While starting one’s first post-doctoral appointment can be a daunting experience (with mixed emotions, fears, aspirations) for many, the lack of institutional knowledge and sensitivities can also impact the struggles and/or successes of early career researchers. Although there are diverse points of engagement based on where and how one is positioned on entry, it is important to consider some important aspects of navigating this very critical stage of one’s career.
The first has to do with knowing the organizational structure and culture of the institution. While one’s academic qualifications and achievements provide an excellent start, the networks, relationships, politics, and practices within the university also represent important institutional dynamics, which determine the opportunities, obstacles, and possibilities for success. Learning the contextual and relational facets of one’s organization within this early but critical period of one’s career enhances the ability to work through or navigate critical situations as they unfold, while minimizing, where possible, the negative impact for one’s academic career.
The second has to do with knowing the criteria for assessment and promotion that are specific to your university and relatedly, that of reading through, in detail, institutional material that speaks to inherent processes and practices. While these are necessary, it is important to know that at times, these written regulations and rules surrounding assessment and promotion, do not always reflect the tendency for unstated/unwritten practices to influence the process. The changing nature of the institutional climates within the last few years also reinforce the need to be attentive to this aspect of institutional life. Issues of reduced public funding, increased use of new public management practices, requirements for commercialization, calls for public scholarship, and assessments of academic impact (with the use of impact factors and citations as widely applied indicators), albeit with diverse iterations and applications across institutional type, ranking, and locality, all underscore the significance of these changes for academic workers. It is safe to say however that working within an understanding of these criteria, both within and beyond your university, can buffer the knowns and unknowns within the process.
A third point is that of using one’s knowledge of these institutional contexts and criteria for assessment and promotion to inform one’s strategic plans for professional success. Oftentimes, early career academics find themselves in a static position of learning the everyday requirements for functioning within teaching, research, and service demands, but without the requisite vision and plans to inform their professional career or trajectory. The latter captures the need for strategic planning and interventions that aligns with that of the visions of their institutions and that are informed by the knowledge that is acquired within one’s academic space. One way to work through individualized strategic plans is to identify feasible annual targets within the framework of institutional assessment criteria, but with specific timelines and outcomes. While there may be some need for flexibility within that process, having these personalized strategic plans can enhance the opportunities and possibilities for successfully navigating this critical stage of one’s career.
Dr. Talia Esnard is a Senior Lecturer at The University of the West Indies.
Her research interests include Mentoring, Leadership and Work-Family Engagement.
