A Lesson Learned the Hard Way
Success or failure in grantsmanship often depends on whether your proposal gets reviewers excited
How to Interview the Hell Out of Academic Job Candidates
One of my favorite parts of being a faculty member is interviewing students, fellows and future faculty members. For reasons that elude my tiny Fighty Squirrel brain, folks think if you are a female and people liked you when they interviewed, it means you are nice. I’m not particularly nice. Ask my kids. What I … Continue reading “How to Interview the Hell Out of Academic Job Candidates”
Our Obsession with Tenure
Chasing tenure translates into a life people outside the academic do not understand. I am often amazed by the importance professors place on their tenure above their families, their sanity, and their lives. Everything will be OK, tenure or not.
It’s National Science Meeting Time! Nine Protips on Meeting, Greeting and Getting It Done Like a Rockstar
Congrats….you are off to that awesome annual meeting you adore where your science friends chat you up, cheer you on and buy you a beer. Here’s some protips on making the most of your time, some fun things to do to pass the time and a stern look over my glasses for those of … Continue reading “It’s National Science Meeting Time! Nine Protips on Meeting, Greeting and Getting It Done Like a Rockstar”
Why You Should Read The Creative Habit
So you’re not a dancer. You’re not a musician. You’re not an artist or a poet. Why read this book? Because you have ideas: ideas for new population studies, new treatments for disease, and new ways to look at data. And this book will give you the habits that beget more good ideas and allow … Continue reading “Why You Should Read The Creative Habit”
Who Are You Really Talking To?
According to Morgan Giddings, creator of popular grant-writing resources and courses, you misunderstand the level at which you need to appeal to reviewers at study section. While you may think you’re speaking from the cerebral/rational (primate) part of your brain to the equivalent area of theirs, that’s not actually the level they’re paying attention on. … Continue reading “Who Are You Really Talking To?”
Is Your CV Making You Look Like a Chump?
CVs are a fabulous way to frame your skills and interests with institutions you are interacting with professionally. The Fighty Squirrel highly recommends you personalize each CV you send out for the audience. This is painfully true for applications for jobs and grants where your piles of accumulated titles and few papers can show that … Continue reading “Is Your CV Making You Look Like a Chump?”
Do Life
I despise the term “work-life balance.” The semantics evoke work and life as opposing forces locked in conflict – the bobbing bar of a doomed tightrope walker, a teeter-totter whose fulcrum defies equilibrium. Because we rarely talk of achieving balance, it is also code for inevitable failure or guilt. I propose an alternative. Life encompasses work. … Continue reading “Do Life”
Productivity Tip #7: Reclaim Your Meeting
How often do you hear a colleague say, “I’m so excited to attend today’s group meeting,” or a student remark, “How is it possible that my group meetings are so stimulating and engaging?” What’s that? You’ve never heard anyone say those things? Me neither. I dread meetings for the same reason that everyone does: They’re … Continue reading “Productivity Tip #7: Reclaim Your Meeting”
Captain Your Own Ship
Mentors don’t choose for you. Mentors are not your personal decider-on-call. Mentors are not the captain of you ship. You are.