Jessica Payne

Approach to Mentoring

I view mentorship as one of the most important things I do as a scientist, professor, and PI. Shortly after you join the lab (if not before), we will discuss mentorship at length during a formal “mentorship meeting”. What follows is a brief synopsis of my high-level thoughts about the mentor-mentee relationship, and what I’d like you to think about and do before you consider working with me. • At our mentorship meeting, I will be transparent about my mentorship style and my expectations for you as my mentee. You should share your expectations of me as well. What does your ideal mentorship relationship look like? Please come to this meeting having thought about this. We will work together to produce a mentorship contract. • I strongly encourage you to talk to my former students about my strengths and weaknesses as a mentor in their experience. A good mentor/mentee relationship is all about “fit”, which is true of all relationships. Before accepting you into the lab, I will do my best to make sure we’re a good match, and I expect you will do the same. • I strongly value autonomy and self-determination in my students, and I work best with self-starters. I expect my students to set their professional goals and relentlessly pursue these throughout their time in the lab. My primary and most important job as a mentor is to help you achieve these goals – which should be set by you, not by me. Frankly, if you have not already carefully considered your career goals and planned out steps for attaining them, I am likely not the best mentor for you. • I value cooperation and collaboration over competition. You will be a member of a vibrant lab community, and I work best with students who want to help each other and collaborate. I view this type of cooperation as critical to the scientific endeavor. I also view it as essential to the continued success of the lab and all the individuals that compose it. • Because people, plans, and goals change, we will review our mentorship plan once per year and adjust accordingly. • Only students with a strong, genuine, and carefully considered desire to pursue a career in academia should apply to work with me, as I am best at advising students for positions in the academy. • As your mentor, I will be reasonably accessible, I will provide you with timely feedback, I will work to keep appropriate boundaries, I will NEVER exploit or harm you, and I will go above and beyond to help you navigate and succeed in the complex world of academia.