Your trainee’s next step may require experience you do not have. You can help them find it.
Dr. Chen had come prepared.
Leah was entering the later stages of her PhD, and he had spent part of his morning thinking about postdoc possibilities. He knew several investigators who would value her work. He had considered their mentoring styles, their recent publications, and the skills she could develop in each lab.
When she asked whether she should pursue a postdoc, he had useful answers ready.
Then she said, “I’m actually trying to understand whether I want another academic position at all.”
He paused.
He remembered her mentioning industry. He had thought of it as one possibility among several, something she was exploring through the university’s career events.
“I don’t know enough about that path,” he said. “But you met someone at the panel, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t want to go around you.”
He had been preparing to open doors.
She had been wondering whether she was allowed to approach another one.
The Assumption Behind His Advice
Dr. Chen did not believe trainees should follow his career.
He had said that often.
But most of his examples came from academia. The people he suggested were faculty. The opportunities he forwarded were fellowships and postdocs. When he described a promising next step, he usually described a research lab.
Those were the paths he knew well enough to discuss in detail.
He had assumed Leah understood the limits of his experience.
She had interpreted the pattern as a preference.
His intentions had remained inside his head. His recommendations were what she could see.
What He Said Next
“I’m glad you told me,” he said. “You can seek advice from people outside the lab. You don’t need my permission to have those conversations.”
Then he added something more specific.
“I can help you think about your strengths and finish your training well. Someone working in industry can help you understand what those strengths look like in that setting. It would be useful for you to have both perspectives.”
Leah asked whether he thought she should contact the panelist.
“Yes. Start with the question you actually have.”
They spent a few minutes narrowing it down.
Leah wanted to understand what different industry research roles involved before deciding which experiences to pursue. That was enough for a first conversation. She did not need to ask a near-stranger to take responsibility for her career.
What He Had Missed
Dr. Chen had built his own network over many years.
He knew whom to call when a collaboration stalled, when a funding decision confused him, or when he needed advice he would not ask for in a department meeting.
Because those relationships were familiar, he rarely thought about how they had begun.
Leah could see the finished network. She had not seen the first email, the unanswered message, the colleague who made an introduction, or the conversation that remained helpful even though it never became a lasting relationship.
He had encouraged networking without making the process visible.
The Habit: Ask Where Support Is Missing
At their next development discussion, Dr. Chen asked:
“What do you need to understand about your next step that we haven’t been able to answer together?”
The question gave them somewhere concrete to begin.
Sometimes he knew someone who could help. Before making an introduction, he checked that both people were comfortable with it and explained the reason for connecting them.
Sometimes he had no relevant contact. They looked at alumni events, career services, professional groups, and people Leah had already met.
He also began explaining his own decisions aloud.
“This is someone I ask about managing collaborations. We worked together years ago, and we’ve stayed in touch.”
His network became less mysterious when Leah could see the relationships and the effort behind it.
What Follow-Up Looked Like
After Leah spoke with Dr. Patel, Dr. Chen asked what she had learned and whether it changed her development priorities.
He left room for her to keep parts of that conversation private.
Their discussion returned to the work they could plan together: which skills she wanted to strengthen, what her remaining project required, and how to make space for career exploration.
He continued doing his part as her supervisor. Other mentors added perspectives he could not provide.
What Changed
Leah became more direct about the questions she was considering.
Dr. Chen became more careful about presenting familiar options as though they were the full set.
When she eventually weighed a postdoc against an industry opportunity, they had a more informed conversation. He understood her priorities better. She understood both the value and the limits of his advice.
Helping her build other relationships had strengthened their own.
That’s not a hack. That’s a habit.
✨ Use the Mentorship Relationship Map with your trainee to discuss available support, missing perspectives, and introductions that could help them take the next step.
Stories are fictionalized or composite narratives, created to illustrate common challenges and patterns in research life. They are intended for educational and reflective purposes and do not represent any specific individual or institution. 