001,!when!UCSF’s!Office!of!Career!and!Pro fessional!Development!(OCPD)!was!
established!to!serve!graduate!students!and!postdocs,!OCPD’s!career!counselors!had!noticed!
a!troubli ng!pattern:!m any!trainees!appeared!at!the!career!center!for!the!first!time!–!in!a!
panic—just!months!before!they!needed!their!n ext!position.!Those!trainees!who!did!begin!
explorin g!careers!earlier!often!found!it!hard!to!sustain!career!exploration!activities!amidst!
the!pressures!of!research!and!the!rest!of!life.!As!a!result,!many!of!our!trainees!were!
reaching!the!job!market!before!they!had!a!clear!plan!for!what!they!wanted!to!do,!and!before!
they!had!a!professional!network!that!could!help!them!get!there.!!!
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We!needed!a!new!method!that!would!introduce!students!and!postdocs!to!career!
exploration!much!earlier!in!their!training!and!would!support!them!through!its!inevitable!
ups!and!downs.!
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For!both!pragmatic!and!philosophical!reasons!we!wanted!to!try!using!peer!mentoring!
teams!to!help!trainees!stay!engaged!in!career!exploration .!!Pragmatically,!we!were!
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concerned!that!the!demand!for!our!1-on-1!career-counseling!services!might!one!day!
outpace!the!available!supply.!Philosophically,!we!believed!that!career!options!should!be!
openly!and!rigorously!examined,!and!we!wanted!to!reduce!the!isolation!that!often!shrouds!
this!s ubject.!We!also!believe!that!a!great!deal !of!profess ional!development!can!be!attained!
simply!by!being!a!member!of!a!close-knit!group!and!witnessing,!at!close!range,!the!
experiences!of!others.!!!
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Peer!mentoring!groups!are!used!extensively!in!the!bus iness!world!(where!they!are!often!
called!peer!mentori ng!circles),!and!have!been!applied!in!academia!and!government!to!help!
participants!reach!many!different!kinds!of!challenging!goals,!including:!
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§ Writing!papers/grants/dissertations:!
o !http://pda.bwh.harvard.edu/career-development/grant-writing-circles-
pilot/;!https ://www.seattleu.edu/faculty-development/events/writing-
groups/!
§ Job!search:!!
o American!Chemical!Society’s!jo b!clubs!
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/career-services/jobclub.html!
§ Learning!supervisory!skills:!
https://www2.usgs.gov/humancapital/ecd/ecd_supervisorycoaching.html
§ Career!and!profess ional!progress!in!general:!
o !Every&Other&Thursday!by!Ellen!Daniell!!
o In!Person:!Career!GPS:!
http://www.sciencemag.org/ careers/2012/03/person-career-gps!
o Massachusetts!chapter!of!the!Association!for!Women!in!Science!
https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.1799!
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We!designed!the!MIND!program!to!test!whether!peer!mentori ng!groups!could!provide!the!
support!and!s tructure!needed!to!engage!our!trainees!in!a!more!sustained!way!in!career!
exploration.!!
Who participates in our peer mentoring teams?
In!order!to!be!eligible!for!our!program,!graduate!students!must!have!passed!their!
qualifying!exams!in!the!prior!year!(although!we!have!occasi onally!admi tted!students!who!
were!closer!to!graduation).!We!initially!admitted!only!first!or!second!year!postdocs,!but!
based!on!demand!we!soon!expanded!eligibili ty!to!postdocs!in!their!first!five!years!at!UCSF.!!
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Principles of peer team composition
When!organizing!a!peer!team,!you!must!decide!whether!or!not!to!group!participants!by!
some!shared!attribute!(such!as!stage!in!career,!career!interests,!gender,!or!field!of!study,!
etc).!!In!this!section!we!lay!out!the!thinking!behind!how!we!con stituted!our!peer!teams,!but!
you!m ay!choose!to!compose!your!teams!in!a!different!way!that!works!better!for!your!
context.!
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There!are!merits!to!both!heterogeneous!and!homogeneous!groups.!!When!participants!
share!an!important!aspect!of!their!identities,!it!can!help!them!t o!build!trust!and!candidly!
discuss!their!challenges.!!In!the!“In!Person:!Career!GPS”!group,!for!example,!participants!
were!united!by!being!“fellow!scientist-moms!with!career!ambitions!such !as!our!own”!
(Shkolnik, et al., 2012).!!However!Shkolnik!also!noted!that!the!members!of!her!group!were!
sometimes!in!direct!competition!for!the!same!professional!opportunities,!since!several!of!
them!sought!faculty!careers!in!the!same!field.!Thus!the!homogeneity!of!their!team’s!career!
goals!proved!challengin g.!
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Heterogeneous!groups!can!offer!a!broader!array!of!perspectives,!and!–!perhaps!more!
importantly!–!can!illuminate!underlying!similarities!between!people!who!may!at!first!
appear!quite!different.!!Heterogeneous!groups!are!harder!to!“sell”!to!participants!initially,!
but!many!participants!ultimately!see!the!heterogeneity!as!a!key!benefit.!!!
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When!designing!our!peer!teams,!we!faced!two!m ain!such!decisions:!whether!or!not!to!
gro up!participants!by!the!careers!they!were!interested!in!exploring,!and!whether!or!not!to!
mix!graduate!students!and!postdocs.!!!
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Should!we!as semble!teams!based!on!career!interest?!
Despite!the!fact!that!our!program’s!main!focus!is!career!explor ation,!we!decided!NOT!to!
group!our!participants!by!career!interest!for!several!reasons:!!
1. We!knew!that!our!trainees !are!often!strongly!considering!two!or!more!very!different!
career!paths,!making!it!hard!to!assign!them!to!a!single!career-based!team.!
2. We!knew!that!interests!career!interests!can!change!rapidly!during!periods!of!
concerted!career!exploration,!thereby!rendering!a!team!focused!on!an!original!
career!interest!seem!less!relevant.!
3. We!wanted!to!avoid!com petition!between!team!members!with!similar!career!
interests.!
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4. We!also!faced!a!simpl e!but!profound!logistical!challenge.!!Our!trainees!were!spread!
over!multiple!campuses,!with!different!scheduling!constraints,!so!simply!convening!
teams!at!a!time/place!that!all!could!attend!was!already!a!complex!puz zle!without!
factoring!in!career!interests.!!!!
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Although!many!partici pants!initially!wondered!why!we!did!not!assign!them!to!peer!teams!
with!others!of!similar!career!interests,!on!end-of-program!surveys!they!noted!several!
benefits!to!this!heterogeneity:!
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1. Gave!them!exposure!to!careers!they!hadn’t!known!about.!
2. Taugh t!them!career-exploration!strategies!that!could!be!applied!to!the!careers!
they!were!interested!in!
3. Allowed!them!to!tap!a!dive rse!network!of!professiona l!contacts!that!their!
teammates!had.!
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Should!we!combine!or !separate!gradu ate!students!and!postd ocs?!
We!also!strove!for!a!mix!of!postdocs!and!(3
rd
!and!4
th
!year)!graduate!students!within!each!
team,!and!o bserved!that!although!these!two!groups!typically!progress!through!career!
exploration!at!different!rates!—the!postdocs!being!more!motivated!to!sort!out!their!career!
plans!quickly—they!nevertheless!learn!a!lot!from!each!other.!!While!postdocs!have!more!
experience,!and!are!likely!closer!to!the!job!search,!graduate!students!are!often!more!
integrated!into!the!ins titution!and!more!aware!of!local!opportunities;!both!populations!
benefit!from!the!other’s!knowledge.!!!
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Also,!a!sizeable!fraction!of!our!postdoc!population!is!composed!of!in ternational!scholars,!
and!thus!many!of!our!peer!teams !consisted!of!a!mix!of!internationals!and!U.S.!
citizens/permanent!res idents.!This!was!a!deliberate!choice!intended!to!!improve!
everyone’s!interperson al !communication!s kills,!as!m any!jobs!will!involve!working!in!teams!
with!members!fro m!diverse!backgrounds.!International!postdocs!told!us!that!it!was!
extremely!useful!when!at!least!one!of!their!peer!team!facilitators!also!had!experience!
navigating!visas/!green!cards ,!etc.,!although!we!were!not!able!to!achieve!this!in !every!case.!!
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We!also!s trive!for!a!mi x!of!women!and!men!on!every!team,!and!we!make!sure!that!each!
team!contains!at!least!one!or!two!extroverts!(they!take!the!MBTI!personality!assessment!
before!we!assemble!the!teams,!and!we!usually!have!a!majority!of!introverts).!!Finally,!we!
separated!members!of!the!same!lab,!to!ensure!that!everyone!felt!free!to!speak!candidly!and!
confidentially!within!their!peer!teams.!
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How often should peer mentoring teams meet?
The!first!year!we!offered!the!program,!the!teams !met!monthly.!!Participants!report ed!that!
their!motivatio n!to!do!the!work!of!career!exploration!spiked!for!the!several!days!
immediately!before!and!after!each!meeting.!In!an!effort!to!stimulate!more!frequent!bursts!
of!activity,!we!decided!that!subsequent!teams!would!meet!every!tw o!weeks.!This!was!an!
improvement!overall,!although!in!some!cases!two!weeks!proved!too!short!an!interval!for!
reaching!their!goals.!Meeting!every!three!weeks!might!be!the!ideal!interval!between!
meetings,!but!would!greatly!complicate!scheduling!peer!team!meetings,!which!was!already!
a!significant!challenge.!!!
Why facilitated peer teams?
Many!peer!mentoring!teams!arise!organically!and!do!not!employ!facilitators!(Shkolnik!
2012).!In!our!context,!where!we!convene!and!support!10+!peer!teams!per!year!composed!
of!people!who!might!be!perfect!strangers,!we!felt!that!facilitators!were!important!for,!
maintaining!meeting!tone!and!st ructure,!watching!the!time,!mediating!between!
personalities!and!ensuring!that!everyone!receives!focused!attention!from!the!group.!!
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The!first!year!we!started!small,!convening!six!peer!teams,!all !of!which!were!facilitated!by!
MIND!PIs!and!staff.!!We!learned!as!we!went.!!The!second!year,!our!program!grew!and!we!
needed!10!peer!teams,!and!that!meant!we!needed!to!recruit!–!and!train--!more!facilitators.!!!
How to recruit facilitators?
Identifying!p ote ntial!facilitator s!
!
A!detailed!description!of!the!roles!and!responsibilities!of!MIND!peer!team!facilitators!can!
be!found!on!p .!26.!
!
The!majority!of!our!facilitators!have!Ph.D.s,!and!many!have!undertaken!career!exploration!
themsel ves.!!How ever,!in!our!model,!being!an!effective!facilitator!does!NOT!require!content!
expertise!about!different!career!paths,!since!the!peer!team!members!are!each!responsible!
for!self-directed!research!about!the!careers!of!interest!to!them.!!
!
Thus!when!scouting!for!facilitators,!we!prioritize!people!with!good!teaching /!facilitating/!
interpersonal!skills,!rather!than!people!with!specific!career!expertise.!!We!rely!heavily!on!
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perso nal!recommendations!from!colleagues!in!the!Graduate!Division,!Office!of!Career!and!
Professional!Development,!and!the!Office!of!Postdoctoral!Scholars.!!We!reach!out!either!in!
perso n!or!via!email!(see!sample!recruitment!email!in!the!next!section).!If!we!do!not!know!
the!facilitator!candidates!personally,!we!meet!them!on e-on-one!to!gauge!wheth er!they!have!
the!interpersonal!skills!we!seek,!and!to!explain!the!respo nsibilities.!
!
As!mentioned!above,!during!the!first!year!of!our!pro gram,!all!the!peer!teams!were!
facilitated!by!our!PIs!and!program!s taff.!!The!second!year!we!also!recruited!alumni!of!
MIND!peer!teams!to!serve!as!facilitators,!as!well!as!other!trainees!who!had!distinguished!
themsel ves!as!effective!teachers!or!leaders.!!Starting!in!the!third!year,!we!also!recruited!
professional!staff!from!our!institution!(from!the!offices!of!technology!management,!
strategic!alliances,!research!development,!and!core!facilities,!for!example)!thereby!
illuminating!more!possible!careers!for!Ph.D.-trained!scientists!in!the!university.!!By!the!
fourth!year!of!the!program,!some!of!our!alumni!had!left!UCSF!for!new!positions,!but!still!
came!back!to!volunteer!as!facilitator s,!underscoring!the!fact!that!facilitators!need!not!have!
a!current!ins titutional!affiliation.!!!
!
Faculty:!Faculty!member!Keith!Yamamoto!(a!MIND!Co-PI)!played!a!s ubstantial!role!in!the!
design!of!our!peer!team!process!and!facilitated!several!peer!teams.!Keith!was!one!of!the!
found ing!members!of!the!group!described!in!Every&Othe r&Thursday,&!and!his!personal!
passion!for !this!peer!mentoring!approach!was!a!great!asset.&In!general,!however,!we!did!not!
ask!other!faculty!to!serve!as!facilitators.!Trainee!feedback!indicated!that!the!presence!of!a!
faculty!member!might!make!participants!less!candid!about!the!true!range!of!their!career!
interests.!!!
!
Initial!recruitment!email!
!
Hi [Potential Facilitator],
[Name of recommender] recommended you as peer team facilitator for the MIND
program.
Peer team facilitators are a critical component of the MIND program, which helps
students and postdocs explore careers. Peer teams consist of 5-7 students and postdocs
who meet twice a month to set career exploration goals and report on progress.
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Each peer team will have two facilitators. These peer team facilitators need not be career
experts. Rather, they serve to steer discussion in a productive direction. If you’re someone
who enjoys teaching or mentoring then this may be a great fit for you.
The commitment as a peer team facilitator will involve:
• Training (two 2-hour sessions)
• Attendance at the Peer Team Launch event, where you will meet your team
(Saturday, 1/20/18)
• Twice monthly meetings with your peer team and co-facilitator (roughly 2
hours/meeting) from mid-January to mid-June.
Please let us know if you are interested in learning more. We would love to have you as a
peer team facilitator, and hope that you will join us in making MIND a success.
Best regards, [Peer team program manager]
!
How!many!facilit ator s!pe r!team?!!
All!of!our!peer!teams!have!had!two !facili tators.!!Having!a!single!facilitator!per!team!is!
tempting!for!expedience,!but!we!found!that!having!two!facilitators!per!team!worked!well!
for!several!reasons:!
!
§ When!one!facilitator!was!called!away!by!travel!or!illness,!the!other!facilitator!could!
maintain!continuity.!
§ It!was!easier!to!recruit!facilitators!who!were!concerned!about!t heir!lack!of!career!
expertise!if!they!knew!they!would!have!a!partner.!
§ It!also!enabled!us!to!recruit!prominent!people!who!would!not!have!been!able!to!
devote!time!to!team!logistics.!!These!more!senior!facilitators!were!paired!with!a!
more!junior!facilitator!who!served!as!the!logistical!“glue”!for!the!team.!
§ Every!facilitator!had!a!built-in!colleague!with!whom!they!could!discuss!team!
progress!and!trouble-shoot!team!dynamics,!etc.!
!
For!all!of!these!reasons,!even!as!our!program!grew,!we!have!maintained!two!facilit ators!per!
team.!
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Are!incentives!necessary!for!recruitin g! f acilitators?!
!
Below,!we!share!a!few!tho ughts!about!whether!incentives !are!necessary!for !recruiting !
facilitators.!
!
§ To&pay&or¬&to&pay? !For!the!firs t!two!years!of!our!program,!we!did!not!pay!our!
peer!team!facili tators.!In!year!three!of!our!program!we!decided!to!pay!facilitators!a!
modest!stipend,!but!this!proved!to!be!an!administrative!nightmare!so!we!
discontinued!the!practice!the!following!year.!We!were!concerned!that!interest!in!
facilitating!might!decrease!when!people!learned!they!would!not!be!paid,!but,!
happily,!that!concern!was!not!borne!out:!we!still!had!enough!facilitator!volunteers!in!
year!4.!!Based!on!our!experience!we!would!NOT!recommend!that!you!pay!
facilitators!a!stipend,!although!providing!a!small!gift!card!to!thank!facilitators!at!the!
end!of!the!experience!is!entirely!appropriate.
§ Intrinsic &m otivations.&When!asked!“What!was!(were)!your!main!motivation(s)!in!
deciding!to!volunteer!your!limited!time!as!a!MIND!peer!team!facilitator?”!our!
facilitators!frequently!cited!the!desire!“to!give!back”!and!“to!help!o thers.”!Others !
noted!that!they!took!on!this!role!“to!get!more!teaching/advising/leadership!
experience,”!“to!get!motivated!for![my!own]!career!exploration!again”!or!to!“explore!
the!career!counselor!tr ack”!as!a!possi ble!career.!Oftentimes!a!facilitator!stated!
multiple!motivations,!as!in!this!example:!“I!wanted!to!give!back!to!the!MIND!
program!(which!was!an!enormous!help!for!me).!I!th ought!the!experience!would!be!
good!for!me!and!add!to!my!skills!and!resume.”
