For a long time, I felt it disingenuous to supervise students while in postdoc limbo, thinking that the disruption and discontinuity of my moves from one institution to another would create more harm than good. Persistent students finally convinced me otherwise.

But to make supervision worthwhile for both parties, I’m jotting down a few words here to give you a sense of what to expect. While it’s specific to me and my sanity, I suspect you can take some of these insights to general supervisory relationships.

The more you put in, the more I will match your efforts. That said, everything I do in supervision is a mixed soup of unpaid labour, fulfilling a requirement for my own career advancement, and a genuinely rewarding experience to see growth happen in real time, over time. So, really, what fuels me is seeing you fired up.

The more organised you are, the more likely we’ll be a good fit for each other. Part of navigating your degree is staying on top of your own time/stress/project management while immersed in the chaos of others’ time/stress/projects. This is a skill, not a given; and it comes with life experiences and time spent practicing. In my view, having structured meetings and milestones ensure that we make the most of our time together. This isn’t to say that we can’t deviate and be freeform — life happens — but the default will be sticking to clear agreements.

I will not be your mother/therapist/copyeditor; but I will tell you everything I know. Especially with regards to navigating graduate degrees (2nd cycle/masters and 3rd cycle/PhD), part of the journey is for you to figure out your own operating manual as a professional/researcher/writer. I will absolutely be your cheerleader from the sidelines. Please also consider me part of your privy council who can advise you on content, format, the microcultures of academia.

If you’re based at an institution different from mine, it’s your responsibility to figure out the requirements. Different institutions have different rules about who can act as an external supervisor, both official and implicit. It’s up to you to figure out the bureaucracy and paperwork, and, if necessary, I will try my best to foresee issues that you can bring up to your department. I want to support you, but it’ll be hard to do so if the rules are not in our favour. Lastly, more supervisors does not always mean better. There can be too many cooks in the kitchen.

“I have an idea/draft. Can we meet tomorrow?” Please know that I do this because I care about future scholars, but that I might not always be available. More than anything, the hardest part about taking on supervisees is the constant switching from one project-world to another while also trying to fulfill my own projects. It’s a mental whiplash that I’m still not used to. Besides, check-ins that are regularly spaced out give us both time to digest and ruminate on your ideas and prepare for our next chat.

“I want to start a PhD. Would you recommend it? Can you be my supervisor?” are twin questions I receive at least twice a year. My answer will continually be: don’t do it unless you have a minimum of 4 years full funding or are independently wealthy; and already know what you want out of it. It might be a harsh stance, so do ask around for other perspectives. In my view, without having clarity on these preconditions, it’s a hard ask to commit yourself to this path.

If you’ve read this far and are still game — let’s give it a shot. Message me with a short explanation about how you see me slotting into your journey and how I’ll fit within the constellation of your committee. I’m keen to learn more about you as a person, your path, and your career ambitions. When we meet, tell me everything.

And if we’ve never met before, let’s start with a vibe check. Get in touch. Make your enthusiasm so infectious that I can’t help myself. And when we meet, be ready to tell me why the topic, why you, why me, and why now.

Reference Letters

I would be honoured to write you a letter of recommendation that will support your career journey. If it is my first time writing one for you, I will need a minimum of three weeks time to prepare it — no exceptions. If I’ve written you one before, I will still need one week minimum. If it’s been more than one year since we last interacted, I doubt I can write a strong enough letter for you so I suggest asking around for other candidates. In general, you never want to have a letter-writer be in a grumpy mindset when the task at hand is showcasing your excellence.

Write me a note here, and be sure to cc my university email address, with the following details:

• what’s the purpose of the letter? Give me some context.
• why am I the right person to write this recommendation?
• who exactly will be reading it? Include names, addresses, etc. if relevant.
• how long does the letter need to be in page numbers, word limit, or character count?
• when do you need it by?