What postdocs want

Personal peer review
by Bryan Venters, Postdoc journal

I want to hear that I have a job and that my manuscript's been accepted.

A goal all postdocs share is to publish their work so that they can build a competitive resumé. Recently I realized that the challenges of publishing a manuscript are strikingly parallel to many of the hurdles I will face when seeking a job. A few months ago I had an article published in Genome Research (B. J. Venters and B. F. Pugh Genome Res. 19, 360–371; 2009). The process of getting this and other papers published taught me some important lessons about applying for jobs.

First, finding a journal suitable for my manuscript is analogous to finding a position for which I am qualified. In other words, I seek to publish in a journal that is most relevant to my field and has the highest readership. However, if I misjudge the suitability of a manuscript for a particular journal, then the submission may be an exercise in futility. In the same way, whether in academia or industry, it is critical that I match my skills with the right position. Publishing papers requires tenacity, and this trait extends to mounting a successful job search.

Second, manuscript peer review is much like a job interview because my work is scrutinized and a decision is made one way or another. During peer review, I want to persuade the reviewers that my work is novel and represents a significant contribution to the field. Similarly, in a job interview, my goal is to convince others that my unique blend of skills and experiences will be an asset to the university, institution or company to which I am applying. Two phrases I hope to hear in the future are, "Your manuscript has been accepted" and "You're hired".

Text from Nature magazine.

I make the last phrase my words.
JASN