§ On&call&career&support.!!Another!way!that!we!have!tried!to!thank!our!facilitators!is!by!
supporting!their!personal!career!development!efforts,!as!many!of!them!are!actively!
engaged!in!career!exploration!and!jo b- seeking!activities!of!their!own.!!We!provide!
counsel,!connections,!and!application!material!review,!on!demand!whenever!a!
facilitator!reaches!out!for!help.!!
Does!serving!as!facilitator!negatively!impact!other!responsibilities?!
To!understand!the!im pact!of!serving!as!a!facilitator!on!their!other!responsibilities,!at!the!
end!of!the!program!we!ask!facilitators!to!complete!the!sentence!“Serving!as!a!peer!team!
facilitator!had![a!positive!/!negative!/!no!effect]!on!my!own!research!this!past!year.”!We!
ask!them!to!expl ain!their!selection.!Thus!far!w e!have!received!responses!to!this!question!
from!38!facilitators.!
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Positive!effect!on!research!
13%!(n=5)!
No!effect!
76%!!!!(29)!
Negative!effect!
!!11%!!!!(4)!
!
All!fo ur!individuals!who!i ndicated!a!negative!effect!referred!to!the!time!commitment!to!
attend!peer!team!meetings!(3-4!hours!/month).!!!
!
The!most!common!s el ection!was!“no!effect,”!and!representative!quotes!are!shown!below:!
!
§ “Negligible effect - we were able to have early morning meetings which meant that I
could basically have a completely normal research day.”
§ “Definitely took a bit of time away from being in lab, but it also made me more
invigorated about achieving my own career goals, which I believe helps my research and
overall productivity.“
Positive!effects!included:!
!
§ “Serving as a facilitator provided me motivation and something to look forward to every
two weeks. This definitely had a positive influence in itself on my research. “
§ “My research actually picked up pace this year since I started two new projects and I had
to learn how to juggle my time more effectively in order to be more productive all
around.”
!
What!benefits!do!facilitators!report?!
!
We!survey!facilitators !at!the!end!of!each!program!year,!and!we!ask!them!to!complete!the!
sentence!“Serving!as!a!peer!team!facilitator!had![ a!positive!/!negative!/!no!effect]!on!my!
own!career!exploration!this!past!year.”!We!also!ask!them!to!explain!their!selection.!Thus!
far!we!have!received!responses!to!this!question!from!39!facilitators.!
!
Positive!effect!on!career!exploration!
64%!(n=25)!
No!effect!
31%!!(12)!
Negative!effect!
!!5%!!!(2)!
!
Of!the!two!facilitators!who!indicated!that!serving!as!a!facilitator!had!a!negative!effect!on!
their!own!career!exploration,!one!provided!no!explanation,!and!the!other!said:!
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§ “The time was significant, though not a burden. My own career exploration wasn't
necessarily a priority, so it was demoted.”
The!“no!effect”!selection!was!often!explained!by!a!variant!of!!
!
§ “I was doing my own career exploration in parallel, and further along in career
exploration and/or in different career paths than the people on my team.”
The!major!posi tive!effects!repo rted!were!either!informational:!!
!
§ “I learnt from the exploration of my peer team, and had some new ideas for avenues
and job titles I could be interested in.”
or!motivational:!
!
§ “It was motivating and a kickstart to get me back on the career exploration process after
a lag from when I participated in MIND. I rejoined a biweekly meet up group with other
[MIND] alumni to help make goals and contracts and get me moving and motivated”) .
!
When!asked!“What!was!the!most !satisfying!part!of!serving!as!a!facilitator?”,!the!most!
common!r esponse!focu sed!on!witnessing!the!progress!made!by!members!of!their!peer!
team,!and!feeling!like!they!had!contributed!to!it,!as!in!this!example:!
!
§ “I really enjoyed seeing the progress of several members of my group. I also enjoyed the
process of "facilitating" - helping the group work together and provide input to each
other.”
!
Several!facilitators!reported!that!the!experience!had!enhanced!their!skillset!in!a!way!that!
would!serve!them!well!in!their!future!careers,!as!in!the!following!two!examples:!
!
§ “I found it quite challenging but at the same time very rewarding. I learned a lot about
effective leadership, communication and facilitating discussions and it would definitely be
a story I could tell in any future behavioral interview questions.”
!
§ “I genuinely enjoy serving as a sounding board for different ideas, be it scientific or non-
scientific and this also facilitates my learning of a wide variety of topics. Additionally, my
current career track is set towards an academic PI and I wish to be a well-rounded
mentor for anyone I will train. Serving as a facilitator has definitely taken me a step
closer towards this goal.”
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The!third!theme!focused!o n!using!one’s!own!experience!to!benefit!others:!
!
§ “The most satisfying part is to provide comfort to those struggling as I was over a year
ago.”
!
§ “Mentoring is awesome; it's nice to be able to bring the experience of my crooked career
path to bear on something/someone valuable; supporting the pipeline of scientists who
also realize that research training is a means to many ends.”
!!
In!summary,!our!experience!s hows!that!peers!and!university!staff!can!and!will!step!up!to!
help!tr ainees!navigate!the!challenges!of!career!exploration,!and!will!do!so!on!a!volunteer!
basis.!Thus!the!facilitated!peer!team!model!appears!t o!be!sust ainable!and!scalable.!!!
What if someone leaves the peer team?
No!matter!how!thoughtfully!you!compose!peer!teams,!some!particip ants!will!need!to!drop!
out.!!Initially!our!teams!each!consist!of!5-7!participants!and!two!facilitators,!but!we!have!
consistently!seen!attrition!over!the!six!months!our!peer!teams!meet:!
!
• Typically,!of!90!trainees!who!begin!our!Catalytic!Course!in!October,!around!70!finish!
the!pro gram!in!June.!Participants!have!had!to!withdraw!from!peer!teams!for!a!range!
of!reasons!including!s erious!illness!(either!their!own!or!that!of!a!family!member),!
their!research!int ensifying,!their!advisor!suddenly!leaving!the!institution,!another!
crisis!in!the!lab,!getting!a!job,!etc.!!!
• Of!the!40!facilitators!we’ve!worked!with!over!the!past!four!years,!two!have!had!to!
leave!the!program!mid-year,!in!both!cases!because!they!left!UCSF!for!new!positions.!!
In!our !experience!team!morale!suffers!if!a!participant!disappears!without!communicating!
with!their!team.!!But!if!handled!properly,!departures!need!not!negatively!impact!the!team;!
in!fact,!when!a!team!member!leaves!to!take!a!job,!it!can!actually!be!quite!inspiring.!To!
ensure!minimal!negative!impact!to!teams,!we!have!developed!a!proto col!for!participants!to!
follow!i f!they!need!to!leave!their!team!(see!page!93).!
!
We!have!also!found!that!four!participants!is!the!minimum!number!for!a!productive!and!
lively!peer!team!meeting.!!Because!of!this!minimum,!we!recommend!merging!(with!their!
permission)!any!two!teams!whose!membership!has!dwindled!to!<4!people!each.!!!
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Staff time required for peer teams?
As!descri bed!above,!peer!teams!require!support!to!be!effective.!!Most!o f!this!support!comes!
in!the!form!of!staff!time,!with!small!amounts!required!for!food!and!supplies.!!One!of!our!PIs!
(JD)!spent!approximately!15%!FTE!developing!and!leading!our!approach!to!peer!teams,!
including!writing!this!manual!and!serving!as!lead!trainer!for!facilitators.!To!maintain!our!
system!of!10+!peer!teams!p er!year,!our!program!director!and!program!manager!spent,!
respectively,!approximately!15%!and!5%!of!their!time!supporting!peer!teams.!This!staff!
time!is!required!to!carry!out!the!following!tasks:!
!
Before!peer!teams!start!meeting:!
!
1. Recruiting!facilitators!
2. Polli ng!participants!and!facilitators!about!their!schedules!and!preferred!location!for!
meetings,!etc.!
3. Composin g!peer!teams,!and!checking!wit h!facilitators!and!participants!to!make!sure!
there!are!no!conflicts!of!interest!with!their!team!members,!co-facilitators,!etc.!
4. Training!facilitators!(also!budget!for!snacks!and!training!materials)!
5. Organizing!and!leading!our!“Peer!Team!Launch”!event,!described!in!full!on!p.70.!
(Eating!together!is!an!important!part!of!building!trust!between!team!members,!so!
we!budget!to!serve!pizza!at!this!event.)!
!
After!peer!teams!start!meeting:!
!
Even!the!best-intentioned!teams!sometimes!encounter!challenges,!so!our!program!staff!
take!a!lot!of!measures!to!ensure!that!teams!remain!productive,!including:!
!
6. Responding!to!any!questions!or!concerns!raised!by!participants!or!facilitators!
7. Convening!facilitators!for!lunch!after!1-2!team!meetings!to!troubles hoot!team!
dynamics!and!share!strategies!for!effective!facilitation.!
8. Surveying!participants!after!a!few!peer!team!meetings!to!ask!how!the!team!is!
functioning.!
9. Providing!each!facilitator!with!anonymi zed!feedback!from!their!team!members.!
10. Conducting!observations!of!!one!peer!team!meeting!mid-way!through!the!peer!team!
phase.!
11. Communicating!with!participants!who!need!to!leave!the!program,!and!serving!as!a!
liaison!between!them!and!their!peer!teams,!when!necessary.!
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In sum
We!hope!this!introduction!has!provided!a!foundation!for!understanding!how!peer!teams!
have!worked!for!us,!and!whether!a!similar!system!might!work!for!you.!!If!you!have!further!
questions,!please!email!mind@ucsf.edu.!!!
!
The!rest!of!this!document!features!a!lightly!edited!version!of!the!training!manual!we!gave!
our!facilitators!in!academic!year!2017-2018.!!Henceforward,!“you”!refers!to !the!facilitator.!
Since!some!of!our!facilitators!are!NOT!alumni!of!the!MIND!program,!we!do!not!presume!
any!fami liarity!with!the!program!or!with!peer!teams.!!
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MIND
!
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2017-2018
Peer Team Facilitator Training
Motivating INformed Decisions (MIND)
Preparing UCSF for a Changing Biomedical Workforce
Jennie Dorman, Gabriela Monsalve, Elizabeth Silva,
Theresa O’Brien, Keith Yamamoto, and Bill Lindstaedt
Supported by an NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
Grant number: 5DP7OD018420-03
http://mind.ucsf.edu
mind@ucsf.edu
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Introduction for Peer Team Facilitators
Welcome aboard as a MIND peer team facilitator! We are indebted to you for
volunteering to serve in this important role, and will do everything we can to support
you. Please feel free to reach out anytime with any question or concern, large or small.
[Program Director Name and Email]
[Lead trainer Name and Email, if different]
Structure of Training Process
We know how busy you are, so we have limited the in-person trainings to two 2-hour
meetings (#2 and 4 below). Thus our training strategy relies on you reading the
enclosed materials before (#1) and between (#3) these meetings.
!
1. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!6.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!7.
!
The events depicted in orange above are scheduled by us, but you will schedule the
events shown in blue.
For example, you will schedule a planning meeting with your co-facilitator (#5) at a
mutually convenient time after the second training and before the Peer Team Launch
event (#6), where you will meet your team members for the first time. At the launch you
will work with your team to schedule your first independent peer team meeting at a
time that works for all of you (#7).
!
Pre-reading
for Day 1
Training Day
1
Pre-reading
for Day 2
Training Day
2
Planning
meeting with
your co-
facilitator
Meet your
team at the
Peer Team
Launch
1st
independent
peer team
meeting
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What you will find in this manual:
§ Pre-readings, some required for all facilitators, and others optional for alumni of the
MIND program (optional readings are asterisked in the table of contents).
§ Exercises we will do together at the training sessions, including a mini role-play that
demonstrates the functioning of an ideal peer team.
§ A skeleton of planning questions to discuss with your co-facilitator (#5) before you
meet your peer team.
§ Sample handouts you may wish to adapt for your team.
§ Detailed agendas for the Peer Team Launch (#6) and your first independent peer
team meeting (#7).
§ We also provide copies of select materials that we have given to this year’s
participants, to provide helpful context on what they know about the peer team
process.
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Chapter 1: Preparation for Facilitator Training Day 1
Big picture on what MIND (and your peer team) is trying to accomplish*
Grad students and postdocs typically start exploring their career options (in figure
below, career exploration is depicted as green regions of blue arrows) near the end of
their training at UCSF, when it is often too late for a thorough career exploration. Many
end up deferring their career decision-making by accepting another postdoc, and the
cycle repeats.
The MIND program was
designed to help trainees
begin their career
exploration much earlier
in their tenure at UCSF
(green rectangle labeled
MIND, bottom row).
We do NOT expect
participants to reach a
firm decision on what
career to pursue by the
end of the MIND
program. Rather, we
want them to reach four
program outcomes:
Outcome 1. We expect them to have developed the skills needed for effective
career exploration, which they can use again in the future as needed. These skills
are introduced in the Catalytic Course and should be practiced during the peer team
experience. These include how to do informational interviews, how to network
effectively, where to find readings about different careers, how to self-reflect on what
they are learning about careers and how well these careers fit their interests, skills,
values, and personalities, and how to synthesize that information into a decision about
whether or not to keep exploring that career. All the slides used in the catalytic course
are available to you on the course website, at courses.ucsf.edu, and if you’d like to
learn more about how we present any of these topics, we will be glad to talk to you.
Changing WHEN career exploration occurs
Typical timing:
?!
Arrive UCSF!
Leave UCSF!
Postdoc! Postdoc!
?!
MIND!
!
!
Job A! Job B!
Job C!
Job D!
Postdoc!
more training!
Recommended:!
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Outcome 2. They will have explored at least 2 possible career options, which we
call their “Plan A and Plan B careers.” For example, someone’s Plan A might be to
be an industry scientist and Plan B to be a PI. By June, we want them to have
explored their plan A and plan B well, by which we mean: reading about these careers,
talking to 2-3 people in each career and confirming that they can see themselves
working with such people, and finding ways to try out typical tasks in that career. Not
everyone will get there, and that’s ok. And as individuals explore careers during the
peer team phase, a great many of them change their Plan As and Bs, and that’s a
normal part of the process too. We know that their career interests may continue to
evolve after they leave the MIND program, so the “well-explored plan A/ plan B” can
best be thought of as a working model. (Note: if being a PI is their plan A or B, we still
expect them to explore that career while in the peer teams, for example by doing
informational interviews with PIs at different types of institutions. Simply collecting
more data for their next paper is NOT an acceptable form of career exploration.)
Outcome 3. They will have developed the beginnings of a professional network in
their Plan A/ plan B fields. Many MIND participants start the year with 0 to 1 contact
in their fields of interest. A major thrust of the program is to get them to expand their
networks, particularly in their fields of interest. We describe someone as a member of
your network if (1) you have talked with them, (2) you could imagine reaching out to
them again, and ideally (3) you think they might send future opportunities your way.
Ideally each participant would finish MIND with at least 2 of these solid contacts in their
plan A/B fields. Of course, only a subset of the professionals that participants interact
with during MIND will become part of their network in the sense above, and that’s ok!
Outcome 4. A clear sense of what subsequent training is required for their plan
A/B fields, if any. We want participants to leave MIND able to answer the following: Is
doing a(nother) postdoc required for entry into their desired fields? Beneficial? Is an
MBA? A law degree? An expensive certificate program? Here we are trying to prevent
participants from spending needless time and money on training that won’t actually
enhance their employment prospects.
Why use peer teams to reach these goals?*
We believe that career options should be openly and rigorously examined, and we wanted to
reduce the isolation that often shrouds this subject. We also believe that a great deal of
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professional development can be attained simply by being a member of a close-knit group and
witnessing, at close range, the experiences of others. One of our PIs, Keith Yamamoto, helped
found the peer mentoring team described in Ellen Daniell’s Every Other Thursday, and
suggested that the peer mentoring structure might be a good fit.
Peer mentoring groups are used extensively in the business world (where they are often called
peer mentoring circles), and have been applied in academia and government to help
participants reach many different kinds of challenging goals, including writing papers and
dissertations, learning supervisory skills, job search, and career navigation in general.
How participants described the value of peer teams mid-year*
Below is a brief summary and some representative quotes from a survey administered mid-
year that asked participants how the peer teams were working.
