Step 1: Prep for the Conversation

To illustrate this approach, we are using the case study of Finn*, a

third-year student about to start a new project/set of experiments when COVID shut down their lab.  

Now that the labs are opening up again, they have the option to go back in the lab but aren't sure they will get enough hours to complete their previous project and/or access to the postdoc who planned to teach them some of the techniques necessary to make progress. 

They would like to limit their travel on public transportation from the East Bay until they see how transit maintains safety with the additional volume. However, they are also concerned about missing out on valuable professional interactions and mentorship from their PI and postdocs if they aren't physically back in the lab/on campus, even for a limited time period.

Their first steps include three things: 1. Identifying optimal outcomes

2. Identifying issues and concerns

3. Considering what information and support they would need.

Below, Finn sketches out their situation to prepare for a conversation.

As a final point on preparing for a conversation, we'd like to turn to helping your PI prepare for the conversation as well. If you decide to have a conversation with your PI, it can help to signal your intent so your PI is not caught off guard. A quick email or a statement at the end of a conversation or meeting would be a good 'head's up' for your PI. Sample language could be something like the following:

• "At our next 1:1, could we take 30 minutes to review my career goals and plan?"
• "In light of COVID, it seems a good idea to review my training plan for the next 3 months. Could we discuss this at our next 1:1?"

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STEP 2: Have the Conversation

When preparing to have a training/career conversation (or negotiation) with your PI, it helps to remember this simple structure. 

• A. You Open: (the conversation with your ask.
• B. You Work: (with their response to your ask- they will either agree (the Yes), disagree (the No), or a response that is unclear or unresolved (the Fog). 
• C. You Close: After engaging with the person, you will either come to an agreement, agree to disagree, or need to gather more information. 
   

A. You Open:

The goal of 'an Open' is often toestablish the agenda for the meeting.

Look at the slide to the right to see Finn's language for his open during the meeting. 

If you want to brainstorm ideas or practice the language for your own opening to 'set the agenda' for your conversation, you can schedule an appointment with a career counselor in the OCPD.

B. You Work:

You need to be an active participant during a conversation when you are asking for something/negotiating. This effort is literally "work". In fact, you might not have known that the etymology for the word negotiation is "lack of leisure", or, literally, work.

After you ask, you need to actively note their reaction and response. Many people are caught off guard during a negotiation, so it helps to note that in general, you have one of three responses from the person with whom you are speaking: "Yes", "No" and "Maybe/Unclear", which we call "The Fog". Each option has it's own subset of responses. 

• If you receive a positive response, be sure to thank your PI for their time and support.
• If you receive a negative response, you will probably be understandably disappointed. But rather than defend an initial request or try to talk your way to having a person change their mind, savvy negotiators switch to information-gathering mode, asking questions to understand more about what factors are influencing their decision. That's because you can always schedule another meeting later to discuss your situation further.
• If you receive anything other than a clear yes or no,  you will also need to gather more information to understand their concerns and see if you can address them. 

Look at the slide to the right of this section to see sample questions you might ask if you receive a negative or unclear response.
 

C. You Close

You also use three different 'closes' based on each of the response possibilities:

• If you receive a positive response, move to discuss tangible next steps and timelines, and be sure to thank them again for their support.
• If you receive a 'no' thank them for their time and attention, and/or willingness to consider your request/hear you out.
• If you receive a response that is unclear to you, 'A Fog', you can thank them for their time, and consider their response more fully on your own time.

You can look at the slide to the right to see sample language.

STEP 3: Post Conversation

It is useful to think of professional interactions/negotiations as an ongoing series of engagements rather than a single conversation. Each person may have received new information and need time to reflect on what they heard or what was requested.

For this reason, students and postdocs would be wise to define the first conversation's goal as "understanding or confirming your PI position to your request" and focus future conversations on actually negotiating toward your definition of a good outcome.

• If your PI and you are in agreement, post conversation you focus on next steps and timelines.
• If your PI says no, or you feel unclear about your PI's response, you are going to need to focus your conversation on gathering as much information as possible. That's because if you reach out to other mentors for clarification and support, they are going to ask about your PI's reasoning.

For example, in Finn's case, if their PI rejected their pitch to stay at home/work on their F31, it is likely that their other mentors (thesis committee members, undergraduate PI, the Associate Dean for Graduate Program, another mentor, etc.) it is likely that they would ask questions like:

• "Why did your PI say no?"
• "What did they think that you should do instead?"
• "Did they seem open to other options?"
• "How did you leave the conversation?"

So, Finn would be wise not to try to further convince their PI or further defend their preferred outcome at this time, but shift to gathering information from their PI to have a productive conversation with other mentors later.