Early Career Mentoring Program – BECOME

Early Career (EC) members are a critical group of the SPSP community, with an increasing number of them holding positions as postdocs, teaching faculty, or becoming professionals in industry. Meeting the mentorship needs of a diverse range of EC scholars is a key priority for our committee, and indeed the field more generally. 

EC members can benefit greatly from mentorship, but the availability of mentorship can vary widely. To facilitate more equitable access to mentorship and the success of early career members with diverse needs, BECOME is designed to connect SPSP EC members with mid-to-late career social/personality psychologists within the SPSP community.

To meet different mentoring needs, the mentorship program will involve three different types of mentoring events (over Zoom):

1. Individual Meetings: Mentees will meet with their mentor virtually (one-on-one) 3 times per year. Mentors will be provided with a list of potential topics for discussion, but we hope conversations will also be generated organically based on mentee needs (which they will identify prior to joining the program). You must be available to meet with your mentor for the first individual meeting in the first quarter of 2023.
2. Small Group Meeting: Mentors and mentees will also meet in a small group format (i.e., one mentor with their 2-3 mentees who have similar mentoring needs) 3 times per year. This will allow mentees with similar mentoring needs/experiences/challenges to connect more deeply with each other as well as the mentor.
3. Full Cohort Meeting: All mentees (but not mentors) will meet 3 times per year in a full-cohort online session facilitated by the EC committee. These will be interactive sessions that will be focused on specific issues identified by the mentoring cohort (e.g., group discussion on challenges and solutions to time management; break-out group practice, and feedback on elevator pitches, etc.).

We also hope to host a meet-up at SPSP 2023 in Atlanta (more details to follow).

To be eligible to participate in BECOME this year you must: 

• have received your PhD in 2017 or later (i.e., no more than 6 years post-PhD). Pre-graduates are not eligible for this program
• be willing to participate in the program events detailed above, including a welcome meeting with your mentor in the first quarter of 2023
• be intending to attend SPSP 2023 (accommodations for travel restrictions, COVID, and visa concerns will apply)

Applications are encouraged from people at all institutions (academic, industry, non-profit, government, etc.), backgrounds (e.g., different academic/training/demographic backgrounds), and nationalities. Members from historically underrepresented groups in social/personality psychology are especially encouraged to apply. These groups include but are not necessarily limited to: ethnic and racial minorities; first-generation college students; LGBTQ+ members; veterans; and members with a disability.