PhDSciNet Roundtable 3: Working with Your Supervisor

Historical interview: The following preserves the research experiences and personal views expressed in the original manuscript.

PhDSciNet Interview Series—A Guide to Working with Your Supervisor

Did you know that, beyond everyday research and study, learning to communicate closely and amicably with a boss or supervisor is also a required lesson for doctoral researchers?

For this interview, we invited two PhD graduates to join our discussion and share the approaches to working with supervisors that they have developed over the years!

We are very pleased to welcome two PhD graduates to this discussion. Could you each briefly introduce your background and tell us about your supervisor?

PhD 1: I graduated with my PhD in 2017 and am now a postdoctoral researcher. Our group has quite a few postdocs, around ten, along with five or six students. I work on optics in a physics department. My supervisor is a woman of Chinese heritage with a chemistry background who now works in both biology and physics.

PhD 2: I graduated from Western in 2019, and my doctoral research was in cybersecurity. I am now a researcher on an international collaborative project. Our group has around ten people, including two research engineers and three postdocs. My supervisor is a man of Chinese heritage who came from mainland China in the 1970s. His work is mainly in control systems and intelligent control. He is quite influential in Canada, belongs to both an academy of sciences and an academy of engineering, and collaborates extensively with industry.

01 Take the initiative in communicating with your supervisor

How do you usually communicate with your supervisors? Under what circumstances would you approach them?

PhD 1: Before the pandemic, we had a group meeting once a week. Our meetings were fairly formal, and everyone had to prepare a proper report. We also had one-to-one meetings for half an hour each week, and we could knock on the supervisor's door at any time. Our group's main communication platform was Slack, with different group channels a little like WeChat, as well as private messages with the supervisor. The supervisor generally sets the main arrangements, but if you want to request a meeting yourself, you can arrange it on Slack. It depends on how busy she is, but you can usually get a reply fairly quickly. I prefer face-to-face conversations. During the pandemic, I have also preferred video calls to email. You can see the other person's expression and get more direct feedback. Sometimes email does not convey emotion well, and you cannot see each other's expressions. You may be discussing something quite casually, but what you write can look slightly serious. I prefer face-to-face conversations. During the pandemic, I have also preferred video calls to email. You can see the other person's expression and get more direct feedback. Sometimes email does not convey emotion well, and you cannot see each other's expressions. You may be discussing something quite casually, but what you write can look slightly serious.

PhD 2: My situation feels rather different. Our supervisor is very busy, so he has hired two assistants, one of whom is specifically responsible for screening questions. If students want to speak to him, they generally talk to the assistant first. If the assistant can resolve the issue, there is no need to involve the supervisor. If not, the assistant arranges a one-to-one meeting between the supervisor and the student or postdoc. Our everyday communication is mainly by email, and we generally have one individual meeting a month. There are exceptions: near graduation, for example, I met with him almost every day. I requested those meetings myself to discuss specific details. We also generally have a group meeting every two weeks, using brainstorming as our main approach. During the pandemic, we have mainly used Zoom and email. When the goal is to solve a problem, I prefer meeting face to face because it is more efficient. Email can require many exchanges before you settle on a plan or make a final decision.

02 Follow up meetings with an email record

PhD 2: In some situations, such as when my supervisor is reviewing a paper, I confirm things by email after speaking face to face. Formal communication with the supervisor in our group is conducted by email. On the one hand, it is more formal; on the other, it leaves a record and is rather like a written commitment between the two parties. For example, we may have agreed on a schedule during the conversation, and both sides can acknowledge and confirm it. In that respect, I mainly use email.

PhD 1: A friend of mine encountered a related difficulty in communicating with his supervisor. One week, they discussed a project and agreed to use a particular model to process the data, so my friend followed the supervisor's suggestion. The following week, the supervisor looked at the new analysis and said it was wrong, asking why he had not used a different approach. The student replied, “Wasn't that my earlier approach?” Without a record, he could not establish that the supervisor had told him something different the previous week. I think that, for details of research methods, keeping an email record or even a chat history helps. At least you have some evidence.

PhD 2: Face-to-face discussion is the most effective way to work through a problem, because many things are difficult to explain by email, and it can be slow. Supervisors are sometimes too busy to read and reply to messages one by one. An issue might take eight to ten exchanges by email, when you could simply discuss it in person. But afterward, the outcome should be put into writing. Especially here in North America, I think people generally accept a written record, and email is widely regarded as the most formal way to do that.

03 Summarize the discussion after a meeting

Do you think the relationship between a supervisor and a student resembles that of a corporate boss and a subordinate, a master and an apprentice, or a senior and a junior colleague?

PhD 1: Many Chinese students may see the supervisor–student relationship as a hierarchy: the supervisor speaks, and we listen. But I think that abroad it is more like collaboration aimed at a mutually beneficial outcome. Rather than simply obeying, we receive guidance from the supervisor and carry it out, completing the work on time toward goals that we have agreed on together.

Some details in that process can be vague, leading to repeated back-and-forth. The supervisor may ask, “Why did you do it this way?” That is why I generally send a summary after an individual meeting. I say something like, “Following today's discussion, I am pleased that we have reached agreement on these points,” and then list the points one, two, three, and four. I also invite the supervisor to raise any differing views or further suggestions. Usually, the supervisor replies briefly that it looks good, and that settles it.

