I’ve scheduled this interview for a postdoc. A few months ago PI called to ask me if zie could put my name on zie’s grant. I said that would be fine. At that point in time the PI mentioned that zie would like me to visit, even if I didn’t have a job talk prepared. A bit startled I stammered something about that I think I’d like to visit over the summer and should have something to talk about by then.
A few weeks later, I realized that I was busy every weekend in July and at this point in time graduating in August was still a possibility. (The not graduating in August thing has more to do with the thesis submission deadline being very close to the start of the semester.) I discussed all this with Advisor and he felt that the middle of the summer would be a good time to talk. He assured me that completing my entire thesis was unnecessary before going out on interviews. So, June was the time to schedule it. I called and talked to the PI and the end of June was decided on. Over the past few weeks travel plans were arranged and I was finally starting to relax.
I was confident that I’d finish the last couple of experiments by the end of May and I’d have a decent story to present. I felt that everything was going to be ok. That was until Advisor called. He wants to meet on Monday to discuss the final experiments that need to be done. He said that two months out is about the right time to start thinking and preparing for this talk. All that sounds reasonable, right?
Now, though, my stomach is all tied up in knots and I’m convinced that I won’t finish the last few experiments (and they’re nothing major or new– a few Westerns, some activity assays, and some strain construction) and I’ll bomb the talk. And why, oh why did I not wait until I had every single experiment done for my dissertation to schedule this? And what in the world made me decide that I could possibly interview and get a postdoc?
pah, repeat again "you are the one who knows what you are doing and that is the important thing".
And remember that everyone in the position of professor/post doc have been there "just before the writing the thesis" and know about the things that pop up and change things.
The key thing, imho, is that you know what you have done, why ou have done it and why you haven't done more/other stuff. Top state "I haven't had time to do it yet" is completly ok too.
The only thing I would think of as bad is to lie. Smile and say "it's an interesting question" etc but don't make excuses for what you have and have not done – since I'm pretty sure you know what you've done and why etc.
and you are good! And of course you will get a post doc position. Just hope you don't get an ulcer and stress due to over thinking this all. you'll do fine.
/former post doc who was sure she was aiming too high on the post doc position but got offered and made it work pretty well 😉
oh, and sorry for the long comment and the slightly arrogant tone? just wanted to reassure you that I don't think you have anything to worry about.
because you can. you rock. you are awesome. no one knows this more than you.
just like the little train. yes i can yes i can yes i can.
That's how the game is played. Plus, it will make you spell out your story, which is always a good thing.
Right?
It's OK if you don't finish them – you talk about your conclusions up to that point, then hypothesis that you're still trying to address with the remaining experiments, what you expect the results to be, and this segues nicely into future directions for the project. Science is an ongoing process – it is never "finished" so having your story tied up in a neat little bow would probably not be accurate even if you have these experiments done.
Whether you do or don't, the talk will be fine. Break a leg!
You can totally do this – take a breath, make a reverse time line and hit the lab.
That being said… do all these extra experiments absolutely have to be done? I'm not in the life sciences, so I don't know. In psychology, I wouldn't be able to do everything. I might give them as "future directions" and start them on my job.. (i.e., are these things you can start on postdoc and collaborate on?)
Take a step back, and maybe some fresh air and sunshine. Of course you can do this. As others above wrote, you are the expert, you know what's important, what you have done and what might be interesting future experiments, and maybe even how it all fits together. Getting away from doing the work and writing the thesis was very helpful for me, in order to see the bigger picture of my work, and how to present it. While in the thick of it, I sometimes have the "not seeing the forest for all the trees" effect. Mind you, I haven't prepared my thesis defense, much less a job talk, but right now I'm quite confident that this will work out. And I'm confident for you, too.
And in addition to all the above – good! – advice: remember that in general the supply of *high-quality* postdocs is much smaller than the demand. Based on the details you gave, you'll be absolutely fine :-).
First of all, I want to thank everyone who commented. Seriously, you all are great. Thank you all for supporting me during my hot, molten crazy phase. (And I'll try to keep it under control for the next few posts!)
Chall: You are awesome. You didn't come across as arrogant and you made me feel so much better.
SM: That's true. I probably know more about my field than this PI (zie is in a slightly different field). Just keep swimming, right?
OA: Hi! It's nice to meet you 🙂 And that's true. I haven't really thought about how my story plays out. It'd probably help with the thesis thing.
AA: You're right. I've talked to Advisor about a bunch more experiments that would be awesome for continuing this project. So, it wouldn't ever be "finished."
PG: I went ahead and did just that last night/this morning. And it is all do-able. (Well, I'd only probably get in one repeat, but it'd be fine for preliminary evidence.) I'd be switching fields in this case. They're related, but it'd sort of be like switching from Jazz Biochemistry to New-Age Biochemistry (if that makes any sense). But I'd probably still be able to consult with my current lab.
Amelie: I definitely am not seeing the forest for the trees right now. I'm working on writing a bit now and I think it's helping me.
Ewan: Thanks. Advisor told me that zie is really trying to recruit me and to take that as a compliment. I'm trying to do that. 🙂
Don't worry, I gave ALL of my job talks before I was done with experiments AND before the vast majority of the thesis was ever written. Just show what you've got, talk about your future directions and what outstanding questions they will answer. You'll do fine. 🙂
You will do great! I know that after watching you worry for years and exceeding your own expectations time and time again 🙂
You can do this! Interviewing before the experiments are finished happens. You don't need to be ashamed about it or try to hide it. Good luck!
so… all ok?
(you seem to have picked up some kind of spam bot here… )
Chall: All is ok. My interview got pushed back. I'm glad that you commented because I didn't realize that it's been so long since I posted!