Got Postdoc email offer. How much time to get Official Offer letter?

[prat87]

Hello friends,
Recently I have been offered a postdoc position from a reputed lab in one of the top 5 universities in the world (US university). After I accepted the offer through email, the lab HR asked me for my permanent mailing address and anticipated start date so that they can send me the official offer letter (with salary, leave, contracts, etc.). Considering the visa processing times (for US) and the notice period (3 months) to my current organization, I gave an anticipated start date after three and a half months.

It has been 10 days I haven't got an official offer letter yet. I am bit anxious now because -- I am leaving my current postdoc before the contract (1 year) so I think I should inform my current supervisor well before the notice period (3 months) so that I don't end up my current postdoc on bad terms. (Regarding my current postdoc: It is also in one of the top universities, and I have finished around 6 months already and expect to leave the current lab at 9 months before joining the new lab. My current supervisor is cool. Here I have made good progress so far.)

So, I have three questions:

1. How much time it generally takes to get an official offer letter after accepting an offer through email?
2. They asked for my permanent mailing address. Is it possible they send my offer letter on my mailing address? or through email?
3. How long should I wait to write an email to inquire about when I can expect to receive an official offer letter? Will it be desperate if I send an email within 2 weeks?
4.  How should I approach my current postdoc supervisor about this new position?


Thanks in advance :)

[polly_mer]

If you can make the timezones work, call your new postdoc supervisor or contact at HR and ask the timeline.  Otherwise, email is fine now.

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.  You have the job and need to be moving forward.  That's very different from being one applicant early in the process pestering the committee.

[youllneverwalkalone]

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.

This. You are far enough in the process that you don't need to walk on eggshells. Just ask the information you need. Consider that it is also summertime and several people are on vacation.

As for how to approach your current supervisor, just give it to them straight, don't think too much about it. You were employed on a 1-year postdoc and is expected that you be looking for other positions on an ongoing basis. Moreover, since you will be completing 9 out of 12 months and presumably will have done the bulk of the work by then, it shouldn't even be that hard a conversation. 

[Kron3007]

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.

This. You are far enough in the process that you don't need to walk on eggshells. Just ask the information you need. Consider that it is also summertime and several people are on vacation.

As for how to approach your current supervisor, just give it to them straight, don't think too much about it. You were employed on a 1-year postdoc and is expected that you be looking for other positions on an ongoing basis. Moreover, since you will be completing 9 out of 12 months and presumably will have done the bulk of the work by then, it shouldn't even be that hard a conversation.

I don't know about this being a non-issue with your current PI.  If I sign someone up for a 1 year contract I would want them to fulfil the contract.  This would be a different story if they were leaving for a TT position, that would be expected and encouraged, but less so for another postdoc.  In my field 1 year is not a lot of time.  It takes months to get someone trained and there would be a lot of things that remain unfinished.  You leaving will likely leave them with a bunch of unfinished work without enough time or money  to find/train a replacement. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't leave, but it would have been better to push the start date if possible, and you should recognize this could be disruptive for your current PI. 

[Ruralguy]

Even if it weren't a "non-issue" what difference would it make? You can't be forced to fulfill a contract, and its extremely rare that any institution would sue you for breach or try to garnish wages to help pay for finding your replacement, or anything like that. That is, the supervisor might be somewhat upset, but if you are intent on going, you'll go, and everyone will survive.

[youllneverwalkalone]

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.

This. You are far enough in the process that you don't need to walk on eggshells. Just ask the information you need. Consider that it is also summertime and several people are on vacation.

As for how to approach your current supervisor, just give it to them straight, don't think too much about it. You were employed on a 1-year postdoc and is expected that you be looking for other positions on an ongoing basis. Moreover, since you will be completing 9 out of 12 months and presumably will have done the bulk of the work by then, it shouldn't even be that hard a conversation.

I don't know about this being a non-issue with your current PI.  If I sign someone up for a 1 year contract I would want them to fulfil the contract.  This would be a different story if they were leaving for a TT position, that would be expected and encouraged, but less so for another postdoc.  In my field 1 year is not a lot of time.  It takes months to get someone trained and there would be a lot of things that remain unfinished.  You leaving will likely leave them with a bunch of unfinished work without enough time or money  to find/train a replacement. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't leave, but it would have been better to push the start date if possible, and you should recognize this could be disruptive for your current PI.

Well, I haven't quite called it a "non-issue" either. My point is that it is probably "better" (read "less likely to leave things unfinished") to leave after having completed 75% of one's contract rather than earlier. Ultimately, the details of the situation matter substantially, i.e. what kind of experimental work was involved, how much of that has been done, how to address any unfinished stuff, etc.  From the tenor of the OP it sounded like they may have finished the bulk of the work by then, though I may be reaching here.

I find your point that leaving for a TT position is acceptable whereas leaving for a postdoc isn't to be somewhat moot. Again, we simply don't know the details enough to make that call. Maybe the next postdoc is better aligned with the OP's research interest, maybe they have a spouse that work in that area they want to be close in, maybe it's a longer postdoc, maybe since it's in a top 5 university it will lead to significantly better career opportunity down the road, etc. I mean as a PI I know it 100% sucks to loose employees but that's the risk you accept with short-term employments. I have been on both sides of the situation often enough to know that people need to do what's best for them at the end of the day.

Your suggestion to push the start date is excellent and OP should definitely consider it, if at all possible.

[Kron3007]

Even if it weren't a "non-issue" what difference would it make? You can't be forced to fulfill a contract, and its extremely rare that any institution would sue you for breach or try to garnish wages to help pay for finding your replacement, or anything like that. That is, the supervisor might be somewhat upset, but if you are intent on going, you'll go, and everyone will survive.

