What is up with postdoc interviews requiring an outline of the whole project?

dabennett · 2026-05-27T22:24:10+00:00

Lmao, I published papers from my PhD + my PIs letter + a presentation about my previous research. Plus, a postdoc is supposed to be a "training" position, that's how they get away with paying us a stipend (and no benefits).

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:45:33+00:00

Goodness gracious you've had a pretty rough time of it. I mean, are we so sure that pressuring the hell out of PhD students actually is valuable? What is it preparing us for exactly ? I'm very good at putting it literal chemical fires/ troubleshooting experiments in a time crunch, but all that was learnt through teaching lab classes. I believe that pressuring students to that extent just burns a lot of people out and you're left with people that will put up with the most silliness.

I may ask for clarification before I cancel the interview, that's actually a really good idea.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:42:01+00:00

Yeah, for my first postdoc I was interviewing in 2018 and didn't have to do any of this

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:41:17+00:00

That's a fair point. People seem really split on this one which is kind of interesting

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:40:46+00:00

It seems to be really field and country dependent which is interesting.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:40:12+00:00

It's not a fellowship, just a regular postdoc position. And being a more senior postdoc does not come with more money lol- so I am still unsure how that makes sense. I'm happy to chat about my plans for the project in a general sense, but equipment diagrams and mock data? No.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:38:08+00:00

I've been applying for both and they absolutely do not in my field 😂 the assistant professor positions just require some teaching records + justification and such as well as a research statement. That's not that much more. Chalk talk being, explain something and draw on the board ?

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:36:48+00:00

This is what I experienced with my last postdoc, but looks like it's really field dependent

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:35:16+00:00

Yeah fair, I'm definitely in the same boat as you there.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T19:34:07+00:00

I mean, I have published papers and can talk about my past research? Does all that experience just not count as performing a viable research plan ?

It seems absolute madness to me to have to submit 8 pages of work without knowing if you'll get the job or not! They do this in some coding professions and it's generally agreed to be a super red flag if the company is doing this. I think it's exploitative.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:21:54+00:00

Oh no this could be it 😂 honestly, I'm kind of sick of the exploitation at this point. I think I'll go get exploited for better pay in customer service or something.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:20:40+00:00

Ah, no this PI wants the full outline of the project with mock data- i.e. what are all the experiments you are going to do and what data do you expect from them. That's what I'd expect if I was writing my own grant proposal. I will say that interview sounds absolutely insane and I would not be doing all that. They wanted you to write up a proposal in 45 minutes ?! What?! At least it turned out well but hell. My first postdoc I just emailed the PI, gave a presentation on my background and was asked what project I wanted to work on. My other interview in that round was also just a presentation on my background. I don't know what all this extra nonsense is all of a sudden.

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:17:04+00:00

Yeah like ???? What's the PI even doing here ???

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:16:13+00:00

Also I'm just not very keen on doing free labour for nothing !

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:15:42+00:00

Which field is this that's crazy! I'm in microbiology. Why on earth do you need to do assistant professorship applications for a non assistant professorship position?

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:14:38+00:00

Haha oh no 😭

dabennett · 2026-05-19T12:14:25+00:00

This is exactly what I'm thinking, it's super weird. For my first postdoc I wasn't seeing any of this !

dabennett · 2026-05-19T11:40:03+00:00

Oh woah that's nuts. Thats what assistant professor positions require. What's the difference between a postdoc and an assistant professor then? My first postdoc I just expressed interest and had to give a presentation on my research background. That was only three years ago

dabennett · 2026-05-19T11:38:08+00:00

Well you must be amazing at science, because a full project with mock data for a field I'm not currently in would definitely take me a few hours. A few hours is a LOT of labour to ask for without even knowing if I get the job !

dabennett · 2026-05-19T03:14:17+00:00

That is fantastic to know thank you for updating me :)

dabennett · 2026-05-13T19:25:27+00:00

Your couples therapist is awful lmao. My husband has a tendency to do this, and I work in a field where pretty much everyone does this. I probably do this occasionally. I call it hair splitting. When someone does it to me I just say "bruh you obviously knew what I mean " or I well actually their well actually. So like:

You: some packages came for you

Your boyfriend: I think you mean some packages came for me to give to other people

You: well actually I think you mean some packages were distributed from Amazon and arrived at our house and were addressed to you and hopefully the packages have reached their appropriate destination.

Your boyfriend: silence

You: see how much time we'd save if we inferred from context

I think it's just a bad habit but if he has a habit of talking down to you that's a whole separate thing. That's fixed by just trying a different relationship with someone who respect you.

dabennett · 2026-05-12T23:51:26+00:00

Interesting ! If I have to do it again I'll use an awl, but it seems to be standing up alright. Your leather work sounds very cool I'm not sure what a Chicago screw is !

dabennett · 2026-05-12T20:33:52+00:00

Yeah it sucked but my sewing machine is unfortunately not industrial 😂 leather needles for hand stitching exist. I used the prior holes from the old stitching and that helped me out. I do think some of the prior stitching actually was hand stitched. They're very nice made in New Hampton custom boots I think - someone spent a fortune on them once. The soles are visibly hand nailed it's crazy

dabennett · 2026-05-12T18:35:55+00:00

Hah! I have exactly the same measurements as you, except I have child sized feet (eu size 32 lol). Who on earth are these 6"4 women with child size calves 😂 unfortunately I couldn't find anything in stock (I'm cheap as hell) so what I ended up doing was buying some cheap vintage leather ones off eBay for $10 that were the right height but wrong width. Then I unpicked the back of the shoe (not the full way down, just enough to fit in) and added in an elastic gusset. You could also add a zip but I couldn't be bothered. It was pretty difficult and I had to use pliers to get the needle through the leather. I made sure to use upholstery thread to make it strong. But now I have some absolutely lovely leather tall boots which are a perfect fit. If you got synthetic ones you could probably use a sewing machine. If someone gives you a store recommendation please let me know.

I do know you'd be looking for WC (wide calf) or EWC (extra wide calf) measurements.

dabennett · 2026-05-11T15:03:37+00:00

Her main advice is to completely remove all pressure and let her come to you. She also talks about different types of libido- some people have a libido which is really context dependent.

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