How to improve your relationship with your PI or Professor

After probably a round or two of interviews and a PhD in your pocket you would think that proving yourself in your new lab would not be an issue. After all, they did hire you because you were the best candidate for the position and you published some seminal papers on the topic in the months prior.

However, from day one as a new post-doc in a lab you have something to prove. Whether it’s getting the first experiment right or it’s presenting at your first lab meeting, not making an initial good impression in the lab can lead to some painful experimental scrutiny and hardship in the months to come. It might not help that you have just inherited a project from the previous post-doc that just walked out the door or that your lab has not published in the past year or two and your PI has a unquenchable thirst for a paper.

Therefore survival in the lab while you wait for the storm to pass can turn into your main goal. However, without crushing your soul in the process, earning respect and restoring your confidence can be achieved with a little extra prep work. Here a two short tips on how to improve your relationship with your PI or Professor:

1. Arrive to work on time: Like any other business, your boss won’t like tardiness, even if you were in the lab late the night before, your PI won’t care. They’ll just think it’s part of the job and won’t pity you. Arriving back early in the morning will show commitment to the job and an eagerness to succeed, the exact reason they want you there.
2. Reply to all their emails: excessive emails from your PI every hour of the day, especially when you are sleeping, trying not to dream about the lab are a common occurrence. Due to the spamming of your inbox, sometimes you can let emails slip and take less notice of their micromanaging, thus sustaining the idea that ignorance is bliss. However, responding to their barrage of emails lets them know that you listen and want to take their guidance, and soon will help with them listening to their your crazy ideas