35
votes
Accepted
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
No, it's not a red flag at all, you are overthinking it.
While on the face of it the situation looks a bit like back-channel reference solicitation, which if frowned upon, I think this situation is ...
- 3,993
27
votes
What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
Wait until you are treated like that by someone that is actually below you in the "pecking order". Yes, that happens, and, trust me, it is not easier to handle by people who are generally ...
- 46.6k
18
votes
What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
Without a lot more specific context it is difficult to judge what you should do. The answer of Captain Emacs seems to be pretty good advice, however.
But let me point out that there is a vast (vast) ...
- 344k
12
votes
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
In my experience this is not uncommon. (Although I guess the uncommon element is that you were not asked for a list of (potential) references when you applied, or did not give your advisor as a ...
- 11.5k
7
votes
What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
Joint research in academia is a bit like dating, except that the first date lasts about a year. We sometimes try people out, doing joint work with them on an initial project, but then we find that we ...
- 64k
6
votes
Contacting Department about a Job (UK)
It can help at some points in the process. Not the fact that you made contact has influence, but the fact that by getting in touch and asking appropriate questions can assist you in making your ...
- 16.9k
6
votes
Contacting Department about a Job (UK)
The practices vary across different Departments/Universities in the UK.
If a University/Department follow a formal process, in which applications are assessed against the selection criteria, then &...
- 53.7k
5
votes
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
It is 50% of a red flag.
Some PhD students have advisors who behave badly or unreasonably. Others might have all kinds of other reasons for not wanting their advisors to be approached like this. For ...
- 1,652
4
votes
What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
Receiving harsh comments is not easy to deal with, but I don't think there is anything disrespectful unless the professor makes personal comments. I believe there is an obvious line between providing ...
- 3,599
3
votes
A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?
For me it’s 50/50 red flag. If you have officially provided list of references, then your potential postdoc PI should be contacting them first. If you haven’t provided contact details of your major ...
- 513
3
votes
What to do when a senior co-author is very disrespectful?
I do not know the situation, but were these comments received in email (or writing) or in-person?
Personally, I think I tend to give very direct feedback, no extra 'fluff' in when giving written ...
- 4,694
3
votes
Contacting Department about a Job (UK)
This is in addition to the excellent asnwers by Dmitry Savostyanov and Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩 with which I fully agree.
Contacting a department prior to applying also gives you a chance to determine ...
- 2,314
1
vote
Etiquette for reaching out to previous students of advisor
In general, contacting former students of your advisor is a good thing. I am very close to many of the former students of my advisor. We have a lot of common bonds because we study the same area, ...
- 121
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