Questions to Ask During Postdoc Interview
Questions for a postdoc interview or lab visit, covering project ownership and authorship, how long the funding is secured, the principal investigator's record with previous postdocs, and what you would leave with.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What would my project be, and how much of it is already defined?
Why ask it
There is a large difference between finishing a grant's specific aims and shaping a new direction, and both are legitimate. What matters is that you know which one you are being offered before you arrive.
Whose project would it be: could I take a version of it with me when I leave?
Why ask it
This is the single most consequential question for anyone hoping to run their own group, and it is much harder to raise later. A PI who has thought about it will describe what you could carve out and what stays with the lab.
How is authorship decided here, including first and last author positions?
Why ask it
Ask for the rule and for a recent example, because practice varies widely between groups doing similar work. Vagueness here is the most common source of postdoc conflict, and it is largely avoidable by asking now.
How long is the funding for this position secured, and what happens at the end of it?
Why ask it
You need the end date of the money, not the intended length of the post. If the grant runs out in eighteen months, ask what has happened to people in that situation before, and whether the renewal is submitted or only planned.
How often would we meet, and what does your mentoring look like week to week?
Why ask it
Styles range from daily bench conversations to quarterly check-ins, and neither is wrong if it matches how you work. Ask what happens when something stops working, because that is when the difference matters.
How many postdocs have you supervised, and where are they now?
Why ask it
The list of destinations tells you more about your prospects than any statement of support. If most left research entirely, ask about it directly rather than assuming the worst or the best.
How long do people usually stay in the group, and has anyone left early?
Why ask it
Early departures are not automatically a warning, since people follow partners and take industry offers. A pattern of them, or reluctance to discuss it, is worth understanding before you move cities.
What did the last person on this project publish, and how long did it take?
Why ask it
This grounds the publication expectation in something real rather than aspirational. A project that has produced nothing in three years may be technically stuck in ways nobody has named yet.
What does the group do when a line of work is not producing results?
Why ask it
Every project fails somewhere, and the response determines whether you lose six months or two years. Look for evidence of decisions being taken deliberately rather than experiments continuing by inertia.
Who else would work on this project: students, technicians, collaborators?
Why ask it
Shared projects need clear boundaries, especially where a student's thesis overlaps your paper. Ask who is responsible for which figure, which sounds pedantic now and prevents a serious problem later.
What equipment and core facilities would I have access to, and are there waiting times?
Why ask it
Access on paper and access in practice differ, particularly for shared instruments and sequencing. Ask how long a typical turnaround takes and whether the lab has priority or pays per use.
What is the salary for this post, and how does it change year to year?
Why ask it
Postdoc pay is often set by an institutional or funder scale, so ask which scale and which step. Also ask whether the increments are automatic, since some groups keep everyone at the entry step.
What benefits come with the position, and would the institution sponsor a visa if I needed one?
Why ask it
Health cover, pension, parental leave, and immigration support vary by contract type, and postdocs are sometimes appointed on terms that exclude them. Ask who handles this in the department, because the PI often will not know.
Would I be expected to write grants or fellowship applications, and would you support mine?
Why ask it
Writing your own funding is one of the main things that makes a postdoc worth doing, but only if the PI backs it. Ask whether previous postdocs have applied and what happened, since a supportive answer with no examples is thin.
Would I supervise students, and how much choice would I have about that?
Why ask it
Supervision is useful experience and a real drain on your own output, so the amount matters. Ask what happens if the arrangement is not working, and whether you would be listed as a co-supervisor formally.
Is teaching available if I want it, and is it paid or expected on top of the research?
Why ask it
If you are aiming at a faculty post that involves teaching, you need some, and the terms differ between departments. Unpaid teaching added to a full research load is worth identifying before you agree to it.
What hours does the group actually keep?
Why ask it
Ask what time people arrive and leave, and whether weekends are normal. The honest answer is usually visible on a lab visit, so compare what you are told with what you see.
How do you handle it when a postdoc's plans move away from academia?
Why ask it
Most postdocs do not end up in faculty positions, so a PI's response to this is important information. Support for internships, industry contacts, and time to apply are concrete; encouragement without any of those is not.
Could I speak with current members of the group without you present?
Why ask it
Any reasonable PI will arrange this without hesitation, and the conversation is the most reliable part of your visit. Ask the group about meeting frequency, authorship, and what they would change.
What would make you consider this postdoc a success in two or three years?
Why ask it
This gets you their real expectations, which may be a specific paper, a technique established in the lab, or a grant awarded. If their definition and yours differ, it is far better to find that out now.
Assessing a lab before you commit
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to check yourself
Read the group's output, not just the PI's
Look at the last few years of papers and ask who the first authors were. If they are mostly the PI's long-standing collaborators rather than trainees, ask what postdocs in the group have published.
Look up the funding
Grant databases in most countries are public. Knowing the award, its end date, and its aims lets you ask precise questions about the runway instead of relying on reassurance.
Find former group members
Two or three former postdocs are usually easy to identify and will often reply to a short, polite email. Ask what they would want to know if they were making the decision again.
Ask about the contract, not just the position
Postdoc appointments vary in length, renewal terms, notice periods, and whether they carry teaching obligations. Request the written terms before accepting, and check who employs you if the funding sits elsewhere.
What to look at during the visit
- Whether group members talk freely in front of each other, or become careful when the PI is in the room.
- Whether anyone describes a recent decision to stop doing something. Groups that never stop projects tend to accumulate stalled ones.
- Whether the equipment you would depend on is in use, broken, or booked out for weeks.
- How people describe group meetings: useful, adversarial, or a formality.
- Whether the PI is present in the building, on the road, or effectively unavailable, and whether the group has adapted to that.
Warning signs
No clear answer on authorship
Groups that decide authorship at the end, informally, produce the disputes that damage careers. Ask for the rule and treat a shrug as a real answer.
Funding described only as expected to be renewed
Renewal is never certain. Ask what the plan is if the application is unsuccessful, and whether the department has bridging arrangements.
You cannot speak to the group alone
This is straightforward to arrange, so refusal or repeated deflection is informative in itself.
The project sounds like completing someone else's abandoned work
Ask what happened to the person who started it. Inheriting a stalled project without changing its direction rarely produces a paper you can build a career on.
Pressure to accept immediately
Relocation, and often immigration, follow from this decision. A reasonable PI will give you a week or two and answer questions in writing.
What is worth asking for before you accept
Things PIs can often agree to
- 1The starting step on the salary scale, particularly if you have prior postdoc experience.
- 2A written note of which parts of the project you could continue independently later.
- 3A conference budget, or a commitment to one meeting a year.
- 4Time protected for writing your own fellowship application, with a date attached.
- 5Relocation support, or a start date that gives you time to move.
How to raise it
- 1Ask after an offer is made, not during the interview.
- 2Put it in one email, listing two or three items rather than a long set of conditions.
- 3Give a reason tied to the work: I would like to submit a fellowship in the first year, so I want to agree the writing time now.
- 4Accept a clear no gracefully, and note it, because it tells you how future requests will go.