A selection of current news items for managers of Early Career Researchers.

Research management

Rankings: arbitrary, anomalous and artificial? Questions about whether university rankings say anything meaningful about quality and value.

Academic life 2021. Researchers' ideas for accommodating the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on their work and careers.

Evaluation re-set required. Systems for assessing research need to be adjusted to avoid no-fault disadvantage to researchers badly affected by COVID.

Beyond box-ticking. An experienced PI on the need for better-focused professional development training for ECRs with clear practical impact.

Graduate Education is broken. The US authors of a new book argue for big changes to fix the 'incoherence' of PhD programs. (Chronicle accounts are free for up to 2 articles per month)

Research is just the start. A reminder of the potentially critical role of communication skills support for PhD students and postdocs.

Model research leaders. Tips from outstanding mentors on developing researchers, plus mentorship advice from a Nobel Laureate.

Open access, but not as we know it. There's scepticism about the charges and practices adopted by some publishers to accommodate open access (... Open Research Europe to the rescue?).

JIF score inflation. The inexact science of Journal Impact Factors is about to become even less exact, with a change in the base counting model due in June 2021.

Keeping the peace. Advice from academic leaders on resolving conflict with, and between, faculty colleagues.

ECR career issues

Looking post-postdoc. A summary of the views of over 7,500 postdocs worldwide on their career prospects.

Fitting PhDs to our times. An almost moribund academic job market emphasises the need for more changes to the structure of doctoral programs.

Career ladder missing a rung. The findings of a post-COVID survey showed diminished prospects of ECRs getting career support from senior scholars.

Minding young minds. A recent PRIDE Network seminar offered insights into stress and mental health issues associated with ECR life (audio 1hr).

Hiring for excellence. How much does an ECR's record beyond publications really count in an academic job hunt? (T.H.E. accounts are free for up to 5 articles per month).

Tricky socials. Opinions on the double-edged sword of ECR outreach via social media, especially for research in potentially sensitive areas.

Defusing co-author dissent. Tips to pass onto ECRs on resolving disagreements over papers.

Picturing author credit. A visual matrix is a handy way for ECRs to get fair credit among multiple co-authors or represent contributions neatly in a CV.

Personal press

Zooming out. Zoom fatigue is real and may be gender-biased, but there are tactics we can all use to get through meetings with less of it.

Walking in others' shoes. An ECR development specialist on why empathy is a critical career skill, and how to refine it.

Work to your own clock. The principles and importance of synching with your 'inner clock'.

Learning to be OK with 'maybe'. How to make sure we don't let the desire for certainty get in the way of possibilities, progress and peace of mind.

The graceful decline. Understanding why we say 'yes' is a great first step in learning to say 'no' constructively.

The pros and cons of ambition. Thoughts on the career benefits of well-balanced ambition.

Serious research

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