Career development of postdocs: a qualitative study of mentoring communication patterns

For the career development of postdocs in academia, universities in Germany are offering mentoring programs to postdocs. They aim to encourage, support and mentor the postdocs toward professorship via face-to-face mentoring, workshops, and networking support. The mentoring programs are carefully designed; however, their success is dependent on multiple factors. The study explores the communication patterns in mentoring between professors and postdocs, and its impact on their professional development. Data was collected and analyzed using Grounded Theory. The data was collected from twenty-five semi-structured in-depth interviews with professors and postdocs across Germany. Classicand Constructivist Grounded Theory was used for data analysis. The paper presents a Communication in Mentoring Model for the professional development of postdocs. The model can be used as a tool to ensure successful communication for better professional relationships in mentoring as well as in professional environments. The paper recommends a longitudinal study to further explore Communication in Mentoring and its impact on postdocs over a period of time.