No, no one will sue or try to garnish your wages, but what may have been a stellar LOR could shift to Luke warm.  Regardless of any punishments though, I feel you should finish a contract unless there is good reason not to.  This is like leaving a 1-year teaching contract during the semester, it should be avoided when possible.

If the next position can't wait 3 months and it is good for your career, you should leave early, but if they can wait I think finishing the current contract is the right course of action. 

[Kron3007]

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.

This. You are far enough in the process that you don't need to walk on eggshells. Just ask the information you need. Consider that it is also summertime and several people are on vacation.

As for how to approach your current supervisor, just give it to them straight, don't think too much about it. You were employed on a 1-year postdoc and is expected that you be looking for other positions on an ongoing basis. Moreover, since you will be completing 9 out of 12 months and presumably will have done the bulk of the work by then, it shouldn't even be that hard a conversation.

I don't know about this being a non-issue with your current PI.  If I sign someone up for a 1 year contract I would want them to fulfil the contract.  This would be a different story if they were leaving for a TT position, that would be expected and encouraged, but less so for another postdoc.  In my field 1 year is not a lot of time.  It takes months to get someone trained and there would be a lot of things that remain unfinished.  You leaving will likely leave them with a bunch of unfinished work without enough time or money  to find/train a replacement. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't leave, but it would have been better to push the start date if possible, and you should recognize this could be disruptive for your current PI.

Well, I haven't quite called it a "non-issue" either. My point is that it is probably "better" (read "less likely to leave things unfinished") to leave after having completed 75% of one's contract rather than earlier. Ultimately, the details of the situation matter substantially, i.e. what kind of experimental work was involved, how much of that has been done, how to address any unfinished stuff, etc.  From the tenor of the OP it sounded like they may have finished the bulk of the work by then, though I may be reaching here.

I find your point that leaving for a TT position is acceptable whereas leaving for a postdoc isn't to be somewhat moot. Again, we simply don't know the details enough to make that call. Maybe the next postdoc is better aligned with the OP's research interest, maybe they have a spouse that work in that area they want to be close in, maybe it's a longer postdoc, maybe since it's in a top 5 university it will lead to significantly better career opportunity down the road, etc. I mean as a PI I know it 100% sucks to loose employees but that's the risk you accept with short-term employments. I have been on both sides of the situation often enough to know that people need to do what's best for them at the end of the day.

Your suggestion to push the start date is excellent and OP should definitely consider it, if at all possible.

Yes, definitely depends on the specifics.  I am obviously writing from the perspective of my field, where 1 year is pretty short to get anything substantial completed.  If a postdoc left me after 9 months without notice to plan, chances are the whole thing was a waste of time as there would be so many loose ends and unfinished work.  Perhaps this would not be the case in some fields.

[scamp]

This is a situation where you can follow-up and get the information you need, as long as you're not doing it hourly and in a demanding voice.

This. You are far enough in the process that you don't need to walk on eggshells. Just ask the information you need. Consider that it is also summertime and several people are on vacation.

As for how to approach your current supervisor, just give it to them straight, don't think too much about it. You were employed on a 1-year postdoc and is expected that you be looking for other positions on an ongoing basis. Moreover, since you will be completing 9 out of 12 months and presumably will have done the bulk of the work by then, it shouldn't even be that hard a conversation.

I don't know about this being a non-issue with your current PI.  If I sign someone up for a 1 year contract I would want them to fulfil the contract.  This would be a different story if they were leaving for a TT position, that would be expected and encouraged, but less so for another postdoc.  In my field 1 year is not a lot of time.  It takes months to get someone trained and there would be a lot of things that remain unfinished.  You leaving will likely leave them with a bunch of unfinished work without enough time or money  to find/train a replacement. 

I'm not saying you shouldn't leave, but it would have been better to push the start date if possible, and you should recognize this could be disruptive for your current PI.

Well, I haven't quite called it a "non-issue" either. My point is that it is probably "better" (read "less likely to leave things unfinished") to leave after having completed 75% of one's contract rather than earlier. Ultimately, the details of the situation matter substantially, i.e. what kind of experimental work was involved, how much of that has been done, how to address any unfinished stuff, etc.  From the tenor of the OP it sounded like they may have finished the bulk of the work by then, though I may be reaching here.

I find your point that leaving for a TT position is acceptable whereas leaving for a postdoc isn't to be somewhat moot. Again, we simply don't know the details enough to make that call. Maybe the next postdoc is better aligned with the OP's research interest, maybe they have a spouse that work in that area they want to be close in, maybe it's a longer postdoc, maybe since it's in a top 5 university it will lead to significantly better career opportunity down the road, etc. I mean as a PI I know it 100% sucks to loose employees but that's the risk you accept with short-term employments. I have been on both sides of the situation often enough to know that people need to do what's best for them at the end of the day.

Your suggestion to push the start date is excellent and OP should definitely consider it, if at all possible.

Yes, definitely depends on the specifics.  I am obviously writing from the perspective of my field, where 1 year is pretty short to get anything substantial completed.  If a postdoc left me after 9 months without notice to plan, chances are the whole thing was a waste of time as there would be so many loose ends and unfinished work.  Perhaps this would not be the case in some fields.

If you were only offering a one year postdoc, then you should expect someone may leave after 9 months. If this is 9 months into a 2 year postdoc, then I do think it is a pretty crappy thing to do if it can be avoided, as you probably have screwed over the project somewhat.