Core Professional Skills Categories
UCLA has defined the Core Professional Skills that each postdoctoral scholar should develop during their training and divided them into the categories below. When you explore the categories, you will find some skills you have already developed and others that will grow out of your training program. For the professional skills you would like to develop further, check out the campus resources associated with each and watch your inbox and the calendar of events for training opportunities. You can use this Worksheet to self-identify the core skills you need to develop during your training and create your own professional development plan for your time at UCLA.
See the key below to identify which UCLA offices and units provide training in these skills. 
Your
Department
or Program
Other
Campus
Resources
- Assessing my knowledge, values, and interests to identify potential career paths
- Developing an online professional presence
- Building professional relationships and networks
- Researching and locating appropriate jobs and internships
- Preparing job application documents
- Translating my academic skills to different careers and communicating them to potential employers
- Understanding and navigating interview preparation and process
- Learning to negotiate a job offer
- Transitioning from training to a professional career and understanding professional culture
- Understanding the visa and work requirements for my career path
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops and networking events for graduate students, around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking and interviewing skills, in preparation for jobs inside and beyond academia. Look for event announcements in your email and on the GPB mailing list. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resource guides below.
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts career planning workshops on Designing Your Own Personalized Professional Development Plan and Creating an Individual Development Plan. The Office also hosts or advises several networking and affinity groups that can help grow your professional networks, such as the Postdoctoral Association at UCLA, Bioscience Women’s Circle, and Black Scholars in Bioscience.
Your Department or Program
Check with your department or training program for opportunities to network with alumni, speakers and visiting scientists. Research common funding opportunities for those in your area. Speak with visitors and alumni about their experiences in their career path and jobs and for advice on preparation and application. Seek out additional mentors with expertise in the types of careers, training, and network you want to cultivate.
CIRTL
The CIRTL@UCLA program supports the professional and career development of postdoctoral scholars who are considering academic careers, through a CIRTL@UCLA Certification Pathway, Courses and Workshops, Resource Guides and a robust learning community. Much of their training involves skills development in preparation for future faculty positions, including preparing faculty applications and teaching philosophy statements.
BioCareers
UCLA is a member of BioCareers, the largest jobs board for job seekers in the biomedical and life sciences. In addition to the jobs board, they have other resources for bioscience research professional development. You can join for free with our UCLA Affiliate membership!
- Scholarly and professional writing in one’s field
- Managing complex writing projects
- Public speaking
- Making formal presentations in one’s field
- Employing effective visual communication
- Communicating with diverse audiences
- Communicating across multiple platforms
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts the F32 Workgroup, a writing support group for postdoctoral scholars preparing NIH Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications. The group provides advice, resources, and an accountability framework to help make the process easier and more efficient.
Your Department or Program
Check with your department, training program and mentors for opportunities to practice presenting your work inside your research groups, disciplinary area and at conferences and symposia. Look for guidance with significant writing projects within your research group or department, by seeking feedback, offering to provide feedback, and utilizing workshops or other training opportunities.
CIRTL
UCLA is part of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) nation-wide online network of 40+ universities seeking to enhance excellence in undergraduate education through development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices for diverse learners. The CIRTL@UCLA program supports the professional and career development of postdoctoral scholars who are engaged in teaching now, or who are considering academic careers, through a CIRTL@UCLA Certification Pathway, Courses and Workshops, Resource Guides and a robust learning community. Much of their training involves skills development in public speaking, speaking to diverse audiences, and utilizing multiple communication and teaching platforms.
Graduate Writing Center
While Graduate Writing Center is mostly focused on serving graduate students, they have some online resources open to postdoctoral scholars. They provide online videos of workshops on a variety of topics, including writing journal articles, conference proposals, literature reviews, grant writing, and for non-native English speakers in improve their English writing skills. They also have a collection of the best online resources for writing.
- Time management
- Setting realistic goals
- Maintaining progress towards goals
- Understanding and navigating requirements and expectations of my program
- Balancing academic and research responsibilities with other aspects of my life
- Personal health and wellness
- Managing personal finances and planning for the future
- Developing community and social relationships
- Actively engaging with different identities and opinions
- Developing healthy boundaries and self-advocacy skills
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts workshops related to time management and achieving balance, goal-setting, mentoring relationships, successfully navigating your training, personal wellness, and diversity and inclusion.
- Leadership Series
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training
- Mentoring Up Series
- Individual Development Plans Coming soon!
Division of Graduate Education
Graduate Division oversees postdoctoral scholar appointments and services and provides a number of centralized resources. In particular, postdoctoral scholars facing challenges to their training progress for any reason, should reach out to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Case Managers for assistance and guidance to available resources. Graduate Division also provides workshops for postdocs related to navigating your postdoc, financial wellness, diversity and inclusion and other topics. Graduate Division is also Co-Sponsor of the Postdoctoral Association at UCLA, a excellent postdoc community open to all.
Your Department or Program
Your mentor, department or training program should be able to help you with realistic goal-setting, maintaining progress, and navigating program requirements. Programs and disciplinary areas offer many avenues to practice engaging with different identities and opinions and developing self-advocacy skills.
UCLA Wellness and Self Development Resources
UCLA offers a number of wellness and self development resources available to postdoctoral scholars.
