The document provides "Ten Simple Rules" for both hiring someone and supervising them as a principal investigator. For hiring, it advises to look for something unusual in candidates while also considering their qualifications, publications, previous lab, funding, and skills. References should be checked thoroughly. For supervision, it recommends individualizing supervision styles, enabling strengths while improving weaknesses, treating all equally, addressing issues promptly, learning management strategies, helping with future positions, and treating supervisees as you would yourself.

1. Hiring and Supervising
Philip E. Bourne
University of California San Diego
pbourne@ucsd.edu
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2. Shameless Plug
• PLoS Comp. Biol. Ten Simple Rules Series
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3. Ten Simple Rules for Hiring Someone 1/2
1. Be respectful
2. Look for something out of the ordinary
3. Yet do not ignore the ordinary
– What have they published
– What lab have they come from
– Do they have their own funding
– What skill sets do they have that match what you
need
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4. Ten Simple Rules for Hiring Someone 2/2
4. Do not hire sight unseen
5. What do others in the laboratory think?
6. Hire based on work habits that match the
laboratory
7. Beware the start date
8. References are always good, but how good?
9. Talk to the references
10.Beware the bureaucracy
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5. Ten Simple Rules for Supervising 1/2
1. How to supervise may be genetic and not
nurtured
2. Supervision needs to be individualized as much
as possible
3. Supervisors should enable not disable
4. All those being supervised should be treated
equally
5. Identify strengths and weaknesses and play to
the strengths while working on the weaknesses
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6. Ten Simple Rules for Supervising 2/2
5. Do not let bad situations fester
6. Read at least one book on management –
recommendation Good to Great by Jim Collins
7. Take it as your responsibility to find the person
being supervised their next position
8. Know when to let go
9. Do not make promises you cant keep
10.Treat those being supervised as you treat
yourself
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