The most common themes in their responses were that peer teams provided…
ü Accountability
ü Motivation
ü Support/normalizing the difficulty of career uncertainty
ü Learning about other career paths even when they were not on their original list of
paths to consider
ü Learning new and varied techniques for career exploration
Sample comments from mid-year evaluation, answering the question: “What has
been the value of the peer teams to you so far?”
“The value has been being forced to concoct a monthly plan and then be held accountable for
it. I'm not able to procrastinate as I normally would. Because of this, I've accomplished most of
what needs to be done in order to move onto the next phase of my career, and it's only
February!”
“It has been really encouraging to get the support of my peers in trying to figure out what my
goals are. Seeing that everyone has similar fears and struggles when thinking about career
exploration has been heartening. The facilitators have been a great resource both as general
cheerleaders and in providing specific feedback that helps direct my thinking and pushes me to
keep going.”
“The peer team has been valuable in keeping me accountable for my goals. It can be easily to
slack and fall behind on seeking out informational interviews, as these tasks can be awkward
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and time-consuming. Knowing that I have a meeting with my team approaching pushes me to
complete the goals I've set out so that I don't disappoint my peers.”
“Peer team meetings are very helpful to me. Listening to other people's career exploration gives
me new enthusiasm and I feel like I am not alone. My peer team has two more people who are
have same goals as mine and they give me new ideas.”
“The direction provided by [the facilitators] has also been helpful in turning nebulous ideas into
concrete actionable tasks.”
“For me, there has been great value in being asking to collect my thoughts and explain where I
am and what I'm thinking about the exploration process. It allows me to approach my career
exploration in a more cohesive way. Without the peer team, I think I would run the risk of
conducting many, varied informational interviews without fully reflecting of what I learned from
each and how they change my thinking about careers. The peer team is also a really supportive
environment, and I appreciate not feeling alone in what can be a challenging and confusing
process at times. I typically get frustrated with myself when I don't find an answer quickly, but
the peer team environment has made sure that's not the case.”
How will we know if we achieve our program outcomes?*
We evaluate this program intensively, primarily by administering surveys to participants
at all the points noted on the timeline below. Blue triangles represent surveys that are
part of our formal evaluation, which we report to NIH. Grey triangles represent
additional surveys we do to gather formative feedback for internal program
improvement. Participants also receive follow-up surveys when they leave UCSF, and
some will receive surveys even in their next positions.
Selected evaluation results:
• When comparing pre- and post-MIND results, we found a significant
improvement on outcomes 1, 2, and 4 (these outcomes are described on p.21).
Oct Dec Mar June
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• Networking was the most challenging part for everyone, and we also need to
improve how we measure this outcome. Stay tuned!
• Despite the previous point, people seemed to make the most progress when
they started doing informational interviews.
• Graduate students generally progress more slowly than Postdocs, and that’s ok.
• Most participants were very reluctant to discuss their career interests with their
PIs, but the majority had productive conversations when they did.
• 77% of MIND participants report improved satisfaction with their overall training
experience at UCSF.
• MIND alumni have gone on to jobs as research scientists in industry, tenure
track faculty, technical marketing, intellectual property, medical writing,
healthcare consulting, etc.
Who will be in my Peer Team?
[MIND alums should skim the bullets and focus on the final, important note.]
MIND peer teams are composed…
• By general availability: facilitators and participants are polled for their timing
preferences (early mornings, 9-3, afternoons, evenings)
• By location: at their preferred campus or within 1 shuttle of it.
• For variety:
o a mix of postdocs and grad students
o a mix of career interests
o and with a balance of genders
• To be a good size: 6-7 people per team (we expect some attrition)
• For neutrality and candor: We want the peer teams to be a safe space in which
people can speak frankly, so we separate members of the same lab and people
who we know are romantically involved.
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One final, important note about peer team composition…
As you can imagine, sorting 85 individuals into 14 peer teams with these principles and
constraints is quite a challenging puzzle, but we do our best.
We also circulate the list of MIND participants and ask each facilitator to let us know if
there’s anyone you would be uncomfortable having on your team for any reason (e.g.,
you know them socially and don’t think you/ they would be comfortable). Facilitators,
please respond quickly when we circulate these names.
You will meet your team members at the Peer Team Launch event described on page
70.
!
Facilitator Responsibilities
Responsibilities at peer team meetings
1. To facilitate opener activities.
2. To curtail venting sessions, while normalizing the difficulty of career transition.
3. To monitor the time and ensure everyone receives the attention of the group.
4. To protect the interests of each participant (people are different, they can tolerate
different amounts of questioning or pushing; watch their body language, check-in if
you sense discomfort or overwhelm.)
5. One of your most critical responsibilities is to ensure that everyone states concrete
career exploration goals (“contracts”) at the end of their part of the meeting.
6. And to model accountability, by asking everyone to refer back to their contracts
from the last meeting.
The responsibilities listed below may be shared between the two facilitators
however makes most sense for you and your facilitator partner; in some cases you
may want to take turns doing something, or you may want to practice (or avoid )a
particular aspect of the role. Please read through the following list of facilitator
duties and consider which of them YOU would like to take on. You will have a
chance to ask questions about these responsibilities at our first training, and then
you will discuss them with your co-facilitator when you meet to plan your first team
meeting..!
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Responsibilities between meetings
1) To meet your co-facilitator before the Peer Team Launch (1/20/18) to plan your first
couple meetings with the team.
2) To schedule your team’s meetings
3) To tell [the Program Manager] at least a week in advance if you need a room
reserved and inform [the Program Manager] promptly of any changes to your room
needs.
4) To check in with your co-facilitator briefly after the first couple of meetings, to
discuss how it went. A 15-minute phone call should be plenty.
5) To tell [the Program Manager] who attended each meeting (or, if you prefer, who
missed a meeting).
6) To moderate any online discussion for your peer team.
7) To be the primary point of contact for individual emails from your team.
8) To flag resources & upcoming events that might be of interest to your group.
9) To notify [the Lead Trainer] or [the Program Manager] immediately if you sense any
potential problems with your team (people not showing up, not seeming engaged,
getting upset, etc)
Things facilitators are NOT responsible for
1. Content expertise about different careers
2. Having all the answers -- if you need back-up, post your questions and challenges
to the facilitators-only discussion forum
3. Sending meeting reminders -- get a volunteer on your team to do that.
4. Reminding people to post contracts-- get a volunteer to do that as well.
5. Holding one-on-one meetings with team members
6. Counseling for mental health or job-search (contact [the Program Director], [another
Co-PI], or [the Lead Trainer])
Your questions about these responsibilities?
1.
2.
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Career exploration contracts
Contracts are a central element of peer team effectiveness. A contract is a succinct
and specific statement of what the person will do (with regard to career
exploration) before the next meeting. Each member of the team should set a new
contract for themselves by the end of each meeting.
If you’d like to see some examples of contracts, please review the explanation we gave
to participants, which begins on p. 88 of this manual.
One of your key responsibilities is to make sure people set specific and
achievable contracts. You should expect that setting contracts will be challenging for
people in the beginning.
We have observed two kinds of challenges with contracts:!
1. Some participants have difficulty calibrating how much they can actually do, and
they tend to bite off way more than they can chew. If this is gently pointed out to
them they will hopefully get better at this over the course of the year. We’d rather
see people successfully complete small contracts each time, rather than not
complete huge contracts.
2. Some participants tend to state contracts in very general terms and need to be
pushed a bit to define more attainable goals. SMART goals are:
!
S = specific!
M = measurable!
A = action-oriented !
R = reasonable!
T = time-bound!
!
Makeover example:
!
Before: “I will do some reading about science museum work”
!
After: “My goal is to identify roles in science museums that might be satisfying
to me. To get there, I will do an informational interview with my roommate’s
brother, who is an exhibit designer at the California Academy of Sciences. I’ll use
the informational interview to determine:
1. Would I enjoy this type of teaching, or are the exhibits at too basic a
level to interest me?
2. What background is required for becoming an exhibit developer? !
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Please encourage your team members to set specific contracts DURING team
meetings. This can be accomplished in one of three ways:!
!
1. By having each person state their contract verbally at the end of their allotted
discussion time.
2. By reserving 10 minutes at the end of the meeting during which everyone
simultaneously writes down their specific contracts, or
3. If it’s not possible for everyone to articulate a crisp contract during the meeting,
then set the expectation that they must do so by the end of the next day.
!
Then, we recommend that you print out their contracts (with last names removed for
confidentiality, as per the example that starts on p.30) and bring them to the next
meeting, so you can reference them (therein lies the accountability).
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Sample!hand out!facilitators!make!to!track!progress !!
To develop an atmosphere of accountability, which participants have told us they value,
at every meeting you should review the contracts participants set at the prior meeting,
discussing both what they did and didn’t accomplish. We recommend bringing a
handout listing the contracts on a single piece of paper; this really focuses the
conversation. The facilitator copies last meeting’s contracts from the CLE (or wherever
your team logs contracts), then removes last names to preserve confidentiality, and
brings copies to the next meeting. The following is a sample, which continues on the
next page.
Sam:
Aviv:
Career: Science Policy
Goal #1: Make arrangements to have questions answered about the work of the UCSF Institute of Health
Policy and the people who work there.
• Arrange time with Dr. Miller
• Draft an introductory opener for Dr. Miller
Goal #2: Determine the involvement of public health dentists in policy
• Send informational interview request with Dr. Alberta Magniani to learn how she uses basic
sciences PhD in dental public health
[Continued!on!next!page]!
!
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Career
Goals
Tasks
Biotech
Learn more about mid-size and/or relatively stable start
up companies in the Bay Area
1. Wait to hear back from Catalyst
intern program
Biotech
Find out about program or operation manager
careers
1. Informational interview with ex-
coworker #2
2. Look into program management
certifications
3. cancel linkedin premium
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Ellen:
Xiao Lan:
Jenny:
[END!OF!SAMPLE!HANDOUT!FACILITATORS!BRING!TO!EACH!MEETING]!
!
Career
Goals
Tasks
Teaching at
LAC
Learn new ways to encourage discussion
1. Implement an active learning technique into the next
lab lecture.
CDC
Learn more about public health careers at
the CDC
2. Contact other person at CDC for informational
interview
Career
Goals
Tasks
Tech Transfer
Gain hands on experience in the field
Learn more about researching and
understanding market analysis
2. Continue with internship at the UCSF Office of
Innovation, Technology, and Alliances
3. Set up informational interview with Qi Peng
Intellectual
Property
Conduct informational interviews to
learn if IP fits my values
4. Set up time to talk with contacts Rob (patent agent)
and Nguyen (attorney)
Career
Goals
Tasks
Biotech
Learn more about internships/sight visits at various
biotech companies
3. Browse company websites for internships
4. Talk to contacts about possibly doing a
supervised visit
Teaching
Find out about strategies for pursuing a teaching
career at a PUI
4. Informational interview with Dr. Jones
(Swarthmore)
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[MIND Alums: Please refresh your memory on this and pay special attention to the
Confidentiality Policy on the next page.]
The MIND Program Pledge (including our
confidentiality policy)
Expectations for staff and participants
UCSF’s Motivating INformed Decisions (MIND) program for career exploration is a pilot
program funded by taxpayers, via a BEST grant from the NIH. The MIND program comes
with specific expectations for both participants and staff, which must be met if the
program is to be effective, valuable and successful. Therefore, your active and full
participation is essential to ensuring that the most effective programmatic elements of
MIND remain available to at UCSF beyond the lifetime of the grant (which ends in 2018).
We expect participants to:
● Attend all three days of coursework: October 28th, November 11th, and December 2nd, 2017. In
addition, you must complete all homework assignments. The course is cumulative, with each day
building on the prior sessions, and features interactive workshops, as well as lectures. If you find
you must miss one of the sessions, it is critical that you 1) tell us beforehand and 2) make up the
material by reading lecture notes, completing assignments, and talking with your peers.
● Participate fully in the career exploration peer team phase. The meetings with your peer team,
and the three full-cohort meetings (in January 20th, March 3rd and June 23rd), must be a top
priority. You are also give your peers honest, respectful feedback, and to maintain the
confidentiality of what they share.
● Conduct informational interviews or job shadows with 3-5 PhD-level professionals by the
program end in June. These can be with people you know or people that the MIND program
connects you with, henceforward called “UCSF partners.”
● Conduct yourself professionally and respectfully throughout your interactions with UCSF partners.
Behaving professionally and courteously with these individuals is key for two reasons: 1) the success
of your career exploration hinges upon the generosity of these individuals, and 2) through these
interactions you directly influence the relationships between the MIND program and its partners
(and their willingness to give more of their time in the future!).
● Make good use of the UCSF partner’s time by researching the given career path BEFORE you do
an informational interview (by reading extensively) or a job shadow (by doing at least one
informational interview with someone in that path).
● Be active contributors by sharing, in two ways, what you learn from these conversations: 1) with
your peer teams; and 2) by entering your brief written summaries into the MIND CLE within 2 weeks
of completing your informational interview or job shadow.
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● Help us, and the NIH, evaluate the utility and efficacy of the program by completing the surveys
and evaluations that we send to you. These surveys will ask about your experiences in the MIND
program, and at UCSF, and will be kept confidential**.
● Be respectful and mindful of the commitment that others are making to you, as part of the
program. Your peers and the MIND staff are devoting time and energy to your career success,
and you are expected to reciprocate by investing in the success of your peers and the program.
● Keep everything discussed during peer team meetings confidential.
● Stay in touch after leaving the MIND program, and after leaving UCSF, for up to five years. You
should understand that you are joining a research program: MIND seeks to understand the process
of career reinvention and test strategies for navigating this transition. As such, you will be required
to complete detailed surveys both during and after the program, for up to 5 years. Finally, MIND
alumni will serve as the nucleus of your professional network, which will grow in the long-term to
benefit your professional development!
● Be patient and respectful as we work the kinks out. While this is our fourth year, we are still
incorporating new elements, and we won’t get everything right. We will do our best and we are
committed to continuously improving the program.
You can expect the MIND Program to:
§ Connect you with at least 1 professional from our MINDbank database or via UCSF Connect
for an informational interview, once you have completed the necessary preparation. We
encourage you, of course, to conduct additional informational interviews with professionals in
your own network.
§ Work with you to develop one job shadow experience with a professional.
§ Maintain confidentiality (explained more fully below). We will not disclose your participation
to your PI, your program, or your colleagues; nor will we share any information we collect from
you without de-identification and aggregation.
MIND Confidentiality Policy
There are many possible interpretations of confidentiality. Here is what we mean. You will
notice that we ask for your name/email in the evaluations. We need this information so we
can follow you over time, both during the program and afterward, so we can learn from
your experience. This information is for our program staff and our evaluator. Any data that
we share outside the project team will be de-identified and, where appropriate,
aggregated. Your individual response will not be shared, and we will not discuss your
participation in the program with your PI or your colleagues. We hope that ultimately you
will serve as ambassadors for the MIND program, but it is entirely up to you to decide what
you do -or do not- wish to share about your participation.
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You can expect the MIND program to (continued):
Ø Listen carefully to you. We will read your assignments, evaluations, and discussion
contributions, and consider your input seriously. We welcome your ideas and will listen
carefully for ways that we can improve the program, now and in future years.
Ø Implement changes to the program in accordance with your input where we feel it is
appropriate. We will do everything we can to make your personal experience as
rewarding and valuable as possible.
Ø Provide feedback. Sometimes you will receive individual feedback on your
assignments, and other times we will respond collectively by highlighting important
themes for the cohort as a whole.
Ø Respond to emails addressed to mind@ucsf.edu within 48 hours during normal business
hours.
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Chapter 2: Facilitator Training Day 1
Today’s Agenda
1. Peer team logistics
2. Your questions: Facilitator responsibilities
3. Exercise: Helping Participants Frame Useful Contracts
4. What does a peer team meeting look like?
a. Basic anatomy of peer team meeting
b. Role play of peer team meeting
5. Supports for facilitators & for participants
6. How to prepare for training day #2
Peer team logistics
Peer Team Composition:
● 6-7 participants per team:
○ Mix of postdocs and grad students
○ Teams organized by availability and campus preference, not career
interests
● 2 facilitators per team
● How we build the teams
○ We will ask you for your availability (mornings, evenings, or midday)
and preferred campus, and use this information to pair you with your co-
facilitators. We will also ask the participants for the same info.
○ Over the next month, [the Program Manager] will send you a draft of
your peer team to make sure you do not have any conflicts of interest or
other issues with the people tentatively assigned to your team. Please let
[the Program Manager] know ASAP if you do.
○ Both of the above will require your rapid response. Please make sure we
have the best email for contacting you in December/early January.
Scheduling team meetings
● Teams typically meet twice per month for 2 hours each.
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● We strongly encourage you to schedule your meetings with your peer team on a
recurring basis, whenever possible (e.g 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am), for two
reasons: !
