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Brandeis University Mentorship Program for the Sciences

A banner reading, "You're invited to join BUMP for the sciences: Brandeis University Mentoring Program. Bump up your career with enriching one on one relationship."

BUMP up your career with the new Brandeis University Mentorship Program for the sciences! BUMP is a new program spearheaded by the Career Development for the Sciences (CDS) student group, designed to foster meaningful connections between alums and current graduate students in Brandeis science programs. Mentor careers range from private high school teaching, scientific writing/communication, small biotech startups, consulting, and big pharma all the way to CEOs and entrepreneurs. The goal of this student-led program is to provide students with an outside mentor with whom they can discuss their career goals and get advice on how to achieve them. The commitment will include meeting with your mentor at least three times a year (in-person or virtual — whichever works for the two of you) and both of you filling out a Google form summarizing what was discussed. Built-in flexibility allows you and your mentor to come up with strategies that work best for the both of you.

If you are interested in becoming a part of BUMP as either a mentee or mentor, please fill out this sign-up form. Please note that post-docs may only enroll in this program as mentors.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the founders, Anjali Pandey PhD’25 and Molecular and Cell Biology PhD student Camille Sullivan, at bump4thesciences@gmail.com.

If you are a Brandeis graduate student who is in a non-science program and is interested in organizing a similar program for your department, please contact Anjali and Camille! BUMP was designed with the intention to have different spinoff versions.

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BUMP Expectations

Mentees should be respectful of their mentor’s time: arriving to meetings on time and coming prepared.
Research your mentor: look up your mentor on LinkedIn and review their work experience (to have background information and to target your questions).
Have a brief introduction prepared and make sure to remember to introduce yourself!
Reflect on your own goals or questions and have them top of mind/in front of you so it is easy to bring these up during the discussion.
Be open to constructive criticism and different viewpoints/perspectives.
Communicate in a respectful manner.
Mentees should be taking notes and asking clarifying questions.
This is meant to be a back and forth conversation; please be sure to contribute.
Give 48 hours notice to cancel or reschedule (if something comes up last minute, please make sure to communicate to the other person).
If expectations are not being met, please contact us at bump4thesciences@gmail.com.

Example Questions

When scheduling your meeting, we highly recommend you send your mentor at least three questions/conversation topics you’d like to cover, at least forty-eight hours prior to your meeting. Some examples can be found below.

How do I achieve my career goals? How do I explore different career options?
Could you tell me a little bit about what your day to day looks like in [X] position?
What skills do you use in your job?
What skills do you think are important for success in your field?
Given what I have told about myself, is there a job description that matches my strengths?
What are some of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job?
What is something you wish someone had told you when you were a student?
What was the transition like from grad school to your first/current job?
Sample self introduction format:

a. Your program, year, and lab you are working in

b. 30-60 second summary of what you are working on (thesis work) and possibly any projects you work on outside of the lab (Ex. Sprout, GSA, volunteer work)

c. Previous experiences you had (undergraduate experiences, if there was any time between undergrad and graduate school)

For more questions or to practice your intro, please contact Marika McCann.