How to be a good faculty mentor
Looking to transition into academia? How can you really become a good mentor to your students and postdocs? Read on for advice from Laura Olsen from the University of Michigan from the NextProf Science 2016 Conference!
You are no longer a grad student, you are the boss
- You need to keep an emotional distance and not take the behavior of students personally. They are not your friends
- Keep the lines of communication clear
- If there are difficulties, keep trying
When you’re a new faculty member
- choose graduate students slowly and carefully
- don’t take on too much too quickly
- give new grad students a small project to call their own
- recognize talented students and let them innovate and work more independently
Characteristics of a good mentor
- tell students you don’t have favorites
- tell your lab to be honest when talking to others
- be inclusive
- be respectful and be open to communication
- be aware of your reputation
- some times being shy or introverted can be mistaken for being aloof or standoffish
- start your managerial training early
- be willing to receive feedback
- be open to new ideas
- be willing to admit your wrong
- support the interests of your students
- offer your students and postdocs multiple mentors
- seek multiple mentors of your own
- offer the opportunity to network at non-academic conferences if that matches the interests of your students
- recognize and proactively address personality conflicts
Charactersitics of a bad mentor
- being rigid in
- pushing students to be “mini-me”
- using a one sir
- non-constructive feedback
- not give credit/acknowledging contributions to students
- being a yes person
- being patronizing (often a sign of insecurity!)
- not recognizing a need for work-lie balance
How to select good candidates
Undergraduates:
- Teach introductory classes and select students
- Interview students for UROPs
Graduate students:
- Offer to be on graduate student recruitment committees- speak to your chair
- Reach out proactively and offer to help write fellowships