- Wellness:
- Biosciences Postdoc Affairs Wellness Resources Page
- Free Counseling for Postdocs: Staff and Faculty Counseling Center
- Financial Wellness:
- Website and App Recommendations and Personal Financial Tools from the Financial Wellness Program
- Finding Community:
- Engage Across Difference:
- Managing projects
- Obtaining funding in a research or professional setting
- Managing a budget in a research or professional setting
- Developing entrepreneurial skills
- Leading the planning of an event or initiative
- Leading a team
- Working in a diverse team
- Collaborating across different working styles
- Resolving interpersonal conflict
- Managing mentor and mentee relationships
- Identifying opportunities for service and community engagement
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts workshops related to leadership, grant and fellowship applications, mentorship training, managing conflict, working in teams, etc.
Division of Graduate Education
Graduate Division provides two opportunities for postdocs to develop leadership skills. First, through the Postdoctoral Association at UCLA, a postdoc-led organization that develops events and initiatives for postdocs and serves as an advisory body to the campus on postdoctoral issues and concerns. Second, Graduate Division hosts the Postdoctoral Scholars Advisory Council, a council of administrators, faculty, and postdoctoral scholars that meets quarterly to discuss and advise on important issues relevant to postdoctoral life at UCLA.
Your Department or Program
Your mentor, department or training program should be able to help you with developing skills around managing projects, obtaining funding, working in teams and with people with different working styles, managing mentoring relationships and with opportunities for service and engagement. Look to identify mentors in these areas beyond your faculty mentor, including other faculty, senior trainees, advisors and administrators.
UCLA Leadership, Project Management and Collaboration Resources
UCLA offers a number of leadership resources open to postdoctoral scholars.
- Finding and Obtaining Funding:
- GRAPES: Database of funding opportunities
- The Graduate Writing Center, while focused on graduate students for many of their in-person services, has a number of online resources open to postdoctoral scholars. GWC offers access to an archive of fellowship applications and to their online videos of workshops on a variety of topics, including fellowship and grant writing.
- Entrepreneurial:
- Leading a group or planning events:
- Opportunities for Service and Community Engagement:
- Creating an inclusive classroom for learners from diverse backgrounds
- Applying evidence-based pedagogical methods
- Designing and developing a course and learning goals
- Developing effective assessments for learning outcomes
- Training learners in research skills and techniques
- Advising, role modeling, and mentoring
- Using instructional technology effectively
- Developing a teaching philosophy
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts workshops and workshop series related to related to developing research mentorship skills, both as a mentee and mentor.
Your Department or Program
Check with your department, training program and mentors for opportunities to mentor more junior research trainees, including undergraduates, graduate students, summer researchers, etc.
CIRTL
UCLA is part of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) nation-wide online network of 40+ universities seeking to enhance excellence in undergraduate education through development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices for diverse learners. The CIRTL@UCLA program supports the professional and career development of postdoctoral scholars who are engaged in teaching now, or who are considering academic careers, through a CIRTL@UCLA Certification Pathway, Courses and Workshops, Resource Guides and a robust learning community. Much of their training involves skills development in evidence-based pedagogy, creating inclusive classrooms, designing courses, learning goals and assessments, using instructional technology, and developing a teaching philosophy.
CEILS (Center for Education Innovations & Learning in the Sciences)
CEILS collaborates with regional, statewide, and national organizations to drive change forward and increase equity, diversity and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). They support a collaborative community of instructors committed to advancing teaching excellence, assessment, diversity, and scholarship, resulting in the enhancement of student learning experiences in the Life and Physical Sciences at UCLA. Provide resources for teams, departments, divisions, and institutions to address systemic bias and racism in higher education and create more equitable policies and practices.
CAT (Center for the Advancement of Teaching)
They provides multiple services, resources, and programs to enhance and support teaching excellence, innovation, and inclusivity. These include a grant program for curricular innovation; pedagogical development of instructors via workshops and learning communities; educational technology software and lecture capture; classroom technology and furnishings; and analytics and assessment for curricular and institutional improvement efforts.
- Understanding how to access and assess literature and research in your discipline
- Developing command of the existing knowledge in your discipline
- Developing familiarity with interdisciplinary knowledge and research approaches
- Designing research to address important questions in your field
- Mastering research methods in your field and relevant adjoining fields
- Collaborating effectively in research
- Upholding ethical norms and practicing responsible conduct and dissemination of research
- Practicing civility in scholarly exchange and the research environment
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
The Office of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts courses in Responsible Conduct of Research and Rigor and Reproducibility that meet NIH and NSF Fellowship and Traineeship requirements. Also, many workshops provided by Bioscience Postdoc Affairs touch on effective collaboration, mentoring relationships, and other best practices in research settings.
- Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) and Rigor and Reproducibility Training
- Leadership Series
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training
- Mentoring Up Series
Your Department or Program
Your mentor, department and training program should be your primary resources for developing your research, scholarship and academic skills. There may be questions or issues around your research and the way your research group/mentor operates that you do not even know to ask. Check out our Research Training Cheat Sheet that includes questions every research trainee should ask. Consider including the questions you do not know the answers to in your meetings with your mentor, more senior trainees, and research group.
Scholarly Expertise and Integrity Resources