1. Setting a recurring meeting time saves you from endless doodle polls.
2. Also, an important purpose of the peer team is to hold participants accountable for
continued progress with career exploration, and this will work better if participants get
into a regular rhythm where they know when the next meeting will be.
3. To facilitate scheduling, please compare schedules with your co-facilitator
before the peer team launch and identify 2-4 possible dates/times when you are
both free (e.g., Tuesday mornings anytime between 9 and noon, or Thursdays from
11:00am - 1:00pm.) Please note them here:
______________________________________________________________!
______________________________________________________________!
● You will then propose these times to your team when you meet at the launch. They
have been told to bring their calendars, and it should be possible to select a
recurring meeting time on that occasion. !
● It may not be possible to find a perfect time when no one on your team has a
conflict. We do NOT want to conflict with participants’ lab meetings, but we cannot
avoid conflicts with departmental seminars or journal clubs, for example.!
Reserving a meeting room for your team
● If you need our assistance reserving a classroom, email [the Program Manager]
with the time and desired campus at least 1 week ahead of time. [the Program
Manager] will arrange a room and notify you of the space.!
● It is absolutely crucial that you notify [the Program Manager] of any room
cancellations in advance-- we have to pay for unused rooms and the cancellation
process takes time because we have to put in a request.!
● Please notify [the Program Manager] if there were any problems with your room
(the room itself, double bookings etc.)!
● Peer teams meeting at the Parnassus campus have also used small group study
rooms in the library, which the graduate students on your team can reserve for you:
(https://www.library.ucsf.edu/services/spaces/group)!
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Basic anatomy of a peer team meeting
!
Meeting Element!
Required!
Optional!
Brief welcome by facilitators!
!
!
Opener activity (e.g., noting upcoming events of
interest, or quick round of 30 second check-ins)!
!
!
Each person asks for a certain amount of time (more
when they have more to discuss, less when they
don’t) vs. standard model, which is everyone gets
equal time in the meeting.!
!
!
Each person talks about their career exploration
activities (approx. 15 minutes each)!
!
!
Each person states their next contract (what they
will do before the next peer team meeting)!
!
!
Potluck snacks and/or drinks!
!
!
Confirm next meeting time and place!
!
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Exercise: Peer team role play
Here we provide a glimpse of how an established peer team might function.!
Actors: !
Volunteer (playing Wang)!
Volunteer (playing Jason)!
Volunteer (playing Amrita)!
Volunteer (playing Allison) !
Gabi (playing facilitator named Gabi) !
Jennie (playing facilitator named Jennie)!
!
Setting: This is the 3
rd
meeting of this peer team (in March). Everyone is gathered around a big
conference table. !
**********************************************************************************************!
[OPENING THE MEETING]!
Action!
!
Gabi: Hi, everyone!!
!
Jennie: Welcome! As usual, we’ll start by highlighting upcoming opportunities related to the
careers you are exploring. I’ll start with one, and then if you’ve heard of any events/classes that
might be especially relevant for the folks in this team, please take this opportunity to share
them!!
!
To start us off, the Entrepreneurship Center is holding an interesting looking session on
intellectual property next month, for those interested in that career. I have more details here if
you’re interested, and I’ll post to the discussion board on the class website later today.!
!
Did anyone else see anything that looked particularly good?!
!
Allison: Well I wanted to mention, Amrita, since you’re also exploring science education
careers, that last week I attended a meeting of a Science Education Journal Club, and it’s a
As you watch, consider especially:
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1. What kinds of questions are participants asking each other?
2. What are the facilitators doing? Not doing?
3. Do the team members trust each other? What makes you think so/not?
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great group. They meet monthly to discuss a recent paper in science education or science
teaching, and I feel like it’s going to be a good way to keep myself learning about the field...so
let me know if you want to check it out with me some time.!
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Amrita: Thanks!!
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Jennie: Great. Can you email the announcement? !
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Allison: Sure!!
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Jennie: Anyone else? [silence] All right, who’s ready to dive in?
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Allison: I’ll go. [Everyone shifts their gaze to her.]!
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[VIGNETTE 1] !
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Allison: “Ok, so my contract from last time was to do an informational interview with John
Sawyer from Exelixis and write-up some brief notes about what I learned about project
management roles in pharma (my plan A). !
!
I did the informational interview, and it went well. He stressed that one of the most important
skills for a project manager is the ability to work well with people who have different training and
different mindsets. That part seems challenging, but in a good way that could play to my
strengths.!
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Wang: How so?!
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Allison: Well I’m pretty extroverted, but I’ve had to learn to work well with all the introverts in my
lab, and it’s kind of a fun puzzle to figure out how to reach different people and get them
engaged. So I think that part of the job would be a good fit.!
!
Wang: Gotcha.!
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Allison: But he also shared that people typically don’t go straight from academia into project
management roles. Usually, you start with a role at the bench for a while, before you get tapped
to do project management. So now I have to figure out what type of bench jobs would be good
entry-points for me into pharma, and what are the opportunities around Boston, since my
husband and I would like to move back there after my postdoc. !
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Gabi: Great. 5 minutes left. Time to create your next contract.!
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Allison: OK, in terms of next steps, I want to grow my network in pharma, so I’m going to attend
the next meeting of the Bioscience Forum in South San Francisco. I’d ideally like to talk to
industry scientists with backgrounds in signaling, like me, but I’m not sure what is the best way
to find them-- actually I’d appreciate suggestions. I’m also going to do some web-research on
Boston-based pharmaceutical companies.!
!
Jason: You mentioned wanting to find folks with signaling backgrounds who are in bench jobs.
I have a couple friends locally who really like their industry jobs. One’s at Novartis, and the
other’s at BioMarin, and I’d be happy to put you in touch with either of them. !
!
Allison: That’d be great, thank you! I’ll follow up with you afterwards.!
!
Gabi: Ok, so what part of this are you going to do before our next meeting? !
!
Allison: I’ll find out when the Bioscience Forum meets next, I’ll do an hour or two of web-
research about Boston-based pharma companies, and I’ll ping Jason to get contact info for his
friends.
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Gabi: Sounds good!!
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[VIGNETTE 2]!
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Jennie: Great. Who’s next?!
!
Wang: I can go. So my contract from last time was to (1) read two articles on what it’s like to be
an intellectual property attorney (my plan B at this point), (2) identify who my next informational
interview should be with, and (3) send an invitation out.!
!
I read the chapters on intellectual property. One thing that came across very clearly from Toby
Freedman’s book-- is that I really need to decide whether I’m willing to go to law school.
Apparently the way it works is that PhDs can become patent agents who write lots of patent
applications, but that’s about all they can do without a J.D., and they aren’t paid as well. It does
seem like there are lots of other career tracks possible within intellectual property if I’m willing to
go back to school [looks strained]. !
!
Allison: Am I right in sensing that you aren’t very excited about the prospect?!
!
Wang: Yeah. Freedman advises going to the very best law school you can, full-time, and it
usually costs over $50K a year. I’m not convinced that it’s worth all the time and money and
being a student all over again! !
!
Honestly I was kind of turned off by what I read and didn’t end up requesting an informational
interview with anyone in law. !
!
What do you guys think? Is it reasonable to drop this career possibility at this point?!
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[Silence, while everyone looks at each other, absorbing the fact that she’s just asked them a
question with big ramifications.]!
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Jennie: What questions would you ask Wang to help her sort through this decision?!
!
Amrita: Ok, well-- setting the lower pay aside for a moment--how interesting did you find the
actual work that patent agents do?!
!
Wang: I wasn’t that excited about it. One thing that really surprised me is that according to the
Freedman chapter, 90% of patent applications submitted to the USPTO are rejected and then
have to be negotiated back and forth three or four times. Sounds like dealing with reviewers,
which is NOT my favorite part of publishing papers. And I hate the thought of being stuck in the
patent agent role without any possibility of advancement unless I get a law degree.!
!
Jennie: Do I remember correctly that part of what got you interested in this career in the first
place was the challenge of writing up technical material in clear language?!
!
Wang: Yeah.!
!
Jennie: Does that still excite you?!
!
Wang: Yes, I’ve just realized that the audience matters to me. I don’t find it as motivating to
imagine writing for a single patent officer at the USPTO. I want a bigger audience! A broader
audience!!
!
Jason: Do you lean towards writing for an audience of scientists, or patients, or the general
public?!
!
Wang: Hmmmm….I would love to be able to demystify medical practices and research for
patients. That would be so satisfying--- I wish someone had done that for my mom when she
was sick. THANK you for that question, I hadn’t thought of it that way!!
!
Gabi: Sounds like an important insight. You’ve got 5 minutes left. So what are you going to do
for your next contract?!
!
Wang: Ok. I’m going to give myself permission to abandon I.P. as my plan B, and instead, I’m
going to start exploring jobs in which I could write for patients. To be honest, I’m not totally sure
where to start. !
!
Amrita: I’ve seen some good writing on the American Cancer Society website, maybe you could
check out the writing on a few other foundation websites, and see if it strikes a chord?!
!
Wang: That’s a great idea. So by next meeting I’ll visit the AMWA website and see if they
describe different careers in medical writing. I’ll also visit the ACS website and the PanCan site,
and read a few of their articles to see if I can find the kind of writing I’d like to be doing. !
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Gabi: Any feasibility concerns, folks?!
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[shaking of heads]!
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Jennie: Great work, everyone! Remember that ruling a career out is also progress, as long as
you use the experience to refine your working model of what you are looking for. Who’s next?!
!
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[VIGNETTE 3]!
!
Jason: I’ll go. I have good news! I finally got a response from someone at Gilead! Thanks so
much to everyone who gave feedback on my interview request email draft! You really helped
make my request tighter and more tailored, and I’m sure that helped. Anyway, I got a response
from Dr. Messen and she and I are going to talk by phone next week.!
!
Allison: Congratulations! Do you feel ready?!
!
Jason: Not really. !
!
Allison: [chuckling] What do you need to do to get ready?!
!
Jason: Well, I’m thinking I need to read her LinkedIN profile more carefully, and… I have to
decide how I’m going to describe my interest in regulatory science. It’s a pretty new interest of
mine, and I’m afraid she won’t take me seriously, ‘cause I don’t have much of a track record.!
!
Wang: I get that. It feels weird to put yourself out there when you’re not an expert. But it seems
to me that you’ve actually done a lot to explore this career, right?!
!
Jason: Yeah, I guess so. I did take the course on regulatory affairs. And I’ve been doing an
internship at UCSF’s CERSI, but it’s only part time...!
!
Jennie: Does anyone have ideas for Jason about how he could present his interest in
regulatory science in the best light in his opening spiel?!
!
Amrita: Can you remind me what CERSI stands for? !
!
Jason: Sure. It’s the Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation, and it’s a
collaboration between UCSF and Stanford.!
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Amrita: Ok, so she might know of it.!
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Jason: Yeah!!
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Amrita: So I think you should briefly state (in case she’s forgotten) that you are a postdoc at
UCSF who has been exploring careers in regulatory science, and that you’ve really enjoyed the
projects you’ve been doing with CERSI. And then ask some focused questions that
demonstrate you’ve thought a lot about this subject and you’re not a total newbie.!
!
Jason: You mean, not the real generic stuff like “what do you do in a typical week?”!
!
Amrita: Yeah. Show you’ve done your homework, and ask some more focused questions. Ask
for her take on a recent trend you’ve read about in her field. !
!
Jason: Makes sense.!
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Gabi: [breaking in] You’ve got 5 minutes to frame your contract. !
!
Jason: Ok, I’m going to prep for the informational interview, do it, and write her a thank you.
That’s really all I can handle.!
!
Jennie: That’s plenty! Great. Ok, Amrita, it’s all you.!
!
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[VIGNETTE 4] !
!
Amrita: OK, well, I’ve been super busy. I presented at the Gordon conference last week and
basically spent every waking moment getting my talk together. So I didn’t reach out to anyone in
business development. !
!
Allison: Did you meet anyone interesting at the Gordon conference? !
!
Amrita: Well actually I met this great woman from Hyderabad who has a lab now at the Riken
Brain Science Institute, and we talked for over an hour after one of the sessions. I hadn’t really
considered working in Japan, but she got me thinking… !
!
Jennie: So good to remember that every scientific conference is a great opportunity for
networking and career exploration.!
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Amrita: Except that I was supposed to be exploring my plan B, business development.!
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Jason: Actually I have a question about that: haven’t most of your contracts been focused on
your plan B? What’s happening with your plan A?!
!
Amrita: You mean, being a PI?!
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Jason: Yes!!
!
Amrita: It’s still a dream….!
!
Gabi: Have you talked to your PI about it yet?!
!
Amrita: [looks slightly pained] We talk…. about... papers, yeah.!
!
Wang: But not about career stuff?!
!
Amrita: No!!
!
Wang: Scary?!
!
Amrita: Yes! [breaking into a relieved smile]!
!
Gabi: I think he’d be immensely supportive…!
!
Amrita: I do too, but… I was waiting til we get the next paper out...so far I only have a review out
of my postdoc.!
!
Gabi: Is the project you are working on the one you would use to launch your lab? !
!
Amrita: Probably not. What I’m working on now would be pretty hard to get funded. But I have
an idea for a side project that might work well ...!
!
Gabi: Well, I don’t know if it has to be in the next two weeks, but before too much more time
goes by, you are going to need to talk to your PI, tell him what your plan A is, and enlist his help.
Is that something you feel like you could take on?!
!
Amrita: Maybe…. Or I could do my contract from last time and set up another informational
interview with someone in business development.!
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Wang: Yeah, but haven’t you’ve already done a few of those? Seems like you have the most to
gain from talking to your PI.!
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Amrita: I think you’re right. !
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Gabi: 5 minutes. What are you going to take on?!
!
Amrita: I’m going to talk to him and tell him that being a PI is my plan A. I’m sweating just
thinking about it. And I’ll also reach out to someone in business development….!
!
Jennie: Actually I think that talking to your PI would be MORE than enough for the next couple
weeks. It clearly demands a lot of courage.!
!
Amrita: Ok.!
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Jason: Tell us how it goes! !
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[MEETING WRAP-UP]!
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Gabi Ok, that’s everyone today. Our next meeting will be March 23rd, same time, same room.
And I think I have down, Wang, that you are bringing snacks next time. Does that still work?!
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Wang: Yep!!
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Gabi: Thanks. Great work everyone! Keep it up!!
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Exercise: Helping participants frame useful contracts
One of your most important responsibilities is to help your team members set realistic career
exploration goals for themselves. In the MIND program, these goals are stated as a “contract”
(described on pp. 28). A career exploration contract is a succinct and specific statement of
what the person will do (with regard to career exploration) before the next meeting.
What follows is a collection of real contracts written by MIND alumni. Some of these example
contracts are quite specific and concrete, and focused on a clear goal. Others are much more vague.
Unfortunately, vague, unfocused, or overly ambitious contracts can lead to career exploration efforts
that are overwhelming and unproductive. So part of your role as a facilitator is to gently push people
towards stating focused, feasible contracts.
"No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty
into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking." - J. P. Morgan
“Never try to solve all the problems at once — make them line up for you one-by-one.” - Richard
Sloma
To practice this skill, please read each contract below. If you think the contract is too vague as
stated, try to think of a question you could ask the person to help them frame a more specific or
more useful contract.
4. Plan B: Exploring careers in Industry
Task:!Reading!about!different!pos itions!and!r esearch!job!postings!!
5. Plan A: Business Development in Biotech
GOAL:!Increase!my!knowledge!about!news!and!current!events!in!the!biotech!sector!
TASK:!Identify!and!read!onl ine!publi cations!regarding!business!news!in!biotech/pharma!(ex.!
GenomeWeb,!Bios pace)!
6. Plan B: Consulting companies
Goal:!Define!the!region!and!company!of!interest!
Tasks:!identify!the!desired!placement!for!a!consulting!career!(Europe!or!the!US).!Identify!th e!
area!of!interest!(biotech!consulting!vs.!IT!consulting).!Define!the!companies!to!apply!to.!
Identify!possible!connections.!
7. Here!are!my!goals!for!the!near!future:!
§ Activate!consult ing-related!part!of!my!network,!and!make!sense!of!my!network!in!general!
§ Try!to!set!informational!interviews!with!consultants,!in!p articular!from!smaller!firms.!
§ Read!the!book!"Succeeding!as!a!Management!Consultant"!written!by!the!guys!from!
Firmsconsulting!!
§ Work!on !my!LinkedIn!pr ofile.!
§ Restart!practicing!solving!cas es.!
8. Plan A: Patent law
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Action:!Identify!people!on!LinkedIN!to!email!for!an!information al !interview!
9. Plan B: Patent law
Action:!Get!contact!info!for!patent!attorney!who!had!a!family!w hile!going!to!law!school.!Hold!
an!informational!interview.!
