Back in the days when almost all work was done on site, the concept of face time (the English idiom, not Apple’s FaceTime) started to rub people the wrong way. If you are not familiar with this corporate-speak, face time refers to being seen often around the office, especially by higher-ups.

In decades past, those wanting to get ahead were encouraged to get more face time by staying late, eating lunch with coworkers, and going to happy hours. The idea was that by having those in positions of authority see you more, they would think of you as hard working and therefore like you more. This was seen to be good for your career. And, being around more did increase the number of informal and off-the-record conversations you could have with colleagues.

The concept of face time was found in the academic environment, even though the term was rarely used there. Generally, hanging around the department was seen as a good thing for graduate students, for all of the above reasons.

However, the problem is that not everyone can maximize face time to the same extent. Parents with daycare pick-ups need to leave at a certain time. And there are many reasons why someone would choose to eat lunch alone or use a lunch break for an errand rather than linger in a breakroom.

Because of changes during the COVID pandemic, even the most traditional on-site work environments were forced to adjust, and what constitutes face time has changed as well.

So how do we take what’s good about face time, like the increased opportunities for informal conversations, while leaving aside the exclusion that traditionally has come with it?

The answer is by having an online presence.

Yes, you will still run into students and others in the department in the hallway. However, the most likely place to run into those outside your immediate network is (drum roll) online.

Beginning a habit of weekly posting on a social media platform is the first step. If you can’t think of what to post, start with the following suggestions:

• You publish a paper

• You give an invited talk

• You attend a conference

• Share a new (or old) paper from your field with your commentary

• Give a colleague a shout out for one of their accomplishments

There is much more you can do with social media, and I encourage you to engage as creatively as you can, but the above are better than nothing. If you are already posting these kinds of updates, congratulations — you are ahead of most. If you have not yet begun, consider committing to sharing the above milestones where they can be seen in the town square.

In decades past, like it or not, face time did matter, and it still does. It all comes down to ‘know, like and trust,’ which is the basis for any relationship that parties choose to enter.

Today’s virtual town square is more of an equalizer than was the traditional on-site workplace. A remote location is no problem. You can write or record posts when it is convenient for you, and schedule them to appear later. And, you may just find that the town square is not all that crowded.

Workshop for New Faculty & Researchers

For the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) PI Intensive for New Faculty and Researchers: Building the Tools for Your Career in Research

This day-and-a-half workshop will take place in Chicago on October 24-25th .

We will dive into topics such as

✔️ Understanding the responsibilities of a principal investigator

✔️ Developing competitive grant applications

✔️ Negotiating effectively with your institution

✔️ Employing project management approaches in research

I am co-leading this event. Please see this page for more information and to register. Note that this is an SRAI (not a Wise Investigator) event.

It would be wonderful to meet some newsletter subscribers in person in Chicago. Please send me an email ([email protected]) if you have any questions. 👋 

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 10-week program to get you there.

Ready to book a call to discuss our program or to have Dr. Barzyk provide training at your institution? Let’s chat!