Core Professional Skills for Postdoctoral Scholars
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. 
For postdocs in the biosciences we recommend the bioscience version to this page.
Your
Department
or Division
Other
Campus
Resources
- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- Assessing 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
- Developing a competitive application for academic jobs
- Translating 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 a career path
Career Path Preparation Resources
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, online resources, and networking events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking, interviewing skills, and negotiating offers, in preparation for academic jobs and careers beyond academia. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resources below.
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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
The Teaching & Learning Center’s Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Scholar Engagement unit (GSPSE) offers consultations, workshops, and events that help postdocs prepare for teaching-oriented careers. In particular, TLC helps job applicants develop a reflective teaching practice, create syllabi, and prepare for teaching demonstrations. Learn more on the TLC website.
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.
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts several career training opportunities for Bioscience Postdocs, including:
- F32 Workgroup: NIH fellowship writing support
- Leadership Training Retreats: 1-day training retreats on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Communication, Project Management and Teamwork, and Fostering Advocacy and Belonging
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training: Nationally-vetted training to improve your mentoring relationships
- BoT: Bioscientists of Tomorrow: Future faculty cohort training program
- Workshops on: Career Envisioning, Professionald Development Planning and Individual Development Plans
Other Campus Resources
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- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- 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 on multiple platforms and in different contexts
Communication Resources
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, online resources, and networking events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking, interviewing skills, and negotiating offers, in preparation for academic jobs and careers beyond academia. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resources below.
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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
By attending workshops and events hosted by the Teaching & Learning Center, presenting flash talks on teaching-related topics at gatherings such as the annual TA & Postdoc Teaching Conference, and developing mentoring skills, postdocs can develop skills for communicating with diverse audiences orally and in writing. Learn more on the TLC website.
CIRTL
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Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts several communication-related training opportunities
- 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.
- Leadership Training Retreat – Emotional Intelligence and Communication: Develop your emotional intelligence skills through managing negative self-talk, interacting with other communication styles, effectively communicating feedback, managing conflict, and strategies to build self-confidence.
- Leadership Training Retreat – Project Management and Teamwork: Discover how your professional identity and working style apply to managing projects and working with others, develop skills and tools for managing large research projects to promote accountability, collaboration, accuracy, legibility, reliability and organization, and learn how to build your leadership style into your management system.
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.
- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- 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
- Physical and mental 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
Wellness and Self-Development Resources
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, online resources, and networking events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking, interviewing skills, and negotiating offers, in preparation for academic jobs and careers beyond academia. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resources below.
Individual Development Plan (IDP) software provides planning tools. Check out these to build your own IDP:
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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
The Teaching & Learning Center hosts an instructor wellbeing initiative as well as other skill-building workshops and programs to help postdocs thrive as members of the UCLA community. Learn more on the TLC website.
CIRTL
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UCLA Biosciences: Postdoc
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts workshops related to setting boundaries, establishing expectations, goal-setting, mentoring relationships, successfully navigating your training, personal wellness, and building community and belonging, including:
- Leadership Training Retreats: 1-day training retreats on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Communication, Project Management and Teamwork, and Fostering Advocacy and Belonging
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training: Nationally-vetted training to improve your mentoring relationships
- BoT: Bioscientists of Tomorrow: Future faculty cohort training program
- Workshops on Topics such as: Defining Success, Success in your Training Program, Time Management, and other interpersonal and work-life balance skills
Division of Graduate Education
DGE 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 Academic Case Managers for assistance and guidance to available resources. DGE also provides workshops for postdocs related to navigating your postdoc, mentorship, financial wellness, visa management, and other topics. DGE is also Co-Sponsor of the Postdoctoral Association at UCLA, a excellent postdoc community open to all.
UCLA Wellness and Self Development Resources
UCLA offers a number of wellness and self development resources available to postdoctoral scholars.
- Wellness:
- 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:
Wellness and Self-Development Resources
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
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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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
The Teaching & Learning Center hosts an instructor wellbeing initiative as well as other skill-building workshops and programs to help postdocs thrive as members of the UCLA community. Learn more on the TLC website.