10. Plan B - PI
Action:!I!will!finish!collecting!the!data!for!the!last!figure!of!my!paper.!
11. Plan A - PI
Goal!1:!Expand!and!strengthen!my!network!
§ Register!for!a!conference!
§ Talk!to!people!(at!least!1)!at!the!Center!for!Systems!and!Synthetic!Biology!meetings!
§ Write!to!3!of!my!mentors!in!China!
§ Reconnect!with!at!least!5!people!I!met!at!meetings!last!year!
12. Plan B - medical writing.
Goal!1:!Make!sure!I!can!be!hired!:)!
§ Action:!submit!my!documents!for!the!final!round!of!green!card!application.!
!!!!!Goal!2:!Gain!experience!talking!to!recruiters!&!improve!understanding!of!desired!qualities!
§ Action:!Interview!with!t he!recruiter!-!go!through!phone!screening!and!ask:!
o What!are!you!looking!for!in!a!candidate!that!you!are!selecting?!
o How!do!you!test!the!candidate’s!ability!to!efficiently!commu nicate?!Do!you!give!
test!assignments?!!
13. Plan A: Data Science
Task!1:!Continue!working!with!SQL.!Learn!t o!identify!most!recently!uploaded!genomes!to!
NCBI.!
Task!2:!Create!a!prioritized!list!of!goals!for!paterni ty!leave.!
14. Plan A: research in industry, focusing on medical device companies.
Goal:!Prepare!for!informational!interview!with!Medtronic!contact!on!Tuesday,!1/24!
Task:!Reflect!on!my!ow n!experiences!performing!research!in!academia,!working!as!an!
engineer!in!industry,!and!tinkering!as!a!hobbyist!at!h ome.!Figure!out!what!matters!the!most!
to!me!in!a!career!(e.g.!tasks!I!most!enjoy/dislike,!working!environment!preferences,!etc.),!
using!IDP!to!facilitate.!Revise!list!of!questions!accor dingly.!
15. Table form:
Career
Goals
Tasks
Tech
Transfer
1. Gain hands on experience in the field
2. Learn more about researching and
understanding market analysis
1. Apply for internship at the UCSF Office of
Innovation, Technology, and Alliances
2. Speak with Alice about marketing research
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Resources and supports for facilitators
1. MIND Program 2017-2018 Course website: https://courses.ucsf.edu/ (slide
decks, career-specific discussion forums, and facilitators-only discussion forum)
2. Second facilitator trainings – choose one:
a. 1/16/18, 11:00am-1:00pm, Mission Hall 1108 (Mission Bay)
b. OR 1/18/18, 11:00am-1:00pm, CL 215-216 (Parnassus)
3. (Optional) facilitator check-in meeting (late February, date tbd) at which you
can compare notes with other facilitators, trade strategies, etc.
4. Communicate with us! The peer team phase of the MIND Program is generally
viewed quite favorably by participants (p. 23). However, issues can and do arise
in the MIND peer teams, and MIND Program staff are here to support you and
your co-facilitator when they do. In rare cases, personality discordances have
arisen, but the most common scenario each year is that a member can no longer
participate in the peer team due to extenuating circumstances (health issues, lab
obligations, family matters, new job, etc). Sometimes the team member
communicates this fact with the program first, in which case we will notify you
ASAP. Likewise, we would appreciate if you let us know ASAP whenever you
learn of any issues.
We are always available to consult with you:
a. [Program Manager Name and email]
b. [Program Director Name and email]
c. [Co-PI Name and Email]
5. [The Program Director or Co-PI] will observe at least one of your peer team
meetings to observe and lend support. We will work with you to schedule this
observation for a time that would benefit your team. We will also ask you in
advance what type of feedback you would like to receive (tips on guiding
conversations, group dynamics, etc.) and will meet with you afterwards to
discuss our observations.
6. Resources and referrals for participants (p.49).
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Resources and referrals for participants
There may be situations where a trainee comes to you with an issue that requires additional or
specialized expertise. Below is a list of resources available to UCSF students and postdocs. If
you think a trainee would benefit from additional assistance, or if you would like any additional
advice or support in your role as a facilitator, speak with [the Program Director] or [Lead
Trainer].!
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For Everyone!
!
Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD)!
To schedule a one-on-one appointment, visit http://career.ucsf.edu/phds!!
You may e-mail us at ocpd@ucsf.edu, or call us at (415) 476-4986!
!
Office of the Ombuds
“alternative dispute resolution services that are protected from disclosure”!
http://ombuds.ucsf.edu/!
Maureen.brodie@ucsf.edu, 415-502-3272!
!
For Postdocs!
!
Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP)!
https://hr.ucsf.edu/hr.php?org=c&AT=cm&S=Faculty+and+Staff+Assistance!!
[email protected], 415-476-8279!
!
Most postdocs have Health Net coverage, which includes mental health services!
https://clients.garnett-powers.com/pd/uc/mental_pharm_chiro_benefits/!
For Students!
!
Student Health and Counseling!
http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu/!
415 476-1281 !
Mental Health Care providers: http://studenthealth.ucsf.edu/mental_health_profiles!!
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Chapter 3: Preparation for Facilitator Training Day 2
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Homework
• Add a photo to your MIND course site profile if you haven’t already. Visit
https://courses.ucsf.edu/, select the course called “MIND Program 2017-
2018,” and then look for the "Administration" block in the bottom left of the
screen. Finally, select “My Profile Settings” > "Edit Profile”, and then scroll
down to the photograph section.
• Required reading: pp. 50-63. Bring your questions to the second training.
• (Optional) Reading: “Career GPS” article in which 4 scientists describe the
impact that participating in a peer mentoring group dedicated to “goals and
problem solving” had on their professional trajectories.
• If you are NOT an alum of the MIND program:
1. Please read “Glossary of MIND terminology” (starts on p.60) to see
what we mean by the terms we use in the program.
2. If you are not familiar with the myIDP tool, please skim the website:
<http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/> While you won’t be responsible for
doing anything with myIDP, all the members of your peer team will
have completed the myIDP and you may find it useful to know about
the skills, interests, and values self-assessments.
3. Your peer team members will be taking the Meyers Briggs Personality
Type Indicator (MBTI) test and may allude to their results during your
peer team meetings. If you have not had a chance to take the MBTI
and wish to, please let [the Program Manager] know and he will send
you instructions. For a brief overview of the MBTI test, Bill
recommends this site: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-
personality-type/mbti-basics/
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What to Expect – Facilitation tips and reassurances
!
1. The facilitator role doesn’t necessitate being a counselor, an expert, or a judge.
Your role is to keep the process moving forward, but you don’t need a lot of
content knowledge to do this effectively.
!
2. It is useful to ask participants to explicitly reference their plan A/plan B career as
they talk, because it’s easy to lose track of what career they are discussing.
!
3. You may be unfamiliar with a field or career that a participant is exploring, which
is a good indication others in the group might also be unaware of it (e.g.,
business development). Take a moment to ask the participant to briefly define
the field.
4. Similarly, participants might use terminology/acronyms that are specific to the
fields they are exploring, in which case you should ask them to define them so
everyone can follow (OTM = Office of Technology Management, etc). You might
add this to your ground-rules.
!
5. Some participants seem interested in mapping out all the different possible
niches within a career area. (“What are all the different contexts in which i can do
science education?”) Here are a few suggestions for how they can do this:
!
a. The myIDP website, at http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/
b. Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development, by Toby
Freedman (available through OCPD’s library); for mapping out different
roles in industry (both at the bench and not)
c. Professional Societies; society websites can help people efficiently
discover different branches of a field.
6. Serving as a facilitator requires a combination of approachability and
professionalism. We encourage you to consider the following boundaries:
a. Limits on your availability are entirely appropriate (e.g., I won’t answer
emails on weekends). Do share these limits with your team at the outset.
b. No dating your peer team members while they are in the program, please.
c. Be mindful about even casual physical touch during meetings.
d. Please dress in a way that will not be distracting to you or others.
e. When in doubt, communicate, communicate, communicate with [the
Program Manager], [the Program Director], or [the Lead Trainer]! We’re
here to support you.
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What to Expect – Career exploration process
1. The MIND program is career-neutral. Participants are considering a variety of
options, and the MIND program is designed to support exploration of all these. Many in
the previous cohorts have decided to pursue careers in industry, or intellectual property,
or science communication; others recommitted to pursuit of a tenure track position;
others are pursuing creative writing. We celebrate all of those outcomes equally. Most
important to us is that participants explore enough to make a well-informed decision
about what is going to be right for THEM.!
!
2. Career reinvention takes time! For most people, the process of making a big change
of career direction takes 1-2 years, although it can be accelerated if you devote more
time and energy to it. Time is one of the biggest concerns MIND participants had last
year, as they juggled career exploration with research and other commitments. When
only small steps are
possible, remember
even these are
valuable!!
!
3. Career exploration
is challenging, and we
designed the MIND
program to address
some of these
challenges. A concept
from transition
psychology inspired
both the idea and the
timing of our peer
teams.!
!
Figure 1: Features of a
Career Transition Cycle. A theoretical, rather than empirical, representation of some people’s experience
of career exploration.!
!
For a brief review of the reasons why career reinvention can be so challenging, please
consult “Known challenges and pitfalls of career reinvention” on p.53. We share this list
not to be pessimistic, but because reading it may help you more quickly diagnose and
normalize the difficulties that people in your teams might encounter.
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Known challenges and pitfalls of career reinvention
Excerpted and paraphrased from Ibarra’s Working Identity book!
!
1. Spending too long reflecting before you try something:
● “A great danger lies in devoting months-- worse yet, years-- of self-reflection before
taking a first step.” !
● “By far the biggest mistake people make when trying to change careers is to delay taking
the first step until they have settled on a destination…” !
!
2. Difficulty letting go:
“The reinventing process is rarely quick or easy, even for the veteran job -
hopper. Emotionally, it is hard to let go of a career in which we have invested much
time, training, and hard work. Letting go is even harder when the alternatives remain
fuzzy. And yet there’s no avoiding this agonizing period between old and new
careers: A transition can begin years before a concrete alternative materializes, as we
start creating and testing possible selves.” !
!
3. The fractal nature of career transition, where every exploratory activity (info interview, article,
etc.) creates many more to-dos:
“One of the most striking things about June’s in-between period was just how crammed
with activity it was. Certainly she was doing the job of ending. But to get from the “in-
between” to a “new beginning” we have to do much more than end well; we also have to
create the possibilities that might replace what is being lost and find ways of evaluating
the alternatives generated. As June’s remarks about how to spend her Sunday show,
when we are both fully engaged in the old role and trying to create a new life, we have a
lot to do. During the between-identities period, we feel torn in many different
directions. Although there are many moments of reflection, this is not a quiet period: a
multitude of selves- old and new, desired and dreaded-- are coming to the surface,
noisily coexisting.” !
!
4. It can be so uncomfortable to be between professional identities that some people don’t stay
in career exploration mode long enough. It can be hard to resist the urge to throw yourself
into the job market right away, or to decide on your career destination right away. !
!
5. Sense of fragmentation as you start exploring but are still between identities:!
“Another reason the between-selves period is difficult is that, like June, we are juggling
lots of different things—not necessarily with great coherence or consistency—often while
still working full time at demanding jobs. In evolutionary terms, we are “increasing
variety. [variation]” But, as our possible selves are fleshed out in deeper color and
character, we begin to feel fragmented, not whole. We sometimes feel like an imposter
in some, if not all, of the different lives we are leading.” !
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6. Difficulty ruling possibilities out:!
“As our possible-selves list grows beyond an intellectual exercise, we must next
establish some means of selection. At first, the many possibilities are exhilarating. But
most people simply cannot tolerate such a high level of fragmentation for an extended
period of time. The time comes to reduce variety, to discard some possibilities, and to
select, among them, a new favorite. How do we make the cut? We use information
from two sources: our gut (our emotional reactions) and the people around us (their
responses to our trials and efforts).”
!
7. Sense of disconnection to prior communities and colleagues:!
“Long before we start exploring alternatives, we also begin to disconnect socially and
psychologically. A slow and gradual shift in reference groups—relevant points of
comparison—starts to take place. June, for example, began to identify with the values,
norms, attitudes, and expectations of people working in the business world and began
building relationships with people outside academia.” !
!
8. Feeling like you don’t belong in the new career:!
“At first, she felt like an interloper... Her interviewers would realize she did not have one
iota of math training. She worried about coded signals, the unspoken rules of the game,
from how to write her resume to how to dress. She came from a field in which
embroidered language was not just tolerated but rewarded and was surprised when
early interviewers signaled their displeasure at her long-windedness. With practice, she
learned. ‘The problem is not that I don’t have a background in finance. It’s that I haven’t
fully understood, in its entire nuance, the culture in which I want to live. With each
interview, each email, each phone call, I understand better what to do-- and when to do
nothing.” !
!
9. Feeling disappointed when you realize you DON’T like a career you’ve been fantasizing
about:!
“Actions that reveal vividly and clearly who we don’t want to be are important but
insufficient.” !
!
10. The amorphous/unstructured nature of career transition:!
“I need something to give me some structure while I figure this out…”
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Strategies for potential facilitation challenges
!
Challenge 1: Silence. No one is talking.!
Issues to consider: Maybe the group contains a lot of introverts who don’t typically
speak much. Maybe people are engaged but thinking hard, rather than talking. Maybe
the speaker seems a little lost and their teammates are not sure what kinds of
comments will help.!
Strategies:!
1. Remember that silence is not necessarily bad; it can be productive.
2. If a participant poses a question to the group and no responses are forthcoming,
you can:
a. Ask the group “What questions do you have for Sarah?”
b. Ask people to write down one idea, and then share. This gives people time
to collect their thoughts and rehearse what they might say.
c. Use eye contact to invite contributions (some folks won’t speak up unless
you turn in their direction).
!
3. If the speaker doesn’t pose any particular questions to the group, or seems
scattered, you might gently interject:
a. “So how can we be most helpful to you right now?”
b. “What’s the next question you need to answer for yourself?”
c. “So what’s your priority at this point?”
!
Challenge 2: One person talks too much.!
Issues to consider: They may not be aware they are doing a disproportionate amount
of talking. Or they may know they tend to do this.!
Strategies:!
7. Preventative: At the first meeting, caution your team to be aware of their natural
participation frequency: if they tend to not speak up, they should push
themselves to enter the conversation more often; if they tend to speak up a lot,
they should challenge themselves to filter some of their comments or save them
for later or for the peer team discussion forum.
8. If someone is piping up too often:
a. Invoke the time constraints to move forward: “Good point. We only have 7
minutes left and I want to make sure we are really meeting the needs of
the [speaker name, turning your gaze to them]. What’s your goal for the
next 2 weeks?”
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b. “OK. I want to make sure [speaker name] gets input from everyone. Let’s
hear from someone we haven’t heard from yet…”
c. “That’s an interesting point. Now let’s see what other people think.”
d. If it’s a pattern, you might check in with them off-line and say “I really
appreciate your contributions. It’s clear that you are really engaged and
thinking hard about this stuff. I would love to see if we can get input from
some of the quieter folks on the team, to encourage some wider
participation, and it would be great if you could help me with this. So that
we don’t lose your additional questions or thoughts, it would be great if
you could write them down to share on the discussion forum. ”
!
Challenge 3: People seem to be losing momentum. They aren’t posting contracts or
aren’t doing them, or aren’t showing up.!
Issues to consider: People have lots and lots going on in their scientific and personal
lives. They may be feeling frustrated about their progress.!
Strategies: !
1. Please consult [the Program Manager], [the Program Director], or [the Lead
Trainer] so we can help you strategize.
2. Check in with people individually, via email. “You didn’t make it to our peer team
meeting and I just wanted to see if you are ok? You were missed.” (It’s even
more powerful if one of their teammates checks on them too.)
3. Review, as a group, what different members of the team said that they personally
find motivating (part of discussion at peer team launch). You could say “people
seem to be losing momentum, which happens from time to time. I’d like each of
you to take a couple minutes to think back to what you told us at the peer team
launch of what kinds of things motivate you, and what helps you get un-stuck.”
a. Consider asking everyone to write down one thing they could do to regain
some momentum, and then share it.
4. Last year one of the things that people said was motivating was success stories
of students/PDs who have made a transition and are happy with it (part of why
we brought in a panel of such people on Saturday 2). We’ll try to share some
more success stories via the facilitators-only discussion forum.
5. Share encouraging, inspirational quotes - we’ll try to share some via the
facilitators-only discussion forum.
Challenge 4: Someone is doing something on their phone or laptop.!
Issues to consider: They don’t realize how disruptive this can be. Or they are dealing
with an emergency.!
Strategies: !
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1. Preventative: This year’s cohort told us, on Saturday 1, that “Not being engaged and
paying attention” undermines an atmosphere of respect. At the first meeting of your
peer team, you might take a moment to remind them that this was one of their own
ground-rules.!
