The more people you know the easier you will find it to move on to your next post. Knowing other students is great, but the people you really need to know are the people who are in charge of projects and have their own funding. The best way to do this internally is to go to talks, and the best way to do this externally is to go to conferences.
Get Practical Tips- For many scientists networking is hard. It feels forced, it’s uncomfortable and it’s scary. No one is suggesting you should spend the entire time at the conference schmoozing up to PIs, but set yourself a target of talking to a couple of people each day whom you actually respect and know something about.
- Before you go to a talk or conference, read some of the presenters’ work. Then after they have done their talk you can discuss it in more detail.
- Think about some questions you can ask them about their work. If you can link the stuff in their talk back to their previous work you will make a very good impression.
- At every conference you should submit to present at least a poster. It will encourage people to talk to you, get your name out there, and give you some practice at talking to people about science.
Read Personal Perspective
I got my post-doctoral position because a PI saw me give a talk at a conference. Before that she had never heard of me, but was sufficiently impressed to tell me about a position she had coming up. Going to conferences is always a good idea, but it is particularly beneficial when you are about to finish your degree.
