The University of Liverpool’s first ‘business-as-usual’ Prosper cohort will be drawing to a close later this month.  

Since February, a diverse cohort of 30 postdocs from across a broad range of disciplines have undertaken a holistic, six-month programme of career coaching and development workshops, aimed at empowering them to identify their current skills and the tools to seek the information they need to take charge of their career planning and self-development. 

As with our pilots, we’ll be evaluating the impact of the cohort after it ends. However, back in April we also took the time to check-in with the cohort with an informal in-person focus group – to get a sense of how the participants were finding the experience, and to start thinking about any potential improvements. 

Cohort members were encouraged to give us their thoughts and opinions in response to the following prompts: 

  1. Any highlight/s? 
  1. Any comments or feedback regarding the session times/dates/mix of in-person and virtual? Is the balance about right? 
  1. Has Prosper met what you were expecting so far? Have your expectations been met? 
  1. What would you like to see going forward for fellow postdocs/ the next cohort? How would you like to see these changes implemented?   
  1. Any other thoughts or suggestions? 

Here are some of the main threads that emerged – the circular packing diagrams group comments by common theme/point, and represent the number of similar bits of feedback in response to questions: 

The importance of the community element 

Figure 1. The circular packing diagram shows the highlights reported in the feedback collected (answers to question 1). Six themes were identified and are shown in a hierarchy from most commonly mentioned to least (the larger the circle the more times it was mentioned). The themes identified were, community > tools and resources > career coaching > career exploration = decision making > building confidence. Number of responses we classed as relating to each theme is as follows; community = 19, tools and resources = 6, career coaching = 4, career exploration = 3, decision making = 3, building confidence = 1.
Figure 1. The circular packing diagram shows the highlights reported in the feedback collected (answers to question 1: Any highlight/s?) 

Community was a major theme that emerged from our pilot cohorts, and it emerged just as strongly here as the dominant highlight category. 

Career coaching, portal resources, sessions etc. are all concrete things with clear benefits – but aside from individual resources, what can really make the difference is providing postdocs with a peer community to knit it all together, allowing individual resources to really shine and maximising their impact. 

We broke the ‘community’ category down further for more detail: 

Figure 2. A circular packing diagram shows the subthemes reported in the feedback collected around the community highlight (shown as the most commonly report theme in fig. 1). Six subthemes were identified and are shown in a hierarchy from most commonly mentioned to least. The themes identified were, Similarities > connecting with others > Shared anxieties and struggles > Dissimilarities = Buddy groups = Action and accountability. N=19 total number comments classed as ‘community’. Comments could be classed as relating to more than one theme. Number of comments by subtheme; Similarities = 9, Connecting with others = 6, Shared anxieties and struggles = 4, dissimilarities = 3, buddy groups = 3, action and accountability =3.
Figure 2. A circular packing diagram shows the sub-themes reported in the feedback collected around the community highlight (shown as the most commonly reported theme in fig. 1) 

The reasons why the community element is so important can be seen in the above breakdown.  

Postdocs often are or feel as though they are working alone, focussed on their particular research project or question – it can, in this sense, be a lonely and isolated work environment.  

Prosper cohort members – here and in our pilots – consistently report how much they value the ability to connect with other postdocs from other disciplines, and to engage with career development in a mutual setting. The cohort model enables postdocs to discover shared anxieties and struggles, creating a safe space for peer support, accountability and problem-solving. 

One particular highlight for us relating to this element is the fact that this is the first of our cohorts where we have been able to run several physical in-person sessions, due to our pilots having taken place during the pandemic period. 

To quote some individual pieces of feedback: 

'[The highlight was] connecting with and meeting other postdocs – finding out that even if they’re in different disciplines the struggles are the same!' 

'[The highlight was] meeting a community of others that are also unsure on their career path, and wanting to explore options!' 

Finding the right mix of in-person and online development sessions 

Figure 3. A circular packing diagram showing the themes around session time, duration and scheduling (answers to question 2). The top five most commonly reported themes in order are; no or few issues, would like more in-person sessions, would like sessions at the start and/or end of the day, want broad group discussions = avoid holding sessions on the same day as career coaching. Number of responses for each theme is as follows; No or few issues = 16, Would like more in-person sessions = 10, would like sessions at the start or end of the day = 4, want broad group discussions = 2, avoid holding sessions on the same day as career coaching = 2, the rest of the themes had one response each.
Figure 3. A circular packing diagram showing the themes around session time, duration and scheduling (answers to question 2: Any comments or feedback regarding the session times/dates/mix of in-person and virtual? Is the balance about right?) 

While a plurality of the cohort was happy with the mix between in-person and online activity, a notable minority reported a demand for more of an in-person element. 

This is perhaps unsurprising considering how much cohort members value the community element, as discussed above. However, there is always a tricky balance to be struck here – one of Prosper’s core pillars is inclusivity/removing barriers to access, and for some postdocs located remotely (for example) attending live, in-person sessions can represent a barrier. 

Meeting expectations 

Figure 4. A circular packing diagram showing if the expectations of cohort members had been met (answers to question 3). Four response types were given, in order of occurrence these were: yes> no = somewhat > didn't have many expectations. Number of responses per answer were as follows; yes = 9, no = 2, somewhat = 2, didn’t have any expectations = 1.
Figure 4. A circular packing diagram showing if the expectations of cohort members had been met (answers to question 3: Has Prosper met what you were expecting so far? Have your expectations been met?) 

Overall, the feedback revealed that the cohort was largely meeting the expectations of the participants – which is encouraging. However, there were a variety of suggestions for improvement… 

Continuous Improvement: Taking Action 

Figure 5. A circular packing diagram showing the changes the cohort would suggest making for the next cohort (answers to question 4). Six themes were identified. In order of most commonly mentioned to least they were; More time for discussions > More in-person session = Careers fair or job shadowing = more tailored > more 1-2-1 coaching = more values discovery. Number of responses per theme was as follows; More time for discussions = 5, More in-person session = 2, Careers fair or job shadowing = 2, more tailored = 2, more 1-2-1 coaching =1, more values discovery = 1.
Figure 5. A circular packing diagram showing the changes the cohort would suggest making for the next cohort (answers to question 4: What would you like to see going forward for fellow postdocs/ the next cohort? How would you like to see these changes implemented?) 

Taking into account the valuable feedback received, balanced with Prosper 's remit and resources, we'll be implementing several changes for the next cohort. Here's a glimpse of what participants can expect: 

  • More time for discussion: We'll look to create more ‘discussion time’ within certain sessions to facilitate more in-depth group exploration of topics 
  • Optimised scheduling: We'll minimise scheduling sessions on the same day as career coaching sessions, ensuring participants have ample time for each activity. 
  • Rebalancing in-person vs. virtual sessions: We'll strike a balance between in-person and virtual sessions, catering to both on-site and remote participants. 

We're committed to continuous improvement and believe that incorporating these changes will further enhance the Prosper postdoc cohort experience. We're grateful to the current cohort for their valuable feedback, and we look forward to welcoming a new group of postdocs in the next cohort!