2. Take them aside after the meeting and check-in with them:!
“I noticed that you were on your phone today for the last half hour of the meeting,
and I just wanted to check in about that. Are you dealing with an emergency? Oh
good. I wanted to make sure you are ok, and I also wanted to let you know that
when you are on your phone it’s actually pretty noticeable and distracting, and a
lot of people interpret it as a sign that you are checked out and don’t care about
what they are saying.”!
!
Challenge 5: Someone makes themselves vulnerable by revealing something quite
personal (I’m depressed, I’m going through a divorce, I’m having an especially tough
conflict with my adviser, my dad is terminally ill, etc).!
Issues to Consider: They may feel relieved to have shared this information, or
embarrassed, or a bit of both. Other group members may feel quite uncomfortable.!
Strategies:!
1. In the moment: Acknowledge. “That sounds really rough.” Normalize. “Probably
many of us have hit some rough spells, or faced similar challenges. You aren’t alone in
this.” Affirm the confidentiality of what they’ve shared. “You can rest assured that we
will keep this information confidential.” Tell them you’ll follow up. “I’d like to follow up
with you after the meeting to make sure you have the support you need.” Turn it back
to career exploration. “So where does that leave you with respect to your career
exploration? Do you want to try to think of a small way to keep making progress on
your career exploration, or do you need to put that on hold?” Follow their cues.!
2. Afterwards:!
a. Get in touch with [the Lead Trainer], [Program Director], [or another Co-PI] if
you would like assistance, advice or support.!
b. Follow up with the person by email: ask if there is anything the team can do
to help.
c. Refer to the “Resources and referrals for participants” handout on p. 37.
3. At the next peer team meeting: check in right before the meeting to ask if the person
would prefer to discuss, or not discuss, their situation. This may be an instance where
allowing people to requesting variable amounts of time could be helpful.!
!
Challenge 6: Someone gets upset in a peer team meeting.!
Issues to consider: We all have many stressors in our lives. The source of the
person’s upset might lie completely outside the peer team, yet will affect their behavior
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in the team. Also, different people can tolerate different amounts of pushing and
prodding from their facilitators/teammates.!
Strategies:!
1. Preventative:!
a. Some groups like to do very quick (30-second) check-ins at the start of the
meeting, to take the temperature of how people are doing. If someone is
particularly stressed because they are about to be scooped, or are trying to get a
grant in, or have tons of family in town, it might help the group to know this. They
can then focus on helping the person identify one small step to move forward,
and save deep, probing questions for another day.!
b. You might consider asking your team members for brief written feedback
after a few team meetings. “We want to help you keep moving forward, but we
also want to respect that fact that different people need different amounts of
pushing. Are the group/facilitators pushing you too hard, not hard enough, or just
right? Please explain your selection.”!
2. In the moment: Keep your cool. Express sympathy in a way that suits the moment -
“I’m so sorry you’re going through this; we hope we haven’t done something to hurt
you”; Restate the issue “It seems like your major concern is [not having enough time]. Is
that right?” or probe to determine what the issue is “Do you feel comfortable with the
suggestions that were provided, or are we getting off base?”; Consider a brief break -
“let’s all take just 5min to get some water/stretch our legs”; Privately ask if the person
wishes to continue at this point “We would love it if you feel up to participating for the
rest of the meeting but would understand if you prefer not to. We would be happy to
discuss what’s going on for you, or you could just listen, which would still be really
valuable to the group.”!
3. Afterwards: Email [the Program Director] and [the Lead Trainer] right away and we’ll
make time to talk to you. We’ll work with you to consider what next steps might be
appropriate for the situation.!
4. Before the next peer team meeting: Depending on the situation and the outcome,
the rest of the Peer Team will likely need some measure of closure on this issue, since
it could affect the dynamics of the group. Again, [the Lead Trainer] and [the Program
Director] will work with you to figure out the way forward.
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Phrases to move discussion forward
!
Encourage other team members to help the speaker:!
!
● “What questions do you have for Raphael?”!
● “Does anyone have a contact who Wei could talk to?”!
● “Has anyone ever been through something similar?”!
!
Questions that help participants clarify their career exploration goals: !
!
● “What’s the next question you need to answer for yourself?”!
● “As you continue exploring careers in [science communication], what is it that you
want to learn about that career? What do you not know about it that is still a
question mark for you?” !
● “You’ve had a tough time trying to make progress on your goal of …. Do you
think you might need to reconsider that goal, or does it still feel like the right goal
and something else has to change?”!
!
If a participant didn’t achieve much of their contract:!
!
● “How far did you get?”!
● “Let’s talk a little bit about why not… Can you unpack what the challenge was?”!
● E.g. they can’t get a response from the person they wanted to do an
informational interview with, enlist the group’s help in identifying an alternate
route to achieving the same goal:!
○ “Can anyone think of another way that Alex could make progress towards
his goal?”!
○ Does anyone have a contact who Wei could talk to?” !
!
To help participants synthesize lots of information into a decision about whether
or not to continue exploring a given career:
!
● “Great. You’ve learned a ton about management consulting. If you step back and
reflect, does the career strike you as a good fit?” or !
● “Now that you’ve learned quite a bit about tech transfer, are you more excited or
less excited by the field?” or!
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● “You’ve identified a list of tasks that you would have to do in that job. Do you
think you will enjoy spending your time doing those tasks?”!
!
If you sense there may be a values disconnect (i.e., the careers the person is
expressing interest in may not fit their stated values), you can probe:
● “Does what you’ve learned about this career fit what you know about yourself?
Like your values?”!
● “You mentioned that one of your biggest priorities is to [have work-life balance,
earn a good salary, have colleagues who will challenge you]. Does it seem like
this career will meet those priorities?”!
● “When you say time with family is important, what does that mean for you?” !
How to tell that your team is working well
• Pay attention to the speaker’s body language. You can usually see if/when they tense up
or shut down. If you think you’re seeing that, confirm that with them: “How does that
strike you?” or “Is that idea overwhelming/scary?”
• We will include peer-team related questions in the formal MIND program exit survey next
June, but we will also collect feedback from participants mid-way through the peer team
experience (in March), to see what is working well about the teams and what could be
improved. We will share the anonymized feedback from your peer team with you so you
can decide whether you’d like to change anything for the remaining meetings. IF you
would like to suggest questions for either of these evaluations, please let [the Program
Manager] know. We welcome your input.
• We recommend that you collect some brief written feedback in the last few minutes of
your second meeting. A template handout for doing so appears on the next page. Just
print and cut in half.
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Feedback!sheet!on!pe er!team!experience!
The goal of this peer team is to help you make as much progress as possible on your career
exploration. We know that individuals respond differently and may need different things from the
team. Please take a couple minutes to give us some feedback:
!
1. Your name: ____________________________
2. When I’m discussing my career exploration with the team, I’d like…
Circle one: …more questions
…the same number of questions
…fewer questions
3. When I’m discussing my progress with the team, I’d like…
Circle one: …to be held more accountable for what I said I’d do
…just right as is
…to be given a pass because life is especially challenging now
4. Do you have any other advice about how your teammates or facilitators can help you
continue to make progress?
!
!
"!
The goal of this peer team is to help you make as much progress as possible on your career
exploration, and we know that individuals respond differently and may need different things from
the team. Please take a couple minutes to give us some feedback:!
!
1. Your name: ____________________________
2. When I’m discussing my career exploration with the team, I’d like…
Circle one: …more questions
…the same number of questions
…fewer questions
3. When I’m discussing my progress with the team, I’d like…
Circle one: …to be held more accountable for what I said I’d do
…just right as is
…to be given a pass because life is especially challenging now
4. Do you have any other advice about how your teammates or facilitators can help you
continue to make progress?
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Glossary of MIND terminology*
Career exploration, and the various models for career development and exploration, rely on a
unique vocabulary. Below are some of the terms we use in the MIND program.!
!
Additional academic careers!
All careers undertaken in academic research or educational settings, except tenure-track
faculty. Includes staff scientists, lecturers, and people who work within the university to support
the research or educational enterprise. Roles include, but are not limited to: technology transfer,
human subjects protection, ethical compliance, grants and contracts, career services, etc.!
See also: Non-tenure track academic careers!
!
Alternative careers!
Usually refers to careers pursued by PhD level professionals, outside of tenure-track academic
positions. We discourage this term “alternative careers” as inaccurate because such careers are
no longer alternative: of all biomedical PhDs trained nationally, the majority do not end up in
tenure-track PI positions.!
!
Career decision!
See Career decision-making!
!
Career decision-making!
A conscious decision made during career exploration to either further pursue, or abandon, a
particular career path.!
!
Career exploration experience!
Any of a number of tasks undertaken to learn more about a career of interest, and that leads
one to make a career decision. Typical career experiences include (in order of increasing time,
and increasing depth):!
● Reading about careers!
● Communicating with professions, such as in an informational interview!
● Meeting with professionals, such as informational interviews and job shadows!
● Consultancies, contract work, fellowships!
● Internships!
!
Career exploration!
The process of self-assessment, investigation, participation and reflection that is undertaken in
order to identify a desirable and appropriate career.!
!
Career path categories!
Any of 20 broad categories used in myIDP:!
● Science policy!
● Public health related careers!
● Research administration!
● Intellectual property!
● Sales and marketing of science-related products!
● Science writing!
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● Support of science-related products!
● Clinical research management!
● Drug/device approval and production!
● Business of science!
● Clinical practice!
● Science education for non-scientists!
● Scientific/medical testing!
● Combined research and teaching careers!
● Principal investigator in a research-intensive institution!
● Entrepreneurship!
● Science education for K-12 schools!
● Teaching-intensive careers in academia!
● Research staff in a research-intensive institution!
● Research in industry!
Additional category not yet available in the myIDP:!
● Academic administration!
!
Career Track faculty!
A research or teaching position without a tenure line. Stability of such positions may be
dependent on the ability to secure independent funding.!
!
Default postdoc!
A postdoc done to buy time until one decides what type of career to pursue, and/or what
transitional experience is necessary to pursue that career.!
!
Informational interview!
A meeting with a professional in a field of interest, in which one gathers information about the
realities of that professional's job, and the experience and skills s/he developed before moving
into that career. Informational interviews are best held in person, but can also be conducted by
phone or via skype, and are usually 20-75min in length.!
!
Job category!
From myIDP; any of a number of positions or jobs that fall under a given career category or
career path category.!
!
Job simulation exercise!
An exercise that is constructed to simulate an on-the-job situation. Such exercises have
historically been used to assess candidates in job interviews, but in this context they will be a
part of the job shadow experience.!
!
MBTI!
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; measure of psychological preferences in how people perceive the
world and make decisions.!
!
MINDbank!
The database of career information that MIND program participants use to find professionals of
interest. !
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Non-academic careers!
Careers undertaken outside of academic education and research settings.!
!
Non-tenure track academic careers!
All careers undertaken in academic research or educational settings, except tenure-track
faculty. Includes staff scientists, lecturers, and people who work within the university to support
the research or educational enterprise. Roles include, but are not limited to: technology transfer,
human subjects protection, ethical compliance, grants and contracts, career services, etc.!
See also: Additional academic careers!
!
Non-tenure track careers!
Careers both inside and outside academic research and education settings, but that do not lead
to tenure.!
!
Partner!
A Ph.D. graduate who is pursuing a career outside of tenure-track faculty, and who has
generously offered their time, expertise and professional experiences to UCSF trainees who are
in the MIND program.!
!
Trainee!
A graduate student or postdoc!
!
Trainee takeaway!
A written summary of the information and lessons that a trainee derives from an informational
interview experience, and posts to the course website. Also called an Informational Interview
Report.!
!
Transitional experience!
An experience undertaken to develop additional skills or qualifications in preparation for a new
career trajectory. Examples of transitional experiences include courses, accreditation,
internships, or intermediary jobs.
!
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Chapter 4: Facilitator Training Day 2
Today’s Agenda
!
Your questions welcome throughout!
!
1. MIND program year (p. 56)
2. Plan for Peer Team Launch – Saturday 1/20 @ 11:15am (pp. 57-62)
a. Pre-plan with your co-facilitator before meeting your team (pp. 63-66) either
before Saturday or in Mission Hall 1109 on Saturday
3. Anatomy of your first independent peer team meeting (p.67)
4. Facilitation Challenges: what are you most concerned about? (Think-pair-share)
5. Resources: UCSF Connect, InterSECT Job Simulation Library, Course website
6. Additional materials in the packet
!
People!
are!
losing!
momentum,!
not!showing!
up!o r!
posting!
contracts
!
One!
person!
talks!too!
much.
!
Som eo ne!is!
focused!on!
their!
phone/
!
laptop.
!
Silence.!!
No!one!is!
talking.!
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MIND Program Year
Catalytic Course Peer Team Midyear Program
Launch (1/20/18) Meeting (3/3/18) Finale (6/23/18)
Peer Team Meetings
Key:
!
!Discuss/plan with your co-facilitator (by phone ok)
Meet with other facilitators to trouble-shoot (optional, first week of March)
MIND staff visits your team to observe (at mutually convenient time)
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Pre-planning with your Co-Facilitator
Estimated!completion!time:!30-45!minutes.!
Please decide #1-5 before the Peer Team Launch:
1. (5-7 min) To help you schedule your February team meetings, please compare
schedules with your co-facilitator and generate a list of 3-5 specific dates & times in
February when you are both available for a two-hour meeting. You will then
propose these times to your team when you meet at the peer team launch (please
write on a big piece of paper for the launch, as shown on p. 66).
_______________________________ ________________________________
_______________________________ ________________________________
_______________________________ ________________________________
2. (5 min) How will you communicate with your team between meetings? Where will
you ask your team to post their contracts after each meeting? You have several
options:
• Email?
• Slack channel?
• Google group?
• If you wish, we can create a private discussion forum on our course website:
courses.ucsf.edu
3. (1 min) How will you communicate with your co-facilitator if you have a last-minute
conflict or issue?
Email?______________________________Cell?_____________________
Other? ______________________
4. (5 min) Please decide which of you will lead each component of the peer team
launch meeting, and mark up the lesson plan accordingly so you can move
efficiently and seamlessly through the (very short) meeting.
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5. (5 min) You and your co-facilitator should decide which of the optional components
noted below you would like to include in your peer team’s meetings. The
components noted in bold are required.
q Brief welcome by facilitators
q (optional) Icebreaker? or Upcoming events? or Quick round of 30-
second check-ins?
q (optional) Variable time model (participants ask for certain amounts of
time depending on how much input they need)? Or equal time model?
q Each person speaks about their career exploration and frames
their next contract; team members pose questions, give
suggestions
q (optional) Facilitators take notes on the board?
q (optional) Potluck snacks or drinks?
q Confirm next meeting time and place
Please discuss #6-7 before your first independent peer team meeting (can be after the
launch if necessary).
&
6. (5 min) Please take 2 minutes to jot brief answers to the following questions, and
then share your answers.
o "What are you excited to learn from the process of facilitating a peer team?”
o “What is your biggest concern about facilitating a peer team?"
7. (10 min) Facilitator Responsibilities: The responsibilities listed below may be
shared between the two facilitators however makes most sense for you and your
facilitator partner. Please discuss who will do what.
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Responsibilities during peer team meetings
1. To facilitate opener activities.
2. To curtail venting sessions, while normalizing the difficulty of career transition.
3. To monitor the time and ensure everyone receives the attention of the group.
4. To protect the interests of each participant (people are different, they can
tolerate different amounts of questioning or pushing; watch their body
language, check-in if you sense discomfort or overwhelm.)
5. One of your most critical responsibilities is to ensure that everyone states
concrete career exploration goals (“contracts”) at the end of their part of the
meeting.
6. And to model accountability, by asking everyone to refer back to their contracts
from the last meeting.
Responsibilities between meetings
7. To meet your co-facilitator before the Peer Team Launch (1/20/18) to plan
your first couple meetings with the team.
8. To schedule your team’s meetings
9. To tell [the Program Manager] at least a week in advance if you need a room
reserved and inform [the Program Manager] promptly of any changes to your
room needs.
10. To check in with your co-facilitator briefly after the first couple of meetings, to
discuss how it went. A 15-minute phone call should be plenty.
11. To tell [the Program Manager] who attended each meeting (or, if you prefer,
who missed a meeting).
12. To moderate any online discussion for your peer team.
13. To be the primary point of contact for individual emails from your team.
14. To flag resources & upcoming events that might be of interest to your group.
15. To notify [the Lead Trainer] or [the Program Manager] immediately if you
sense any potential problems with your team (people not showing up, not
seeming engaged).
