Career Development conversations and individual development plans
The postdoc phase is a time to further develop your career within or outside academia. In order to gain a clear understanding of your career options and steps during this qualification phase and to identify, to reflect on and to define the own current situation and position within and (if applicable) outside academia, the Postdoc Center recommends regular career development conversation between you as a postdoc and your supervisors.
The aims of the career development conversation are that you as a postdoc
- have an understanding of further development opportunities depending on your career goals and current personal status.
- have a clear picture of your next (realistic) career steps.
Step 1: Preparation for the career development conversation
Before you conduct the career development conversation, you should reflect on your current position and your strengths, knowledge, skills and abilities and identify possible areas of development and career options. The Postdoc Center offers you a workbook "Individual Development Plan" with guiding questions for independent development (steps 1 to 3). In particular, step 3 in the workbook serves to define concrete steps and milestones in an individual development plan as well as interdisciplinary learning goals that you can pursue over the next one to two years in order to achieve your career goal(s).
Please contact the Postdoc Center via to postdoccenter@hzdr.de, in order to get the workbook.
The Postdoc Center supports this step with appropriate formats:
- advice, coaching and preparation for the career development conversations
- workshops
- company visits and other shadowing programs
- career days and networking events
- mentoring programs
Step 2: Conducting a career development conversation
The career development conversation should be initiated by you as postdoc and should not be equated with a project planning or annual employee appraisal. The Postdoc Center recommends a career development conversation between you and your direct supervisor and your institute director.
The structured career development conversation helps you to obtain an appreciative external assessment and to compare this with your self-reflection (using the workbook steps 1 to 3). It should be based on openness, honesty, trust and transparency. A trusting atmosphere creates an interplay between reflection and discussion.
After the conversation, steps 1 to 3 in the workbook can be modified or adapted.
Step 3: Documenting the results of the development conversation
The content of the conversation should be recorded in written form. The notes are strictly confidential and are only available to you as a postdoc and your direct supervisor.
In addition, a short note signed by all interview partners should be sent to the Postdoc Center via e-mail to postdoccenter@hzdr.de. The short note provides transparency for conducting a career development conversation, a mutual written commitment to the postdoc's development steps and the determination of the next career development conversation. Depending on the definition of the next development steps in your individual development plan, the Postdoc Center recommends a follow-up conversation in one to two years.
Step 4: Follow-up
Step 4 in the workbook "Individual development plan" will help you prepare for your next career development conversation. The regular review of whether you are still on course to pursue your career goal(s) is completed by regular career development conversations with your supervisor.
We will be happy to support you in drawing up your individual development plan and conducting a career development conversation. Contact us by e-mail via postdoccenter@hzdr.de.
For supervisors
As a supervisor, do you need support in conducting career development conversations? Are you wondering how you can structure a career development conversation with your postdocs separately from an annual employee appraisal or project planning meeting?
The Postdoc Center offers
- a conversation guide and
- a power training of approx. 2-3 hours.
Contact the Postdoc Center by e-mail to postdoccenter@hzdr.de.
