The adviser's overall responsibility is to help advance the postdoc's scientific abilities and professional career. The adviser who regards a postdoc as a colleague-in-the-making will gain in productivity and rise in the estimation of other researchers.

The first task is to deliberate carefully before inviting a postdoc to join a program. What is this person's potential for making important contributions to research, both as a scholar and as a member of the lab or research team? How well might his or her particular skills fit strategically within the organization? Although these questions can seldom be answered with certainty, the adviser who seeks references and a face-to-face meeting has a better chance of making a match that benefits both the program and the postdoc.

At the beginning of an appointment, most postdocs benefit from trying to develop a “training plan” that is adapted to the activities of the adviser or laboratory. The attempt may or may not succeed at the outset, but it serves the purposes of stimulating early communication, teaching the importance of thinking strategically, and moving the postdoc forward. Laying out research objectives should be a mutual responsibility until the postdoc is ready to conceive, plan, and execute his or her own research project.

The adviser can help frame a good problem in several ways. Most important, the postdoc must care deeply about it—and this