CIRTL
Add text here, or remove this section if your offerings are not relevent to this category
UCLA Biosciences: Postdoc
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts workshops related to setting boundaries, establishing expectations, goal-setting, mentoring relationships, successfully navigating your training, personal wellness, and building community and belonging, including:
- Leadership Training Retreats: 1-day training retreats on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Communication, Project Management and Teamwork, and Fostering Advocacy and Belonging
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training: Nationally-vetted training to improve your mentoring relationships
- BoT: Bioscientists of Tomorrow: Future faculty cohort training program
- Workshops on Topics such as: Defining Success, Success in your Training Program, Time Management, and other interpersonal and work-life balance skills
Division of Graduate Education
DGE 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 Academic Case Managers for assistance and guidance to available resources. DGE also provides workshops for postdocs related to navigating your postdoc, mentorship, financial wellness, visa management, and other topics. DGE is also Co-Sponsor of the Postdoctoral Association at UCLA, a excellent postdoc community open to all.
UCLA Wellness and Self Development Resources
UCLA offers a number of wellness and self development resources available to postdoctoral scholars.
- Wellness:
- 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:
- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- 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
Leadership, Collaboration, and Project Management Resources
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, online resources, and networking events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking, interviewing skills, and negotiating offers, in preparation for academic jobs and careers beyond academia. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resources below.
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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
By attending workshops and events hosted by the Teaching & Learning Center and gaining developing mentoring skills, postdocs can develop skills that support leading and collaborating in diverse teams. Learn more on the TLC website.
CIRTL
Add text here, or remove this section if your offerings do not fit in this category
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts several leadership training opportunities for Bioscience Postdocs, including:
- F32 Workgroup: NIH fellowship writing support to develop grant-writing skills
- Leadership Training Retreats: 1-day training retreats on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Communication, Project Management and Teamwork, and Fostering Advocacy and Belonging
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training: Nationally-vetted training to improve your mentoring skills
- BoT: Bioscientists of Tomorrow: Future faculty cohort training program, prepare to be a faculty member in the future
- Workshops on: Time management, Data management, Collaboration, Responsible Conduct of Research, etc.
Division of Graduate Education
DGE 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, DGE 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.
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:
- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- Creating an inclusive environment for all learners
- Applying evidence-based pedagogical methods
- Designing learning objectives for courses and lessons
- Aligning assessments and activities with learning objectives
- Training learners in research skills and techniques
- Advising, role modeling, and mentoring
- Using instructional technology effectively
- Developing a teaching statement/philosophy
- Interpreting and applying feedback on teaching effectiveness
Teaching and Mentorship Resources
UCLA Career Center – Graduate Career Services
The Graduate Career Services team at the UCLA Career Center provides one-on-one coaching, workshops, online resources, and networking events for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars around topics of career exploration, career path preparation, job search, networking, interviewing skills, and negotiating offers, in preparation for academic jobs and careers beyond academia. Log in to their online professional development platform, Handshake, to access upcoming events, schedule coaching sessions, AND check out their resources below.
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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
The TLC offers teaching development support for postdocs through the annual TA & Postdoc Teaching conference and quarterly workshops and events, and also offers self-paced online resources and teaching consultations. Learn more on the TLC website.
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.
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs hosts training opportunities for postdocs in both enhancing relationships with mentors and building skills as a mentor, including:
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training: Nationally-vetted training to improve your mentoring relationships
- Leadership Training Retreats: 1-day training retreats on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Communication, Project Management and Teamwork, and Fostering Advocacy and Belonging
- BoT: Bioscientists of Tomorrow: Future faculty cohort training program
Other Campus Resources
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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.
- TEMP FOR REFERENCE:
- 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
- Developing critical AI literacy
- 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
Scholarly Expertise and Integrity Resources
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 the Biosciences Program’s 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.
TLC: Teaching and Learning Center
The Teaching & Learning Center offers workshops and resources to help postdocs teach and mentor with integrity and employ critical AI literacy. Learn more on the TLC website.
CIRTL
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Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs
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) Training
- Rigor and Reproducibility Training
- Leadership Series
- Postdoc Research Mentor Training
Scholarly Expertise and Integrity Resources