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Peer Team Launch – Facilitator guide
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Agenda
Saturday January 20 2018
location: Mission Hall, 1400
Room for facilitators to pre-plan: Mission Hall, 1109
9:00AM Reviewing your MBTI Results
(facilitators are welcome but not required to attend)
11:00AM Break
11:15AM Orienting you to your Peer Teams
Presenter: Gabriela Monsalve
11:30AM Gather in Peer Teams (Mission Hall, 1400)
sharp!
12:30PM Lunch with Your Peer Team (pizza provided)
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Goals of the Launch (what will success look like?)
What follows are a lot of specifics about the launch. But the bigger picture goals are
to:
1. Create a sense of enthusiasm about the peer teams! Greet people warmly. Talk
about how enthusiastic you are, commend them for dedicating themselves to
career exploration this year, and emphasize how much better it will be to do so
with the support and investment of their team, rather than doing it alone.
2. Model how we will be very focused and productive in these meetings. That
means sticking to time limits, and being concrete and concise. The first part of
the meeting (“Nuts and Bolts”) is meant to model this focus on the concrete.
3. Establish that the team is really there to help each individual in the ways that
would be helpful to that individual. The “Discussion” portion of the team meeting
is meant to accomplish this.
4. Schedule your team’s first independent meetings.
Other hints for facilitators:
!
1. In order to squeeze brief meetings of each team into this launch, the timings are
incredibly tight, so we need everybody to know their roles and stick to the schedule,
which you should review in advance (see page 70). Please meet with your co-
facilitator before the launch to decide who will lead the different parts of the meeting.
We have reserved a separate room for facilitators to meet, Mission Hall 1109.
2. Start your meeting as SOON as you can, hopefully by 11:35 at the latest. Encourage
your team members to sit so everyone can see each other, ideally in a circle.
Scientists are often not used to thinking about this, but including everyone
physically, and facilitating good eye contact are critical anytime you want people to
bond as a team!
3. Since you will only have 1 hour with your team, the format (and the pacing) will be
quite different than the regular meeting format. Please acknowledge the fast pacing
and try to make it fun, but also assure your group that future meetings will allow for
more discussion and more focus on each individual.
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Peer Team Launch Plan and Schedule – Facilitator Guide
1. Nuts and Bolts: logistics, communication, scheduling! (BRISK 25 minutes)
o 11:35 Greet everyone (1 min)
§ “Welcome! In this meeting we’ll briefly introduce ourselves and talk
about some nuts and bolts, and then we’ll talk about how we can
help each-other maintain motivation through the next 6 months,
and then we’ll preview the next meeting.”
o 11:36 Both facilitators introduce themselves (2 min each = 4 min total)
§ Brief snippets about your career/ exploration and why you think
MIND is important
o 11:40 Participants introduce themselves (30 seconds each – keep it quick!)
§ Name and top two careers at this point
§ Facilitators then mention any absent team members
o 11:45 How we will communicate in between team meetings (3 min)
§ Describe your preferred method of communication, whether email,
slack, or a google group.
§ Tell them they will be using this method to post their contracts
after every meeting and also to pose questions, ask for help, cheer
each other on, etc.
o 11:48 Meeting logistics- campus location & time (5-7 min)
§ Tell them what campus you will meet at
§ Select dates and times for late Jan/ February team meetings
• Pre-select possible meeting times with your co-facilitator
and write these out on a piece of paper in large letters so it
can be read when you hold it up. See sample on p. 76.
Continued on the next page!
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2. Discussion: How can this team help YOU? (BRISK 35 minutes)
o 11:55 Facilitators distribute and introduce the handout called “Building the
Foundation for Productive Team Experience” (2 min, possible script for
introducing it is offered on the next page, we’ll give you copies of the
handout, which you can preview on p.75.)
o 11:58 Participants write brief answers (3-4 min, stop earlier if they finish
writing sooner)
o 12:02 Next, each participant briefly summarizes what they wrote. (ONLY 3-4
minutes each depending on whether you have 6 or 7 participants. Watch
the time carefully in this part.)
o 12:24 Finally, participants give their handouts to group facilitators (if anyone
really wants to keep theirs, that’s fine).
3. Closing (5 min)
○ 12:25 “Look for the confirmation of our February meeting dates, times, and
locations on [whatever method of communication you’ve chosen].”
○ 12:26 “By 1/25 please say a quick hello on [whatever method of
communication you’ve chosen]. Please remind us what plan A / plan B
careers you are exploring at this point, and what your motivators are (from the
discussion in part 2 of the meeting). Any team members absent today will
introduce themselves there as well.”
○ 12:28 “To prepare for our first team meeting, your homework is to collect your
thoughts about (a) what questions you have about your Plan A/Plan B career
interests at this point, (b) what contract you will set at our first peer team
meeting (Not sure what we mean by contracts? Check out the example
contracts that were provided in the “Information on Peer Teams” handout from
Saturday 3, on p 89). Be prepared to briefly share your thoughts at our
next Peer Team meeting.”
○ 12:30 Pizza available in the lobby, and you are encouraged to eat together as
a team (without facilitators) if your schedule permits. END!
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Script for introducing the handout on the next page:
“Now we are going to take a few minutes to discuss some topics that will help us
establish a strong foundation for this peer team so it’s most useful to you.
Peer teams are not therapy groups, but they ARE intended to provide encouragement
and motivation to keep you moving forward every month. So we want to know what
YOU personally find motivating, and what we can do to help you get un-stuck when
you encounter barriers at times. For this team to be most helpful to you, you need to
be able to speak honestly about your career exploration activities, and we want you to
feel comfortable and confident that what you say will be treated respectfully.
First you’ll write some short answers to the questions on the handout, then each
person will briefly summarize what they wrote, and finally you’ll leave these handouts
with us so we can consult them in the future.”
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Handout!for!pee r!team!launch!
Building the Foundation for Productive Peer Team Experience
Please answer the questions below so the team can help you make good progress in
your career exploration efforts.
Name or Preferred Nickname:
1. Many things motivate me, but my personal top three are:
2. What does it look like when you get stuck or overwhelmed, and what can we do to
help you get un-stuck?
3. What do you need from us to be comfortable speaking openly and frankly about
your career exploration efforts in this group?
Anything else?
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Example!of!sche duling!aid!to!bring!to!peer!team!launch!
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Please write your name in any hour you are NOT available
10am
11am
12pm
1pm
2pm
3pm
10am
11am
12pm
1pm
2pm
3pm
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Anatomy of your first peer team meeting – facilitator guide
Anatomy of your first peer team meeting
Kicking off the meeting
Icebreakers/team-building exercise: Map of the world
Reiterating the Ground Rules
Assigning roles and setting the schedule
Diving into Career Exploration
Kicking off the meeting
Background
Facilitators and trainees will have met each other at the Peer Team Launch, but not everyone
will have been able to attend.
Activity
You may want to distribute a handout (see example on p 81).
Start by welcoming the group! If any team members were not able to attend the Peer Team
Launch, have everyone introduce themselves (name, lab, what has motivated them to join the
MIND program). When those are done, tell everyone that today’s meeting will be a bit different
than the typical format, as we have some groundwork to do. Part of that groundwork is starting
to get to know each other...
Icebreakers/team-building exercises:
Option 1: “Map of the World”
Goal
To get some insight into the participant’s life experience and values – who and where the
significant people in their lives are, any important constraints on their career options.
Setup
Using the dry-erase board, draw a rough map of the world (reference diagram provided on next
page). Drawing of the map can be a team effort, or an artistically inclined peer team member
could draw the full map for the group. It’s ok if the drawing is terrible!
Activity
Ask each person, in turn, to go to the map and draw their trajectory while describing:
• Where were you born and where did you grow up?!
• Where did you go to college, where did you do your PhD?!
• Where are the significant people in your life now (family, spouses, children, best friends)?!
• Where would you like to live after leaving UCSF?!
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Icebreakers (continued)
Option 2: “The best team”
Goal
To spur your team members to reflect on what makes teams effective and fun, and to engage
them in establishing some group norms for the team.
Activity
• Ask each member to jot some notes on (a) the best team they have ever been a part of
and (b) why it was the best. These teams could be in any context: school, sports,
religious community, musical ensemble, family, debate team, etc. Let them write for 2-3
minutes; stop sooner if they stop writing.
• Then ask each person to briefly report out. Record characteristics of these best teams
on the board. This discussion will likely provide a good transition to the next section of
the meeting.
Establishing clear expectations
Activity
• Hand out copies of the “Community groundrules” document developed by the trainees
on the first day of the MIND program (p.87).
• Tell your team that it’s time to set any other expectations for your smaller group.
o Ask them: are there things that you think are missing from this list, or that are
especially important to you?
o Ask them: what limits do we want to establish around the use of technology
during team meetings?
• Remind them about confidentiality. From the MIND Program Pledge (found in full on
p.32):
o You can expect us to: Maintain confidentially. We will not disclose your
participation to your PI, your program, or your colleagues; nor will we share any
information we collect from you without de-identification and aggregation.
• Share any parameters that YOU [the facilitators] would like to set on your availability
(e.g. when you’ll respond to emails)
• Be sure to document any new rules the group agrees are important to them (can record
them on the board or take notes, but however you do it, you should circulate the notes).
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Assigning roles and setting the schedule
Background
Facilitators shouldn’t be responsible for keeping everyone on track! Setting a regular meeting
time, well in advance, is helpful. Also consider asking for volunteers to do some of the tasks.
Activity
• Setting the meetings!
o Pull out your calendars and find a regular meeting day! Consider meeting every
two weeks, or on the same weeks of the month.
• Taking care of the details
o Explain there are a few logistical things that need to happen regularly, and it
would be great to have members volunteer for various things.
• Sending reminders for the meetings__________________
• Reminding folks of whose turn it is to bring food_________
• Notifying [the Program Manager] when/if a room is needed___________
• Reminding people to post their contracts to the Peer Team Forum____
• Note: scribing the contracts is something that may be best to keep with
facilitators, so that trainees can think and speak without worrying about
writing
Diving into Career Exploration
Calculate the amount of time left per person
• Each person should:
o Identify the one or two career paths they intend to begin exploring
o Briefly indicate their interest in it -- what is attractive about it; what are they
curious to learn about?
o Set out at least one goal, and one task, to be completed before the next peer
team meeting
• Tell the others in the group that their role is to:
o Listen actively.
o Ask the speaker questions - sometimes this is the most powerful way we can
help our teammates.
o Say if they think the contract (goal and specific tasks) is feasible in the two weeks
before the next meeting.
END OF PLAN FOR FIRST INDEPENDENT MEETING.!
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Sample!Handout!for !First!Independent!P eer!Team!Meeting!
How to reach your facilitators:
!joh[email protected]u!and!jin@abc.edu!
Icebreaker: Map of the world – In 2-3 minutes each, show us on the map:
q Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
q Where are the significant people in your life (family, spouses, children, best friends)?
q Where did you go to college, where did you do your PhD?
q Where would you like to live after leaving UCSF?
Assigning roles and setting the schedule
q Timekeeper _________________
q Sending reminders for the meetings __________________
q Reminding people to post their contracts ___________________
q Jargon scout –asking people what unfamiliar terms mean._______________
How to make these meetings effective
OUR #1 GOAL = to keep making progress, in small or big steps. In service of that goal:
WHEN YOU ARE DISCUSSING YOUR CAREER EXPLORATION EFFORTS:
1. Tell us how to be helpful to you: if there’s something specific you want feedback on, let
us know.
2. Keep the focus on problem-solving, not venting.
3. As you speak, look at each other, not just at the facilitators.
4. Spell out acronyms (like RDO, Research Development Office) so we can all follow.
WHEN A TEAMMATE IS DISCUSSING THEIR CAREER EXPLORATION EFFORTS:
5. Keep your focus on what THEY need: listen carefully; ask clarifying questions; when
making comments don’t speak for too long without checking in to see if it’s helpful.
6. If you tend to talk a ton, perhaps modulate that down a bit; if you tend not to talk much in
group settings, try increasing your contributions either in person or online.
7. Use your devices as little as possible. E.g., only on laptops or phones when writing your
contract.
8. Maintain confidentiality.
FINALLY:
9. We will have a timekeeper, but we are ALL responsible for adhering to time limits.
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Diving into Career Exploration
Calculate the amount of time left per person: ____ minutes.
Each speaker should:
○ Identify the top two careers they intend to explore
○ Briefly indicate what is attractive about each career; and what aspects of that
career are they most curious to learn about
○ Define at least one goal, and one task, to be completed before the next peer
team meeting (your contract for the next meeting)
Everyone else:
o Listen actively.
o Ask the speaker questions - sometimes this is the most powerful way we can help
our teammates.
o Say whether they think the contract (goal and specific tasks) is feasible in the two
weeks before the next meeting.
Next meetings:
Weds Dec 2 - 9-11am - CL210 - Parn
Weds Dec 16 - 9-11am- CL220 - Parn
[END!SAMPLE!HANDOUT!FO R!FIRST!INDEPENDENT!TEAM!MEETING]!
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Chapter 5: Selected background on the MIND program
Conceptual foundations of the MIND program
Our !program!is!grounded!in!the!!traditional!“plan-and-implement”!model!of!career!
development!as!well!as!the!“test-and-learn”!model.!!!
!
!
!
!
!
The!“plan-and-implement”!model!focuses!on!assessing!one’s!own!skills,!interests,!and!
values,!and!then!evaluating!possi ble!careers!to!find!one!that’s!a!good!fit.!!Once!you’ve!
identified!a!career!goal,!you!then!make!a!plan!to!aquire!the!experience!and!contacts!needed!
to!enter!that!career.!A!good!in troduction!to!this!appro ach!may!be!found!at!myIDP!(for!
STEM !researchers)!or!Imagin e!PhD!(for!social !sciences!and!humanities !scholars).!
!
The!“test-and-learn”!model!is!presented!!
in!Herminia!Ibarra’s!book,!Working&Identity:&
Unconve ntional&Strategies&for&Reinventing&
Your&Career.&2003.!Harvard!Business!
Review!Press,!Boston,!MA.!!Ibarra’s!research!
demonstrates!t hat!significant!career!
changes!requires!the!gradual!
transformation!of!one’s!working!identity,!
through!empirical!cycles!of!1)!trying!out!
new!activities!and!professional!roles,!2)!
developing!contacts !who!can!open!doors!to!
new!profession al !worlds,!and!3)!reworking!
the!story!of!one’s!career.!!
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This Year’s Catalytic Course Agendas – with new elements highlighted
Catalytic Course #1 Agenda
Saturday 1: October 28, 2017 HSW-302 Parnassus Campus
9:00AM Welcome to the MIND program!
Presenters: Liz Watkins and Keith Yamamoto (via video)
9:30AM Overview of the MIND Program
Presenter: Jennie Dorman
10:30AM Break
10:45AM Coming to Terms with Job Market Data
Presenter: Gabriela Monsalve
11:15AM Intro to the Career Exploration Process: The Fantasy, the Ideal,
and the Reality
Presenters: Bill Lindstaedt and Gabriela Monsalve
11:45AM Lunch
12:30PM Working Identity: Key to Successful Career Change
Presenter: Jennie Dorman
1:30PM Using myIDP to Assess your Skills, Interests, and Values
Presenter: Bill Lindstaedt
3:30PM Career Exploration Methods and Resources
Presenter: Bill Lindstaedt
4:00PM Getting ready for class on November 11 & How to use the course website:
Courses.ucsf.edu
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Catalytic Course #2 Agenda
Saturday 2: November 11
th
, 2017 Location: Mission Hall, Room 1400
8:30AM Check-in and breakfast
9:00AM Brief Discussion of your myIDP homework
Moderator: Bill Lindstaedt
9:30AM Career Cameos: Roles in Industry - NEW!
Presenter: Bill Lindstaedt
10:00AM Break
10:15AM Networking Demystified
Presenter: Naledi Saul
11:45AM Lunch
12:45PM Informational Interviews, Part 1
Presenter: Jennie Dorman
1:45PM Break
2:00PM Panel Discussion of PhDs in a Variety of Careers
Panelists:
1. Joseph Lin PhD, Associate Professor at Sonoma State University (Research & Teaching in
Academia)
2. John Vincent, PhD, Scientist at Guardant Health (Industry)
3. Jenn Page, PhD, Director of ES Tissue Core at UCSF (Staff at RO1 Institution)
4. Sophia Majeed, PhD, Clinical Pharmacologist at Gilead (Industry)
5. Brad Heller, PhD - Senior Scientist, Cell Biology at Quartz Therapeutics (Industry)
6. Sabine Blankenship, PhD, Science Liaison at German Consulate General in San Francisco
(Science Policy)
Moderator: Gabriela Monsalve
3:45PM Introduction to LinkedIn and UCSF Connect – NEW!
Presenter: Gabriela Monsalve
4:15PM Wrap-up and homework for next week
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Catalytic Course #3 Agenda
Saturday 3: December 2nd, 2017 Location: Mission Hall, Room 1400
8:30AM Check-in and Breakfast
9:00AM Informational Interviews, Part 2
Presenters: Jennie Dorman and Bill Lindstaedt
10:15AM Discussing Your Homework
Presenter: Gabriela Monsalve
10:45AM Break
11:00AM Discussing Your Career with Your PI – Data from MIND Alumni –NEW!
Presenter: Stephen Filios
11:20AM Roles in Academia that You Might Not Know About –NEW!
Presenters: Bill Lindstaedt and Gabriela Monsalve
12:00PM Lunch
Gabi taking headshots outside in the courtyard
1:00PM Preparing for Phase 2: Career Exploration in Peer Teams
Presenters: Gabriela Monsalve and MIND Alumni
Panelists:
1. Tim Acker
2. Tarja Yvanka De Soysa
3. Steffen Biechele
2:00PM Job Simulations – What They Are and How/When to Do Them – NEW!
Presenter: Jennie Dorman
2:30PM Break
2:45PM Visualizing your Career Story So Far – Poster Session
Moderator: Jennie Dorman
4:15PM Preview: How to Take the MBTI, Catalytic Course Evaluation, and the MIND
Course Website
Presenters: Gabriela Monsalve and Bill Lindstaedt
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Community ground-rules set by this cohort on the first day
On the first day of this year’s MIND program, participants were asked:
1. In your experience, what behaviors contribute to a respectful atmosphere, in person
and online? Be specific and give examples.
2. In your experience, what behaviors tend to damage the atmosphere of respect, in
person or online? Be specific and give examples.
Then, in a large group discussion, we assembled a list of these behaviors. Trainees were then
asked to “vote” on the behaviors that were most important to them. They could vote for two
behaviors that contribute to a respectful atmosphere and two that damage respect. The
behaviors are listed below, rank ordered from those that garnered most votes to those that
garnered the least.
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Be!present/engaged!!! ! ! 29!votes!
Listen!!! ! ! ! ! 29!
Don’t!dominate!the!conversation!! ! 28!
Don’t!come!to!meetings!unprepared!! 22!
Acknowledg e!and!accept!other!views!! 21!
Be!on!time!! ! ! ! ! 14!
Don’t!interrupt!! ! ! ! 14!
Don’t!pass!on!confidential!i nformation! 10!
Don’t!be!on!the!phone!the!whole!tim e!! !!9!
Help!others! ! ! ! ! !!7!
Don’t!judge! ! ! ! ! !6!
Be!honest! ! ! ! ! !6!
Ask!clarifying!questions!! ! ! !5!
Don’t!ignore!emails!beyond!48!hrs!!! !5!
Don’t!tell!people!they!are!wr ong!! ! !4!
Read!emails!that!are!sent!to!you!! ! !3!
Take!pause!before!reacting!!! ! !3!
Don’t!dismiss!others!!! ! ! !3!
Believe!people! ! ! ! !2!
Greet!others! ! ! ! ! !1!
Give!options! ! ! ! ! !1 !
Don’t!make!over-generalizations!! ! !1!
Don’t!fail!to !meet!your!commitments!! !1!
Don’t!pester! ! ! ! ! !1 !vote!
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Information for Participants about Peer Teams
(Handout we give them during the Catalytic Course to prepare them for peer teams.)
Description of Peer Teams
In these groups of 6-7 peers, you’ll be setting career exploration goals and holding one
another accountable to those goals. The peers in your team will challenge and support
you as you think through how to overcome obstacles, meet your deadlines, and find
confidence in your career direction. In return, you will support and challenge your team
members in the same way.
Goals of Peer Teams
1) To motivate you and hold you accountable for continuing to explore careers.
2) To connect you with peers from whom you can learn: how they are exploring
careers, as well as what they are discovering about different careers.
3) To develop your interpersonal communication skills, since employers report
these are critical.
4) To provide support through the challenges of undertaking career exploration
during your graduate or postdoc experience.
Role of Facilitators
Each team will be assigned two facilitators who will attend your meetings. These
facilitators are either alums of the MIND program, postdocs with facilitation or teaching
experience, or UCSF staff who serve trainees. They are NOT career experts, but they
help keep the meetings productive and efficient, by helping teams stay focused on
problem-solving (not venting), establishing effective meeting structure and norms, and
watching the time to make sure that everyone receives attention from the group.
Between meetings, facilitators moderate any online discussion for your team, and help
you find answers to your questions.
What will we do at our team meetings?
Imagine that your peer team meetings are like a lab meeting, but instead of describing
progress made in your scientific research, you present the progress you’ve made with
your career exploration. You will NOT be expected to present slides; instead, each
member of the team will speak briefly about their own career exploration efforts over
the past month. Just as you would in lab meeting, you will summarize what you’ve
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learned and what you still need to know, tell us what your next goals are, and finally—
make a “contract” with your teammates.
What’s a contract?
A career exploration contract is a concrete and specific statement of what you will try
to get done before your team meets next.
Contracts should state:
(1) the career(s) you are investigating,
(2) your career exploration goal(s), and
(3) things you will do to achieve the goal(s).
Here are 3 examples of contracts:
Contract Example 1:
Career
Goal / Purpose
Ways of achieving goal
(Tasks or activities)
Plan A: Science
communication
Increase readership for my
blog, which highlights recent
research studies for the
general public
1. Write two blog pieces
2. Post them on Facebook
Contract!Example!2:
Career
Goal / Purpose
Ways of achieving goal
(Tasks or activities)
Plan A: Data Science
Learn whether I would need
additional training or
experience to pursue this
career path.
Identify someone whose primary expertise is
in biology, like me, and ask them how much
/ what sort of computational experience they
needed to demonstrate to break into this
field? (Insight Fellowship? Just putting small
projects on github account?)
Contract Example 3:
Career
Goal / Purpose
Ways of achieving goal
(Tasks or activities)
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Plan B: Science
Education for Non-
Scientists
Identify roles in science
museums that I might find
fulfilling.
Prepare for informational interview with my
exhibit designer contact from the California
Academy. Refine my list of questions, e.g.:
• What background is required for
becoming an exhibit developer?
• I’ve read that most museum visitors
only spend about 1 minute per
exhibit. Does she find that limits
what she can attempt to “teach”
them in an exhibit?
• Who might I speak with about other
roles that might interest me, e.g.
working with K-12 visitors?
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In what sense are these “contracts”?
The statement of what you’ll do before the next team meeting is a contract because
your peer team members must agree that it sounds reasonable—that it is (1) likely to
address your current goal or challenge and (2) feasible and do-able in 2-5 hours max.
Your team members are, in effect, parties to the contract. If they think your contract is
over-ambitious, they may suggest that you break it down into smaller steps. They will
be curious to hear at the next peer team meeting whether you met your goal. We
encourage you to check in with each other between meetings to see how it’s going, to
cheer each other on, or to give a friendly kick in the pants (especially if someone asks
for one). Your teammates are invested in you reaching your goals and you, in turn,
become invested in them reaching their goals.
Peer Team Meeting Frequency
Peer Teams are expected to meet for 2 hours every other week, in person. Teams will
schedule the meetings themselves at a mutually convenient time.
Attendance
We expect you to make a great effort to attend these Peer Team meetings on time and
in person. If travel commitments or health issues prevent you from attending a certain
peer team meeting, you are expected to (1) notify your teammates and facilitator well in
advance, (2) explore the possibility of skyping in to that team meeting, and (3) post
your contract (see below) nonetheless.
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Please note that in the month of March, participants are expected to attend our mid-
year full-cohort meeting (3/3/18), as well as their regular peer team meetings.
Responsibilities
This phase of the MIND program entails responsibilities both to yourself and to your
teammates:
Your responsibilities to your teammates:
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1. To show up for team meetings so you can fulfill your peer-mentoring
responsibilities.
2. To notify your teammates and your facilitators IN ADVANCE if you can not
attend a certain meeting.
3. To believe in your teammates, and give specific positive feedback when you
observe them doing something especially challenging or courageous.
4. To make sure that your comments to your teammates focus on THEIR needs,
not just things you are keen to talk about.
5. To prod them gently when you see that they are stuck.
6. To keep what they say confidential.
Your responsibilities to yourself:
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1. We expect you to spend 5-10 hours per month outside of team meetings
doing some form of active career exploration. You need not have done an
informational interview each month, but we do expect you to experiment
monthly with both modes of career exploration, as discussed on Saturday 1 in
the Introduction to Working Identity (see slide below). The first mode is internal,
and includes thinking and exploring on your own (e.g., reading, reflective
writing), but should also involve some learning-by-doing activities like
conducting an informational interview, attending a professional mixer, or finding
a small way to try the typical tasks in a career of interest to see how you like it.
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2. To find ways to continue making
progress on career exploration—
however slowly, and even when
you get busy, your research takes
off, or life presents some
unforeseen challenges.
3. To go easy on yourself – most
people find career exploration
challenging at times.
4. To believe in yourself: you are
creative, bright, and persistent.
You can do this!
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Effective career exploration…
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Internal mode:
Read
Reflect
External mode:
Meet people
Try work
1. Requires 2 modes
2. Is Iterative
3. Takes time
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Instructions for MIND participants: “How to Responsibly Leave your Peer
Team”
Every year, a small number of participants leave their peer teams due to extenuating
circumstances: to care for a family member, to deal with serious health challenges themselves,
or to take a new job. The MIND Program realizes that the decision leave a peer team is not
easy.
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The MIND Program supports the choices you need to make to ensure your well-being, and we
must also ensure the success of the remaining members of your peer team. We’ve found
that when a peer team member disappears without communicating with their peer teammates,
team morale suffers. Conversely, members who fully communicate with their team before their
departure leave little negative impact on the remaining team members. We ask your
cooperation to leave in a responsible manner, as outlined below.
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If you must leave your peer team before June 2018, please use the following protocol to
ensure that you remain in good standing with the MIND Program:
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1. Send an email to [email protected]du stating your decision to leave your peer team. In your
email, please include:
a. When you plan to leave the team;
b. A non-UCSF email address that we can use to keep in touch with you, and;
c. Why you have chosen to leave (this email will be kept confidential among the MIND
staff and will not be shared with your peer team).
2. Schedule a brief exit interview with the MIND Program Director or, if you prefer, another
available MIND staff member. The exit interview can be conducted by phone and has the
following goals:
a. To get a better understanding of your situation.
b. To collect your feedback on what works and doesn’t work in the peer team process.
c. To help you plan what to say when you notify your peer team that you are leaving.
3. Notify your peer facilitators in person/email/ or phone that you are planning to leave the
team, using language you developed in item #2c.
4. Notify the entire peer team that you are leaving, using the language you developed in item
#2c.
5. Continue to respond faithfully and honestly to MIND and NIH survey requests (remember,
you are a member of a research study, and are an essential member of our experimental
group!) Thank you!
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Informational Interview Report Assignment
Overview: Synthesize what you learned from one or more of your informational
interviews in a brief write-up which you will post to the course website in the appropriate
career discussion forum (e.g., Careers in Industry, Careers in Policy, Careers in
Science Communication, etc). The purpose of these write-ups is to help other students
and postdocs learn about the career paths you explore.
Deadline: March 15 at 5:00pm PST, but we recommend writing (and posting) your
summary soon after you do the informational interview, while it’s fresh.
Please address the following questions:
1. What is the current career field of the person you interviewed? (e.g. bench
scientist in industry, patent litigator, PI at liberal arts college, etc.)
2. Does this job require a PhD?
3. Is a postdoc: (a) required for this career, (b) not required but advantageous, or
(c) irrelevant?
4. Did the person you interviewed suggest any ways that students/PDs can get
"transitional experience"? By “transitional experience” we mean the kinds of
experiences that help you get a feel for this career path. Here we seeking
suggestions of activities that don't take as much time as a full- time internship,
since that often is not feasible for research trainees. These might include things
like: attending a local meeting of a professional society or interest group, or
reading a certain trade publication or website, etc.
5. What are 2-3 other things you learned about the job or career you just explored?
Note especially things that surprised you or that challenged -- or
confirmed-- preconceptions you had about the career. Again, imagine the
audience is a fellow biomedical research trainee who is interested in exploring
this same career path.
Expected length: 1 page is a good target (slightly more or less is fine too). See the
examples below.
Format: Please paste your write-up on the course website as a direct post (not an
attachment), as it will be easier for everyone to read on their devices that way.
Two example reports follow.
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Example Informational Interview Report #1
Interviewee: Business Technology Analyst at Deloitte (specialized in the field of IT
Systems Integration).
Interviewee Career Path: after graduation- 2 years of experience in software
development.
Requirements: people having a PhD can apply to three divisions within Deloitte (good
GPA is a requirement for all three):
• Human Capital (interviewee considers this to be the best bet for somebody with a
PhD, but this may have to be confirmed);
• Technology (mostly centered around IT, thus strong background in software
engineering is required);
• Strategy and Operations (MBA seems to be a strict requirement, but this may have to
be confirmed).
Job Postings: the website of the company. The advice of the interviewee was to simply
apply to job postings and go through the recruitment process.
Transitional Experiences: The interviewee had experience in software development
before joining the firm. Extensive preparation for the interview is required, since the
case study part of the interview was much more difficult than the typical training cases
found online. The format of the interview was 3 interviews of 45 min each (during one
day): 1) fit with company’s culture, 2) technical skills, 3) case study.
Preconceptions confirmed:
Work culture at Deloitte is based on the same principles as in most other management
consulting firms: employees wait to be selected for individual projects, the mentality is
“up or out”, a lot of training is provided, teamwork skills are of paramount importance.
Preconceptions challenged:
• Preconception 1: All employees hired by the company are involved in projects almost
continuously. In reality, for some people it is very difficult to get on a project:
there are examples of people working for the company but not involved in any
project for half a year or more. There are official applications and interviews for
the employees for each specific project. The strategy for getting on a project is,
among other things, networking within the company + a unique skillset +
serendipity.
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• Preconception 2: Employees are extremely busy working on their projects and do not
have time for much else. In reality, in addition to being expected to work for about
60 hours per week, significant additional efforts are required for people to grow
within the company. These efforts should be targeted at initiatives meant to help
the company grow.
• Preconception 3: There will be no job offer without extensive networking with people
within the company ahead of time. The interviewee was hired without any
connections in the company.
Other Notable Information:
• There is a division of the company that works exclusively for the US government:
Deloitte Federal, with 6 000 employees out of 120 000 total.
• Consulting for the government is very different from consulting for private firms.
Main areas of strength for Deloitte seem to be taxes and auditing.The teams are
normally relatively big: about 15 people.Business Technology Analysts do not
communicate with clients directly.
• Very strong emphasis is on company culture: a new employee need to absorb
this culture quickly and actively promote it.The opinion of the interviewee is that
Deloitte is not particularly interested in candidates holding a PhD and will hire
such person only if there is a specific need for the company in that person’s
skillset.
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Example Informational Interview Report #2:
1. What is the career path of the person you interviewed?
The person I interviewed went into industry after doing a postdoc. She spent a few
years as a group leader before coming back to academia as a PI at UCSF/Gladstone.
2. Does this job require a PhD? Yes.
3. Does it require a postdoc? Yes.
4. Did the person you interviewed suggest any ways that students/PDs can get "transitional
experience"?
She said that the two skills she sees as really setting the PI job apart from any others
are writing grants and writing papers. Her suggestion was to write, edit, and discuss
these things with others to start getting experience and to seek out mentors to help with
writing processes and strategies. Her opinion was that if you find you really don’t like
writing grants or papers you probably wouldn’t want to be a PI, but that the other skills
you learn during our PhD would be useful in any career path.
She also suggested getting more teaching experience to understand the kind of
institution in which you may want to be a PI and what role you would want formal
teaching to play in your career.
5. What are 2-3 other things you learned about the job or career you just explored? Note
especially things that surprised you or that challenged -- or confirmed-- preconceptions you
had about the career. Again, imagine the audience is a fellow biomedical research trainee
who is interested in exploring this same career path.
I was surprised by how optimistic she was by the prospect of someone in my position
pursuing a career as a PI. It seems like throughout grad school I’ve heard so much
about how PhDs take longer and longer, postdocs last forever, and grants are
impossible to get, so it was really heartening to hear something that runs counter to that
narrative. Her view was that there are a lot of institutions at which you can have a lab
and even if you don’t end up at a top tier institution with lots of resources as long as
you’re doing good science you care about you’ll be ok.
My interviewee’s time in industry seemed to confirm my earlier impressions of it. She
said she really enjoyed how quickly things moved but didn’t like that she didn’t have
control over what she and her group studied. She said that once they got a certain
result, they would be put on a new project. She found that she really preferred the
academic model, where all of her work would make cumulative progress towards
answering one question.