04 Understand the nature of your relationship

PhD 2: I do not regard the supervisor–student relationship as a boss–subordinate relationship. I think it is collaborative. The supervisor is an academic authority who guides and leads you intellectually. But they recruit you and provide resources because they have certain expectations, while you hope to earn a degree. Over the following years, the two of you collaborate: the supervisor supplies guidance and expert advice, and you produce an outcome you both recognize. In our group, I experience it more as collaboration than as a hierarchy or a master–apprentice relationship.

PhD 1: My view is slightly different. Strategically, we should regard ourselves as collaborators, but tactically it is still an employment relationship. More specifically, if I am determined to pursue research, I have my own academic aspirations and plans. The project I am working on is my own project, not merely my supervisor's. I care about my work, gain access to laboratory resources through the supervisor, and receive their guidance. Strategically, we collaborate to make the project succeed. Tactically, however—in our everyday interactions and communication—I think it remains an employment relationship. The supervisor uses grant funding to establish a laboratory, hires you to conduct experiments, and pays you. Our everyday communication and interactions therefore still need to respect that employment relationship.

PhD 2: I think it can be an amicable supervisor–student relationship, rather than the kind of close personal relationship in which you might stay at someone's home as though they were an older brother or sister. Personal friendship should be distinguished from a colleague or supervisor–student relationship. I can have a personal friendship with my supervisor, but when I encounter a research difficulty, communication becomes more effective if we understand ourselves as supervisor and student. If the teacher is empathetic, they can recognize your emotions, comfort you, and reassure you when you feel anxious or lost. If they are not, we should focus on the problem itself. I do not think personal friendship should play too large a part in the overall collaboration.

PhD 1: Relationships inevitably involve some exchange. Whether the other person is very close to you or simply your teacher changes what you need from them and what they need from you. From a supervisor's perspective, hiring a student brings expectations: their coursework, their output in the laboratory, and their contribution to the group are measured against certain standards. From a student's perspective, coming here to study means expecting the teacher to help revise papers and guide experiments. Students also have expectations of their supervisors. If too much personal emotion and attachment enter the relationship, it can become harder for both sides to express what they need, which may not help the work. I therefore think we need a framework in which we can communicate.

05 Make each person's boundaries clear

PhD 2: Whether we are students or postdocs, we should let our supervisors know where our personal boundaries lie. My supervisor particularly likes recruiting people with work experience. I had worked in Beijing for several years before coming here, and I also had a child to care for, as well as a family. At the time, I noticed a clear difference between how my supervisor interacted with Chinese people and with others. The non-Chinese colleagues generally placed more emphasis on their personal lives and drew clearer boundaries between doctoral work and everyday life. He therefore arranged conversations with them during working hours on weekdays, whereas meetings with Chinese students might be scheduled in the evening or on weekends.

When I first arrived, my circumstances did not allow me to work overtime in the office on weekends. I clearly told my supervisor when I was available. We could communicate at other times if something was urgent, but I preferred the times I had specified. Although he was not very pleased initially, during my doctoral years he really never contacted me on weekends or in the evening.

There was a less positive example: a Chinese student in the group received an email from the supervisor while buying groceries, asking whether they could talk in an hour. The student immediately took a taxi back. I felt that went a little too far. If you retreat until you have no boundaries left, you leave yourself open to being walked all over.

PhD 1: The supervisor may not even intend to intrude on your personal life. Your response may simply make them feel that communicating with you in that way is acceptable.

PhD 2: I think that is right. He is very capable, but treats people quite differently. I think that comes from the messages each person conveys in their interactions with him. Over time, the supervisor starts categorizing students: student A is available around the clock and replies within five minutes, no matter when an email arrives; student B replies only during working hours; and student C may need an appointment before responding. As a result, the standards he applies to each person differ.

06 Prepare thoroughly before presenting your work

We know that Chinese students often see supervisors in terms of a hierarchy and feel a degree of reverence toward them. Do you need to prepare yourselves psychologically before speaking with your supervisors?

PhD 1: It depends on what you mean by preparing yourself. Are you preparing psychologically, or preparing the content of your discussion? Since we have only half an hour with the supervisor each week, you need to address the problems you encountered during that week within that time. You therefore need to prepare what you want to discuss—in other words, your slides. For example, if you explain that an experiment did not succeed, the supervisor will ask about experimental details while helping you find the problem. If you have not prepared and can only say, “It doesn't work,” they will not know how to help, and the issue may simply be left unresolved. But if you have prepared all the details and listed what you tried—one, two, and three—and can quickly answer questions about experimental parameters, they can help you more effectively.

If we clearly understand this communication as a supervisory relationship, in which we often need advice on the direction and details of our projects, we do not need to carry such a heavy psychological burden. Once the content is ready, you may feel less nervous as well. Much of our anxiety about speaking with supervisors comes from feeling that we have not done well, that we may be criticized, or that the problem will not be properly resolved. Spending time on the issue itself can also ease that anxiety.

PhD 2: I strongly agree. If you see the relationship as a hierarchy, you will certainly feel nervous. If you approach the conversation mainly to present your good side, showcase past work, or seek help from a position of dependence, you are already under pressure before it starts. But if you focus on your purpose—solving a problem—you stop worrying about hiding something or deliberately showing only what you have done well. Instead, you identify the problem and discuss its details and possible solutions with your supervisor. In our group, the supervisor is so busy that his two assistants sometimes run the group meetings. We therefore usually need to request meetings ourselves. When I first arrived, the longest I went without seeing him was four months. The first year was mainly coursework. Once, when he saw me, he seemed confused and asked which year I had arrived. I said I was new. He then asked whether I had come in January or the previous September. I said the previous September, and he said, “Oh.” I feel students need to be proactive: even if nothing specific is happening, at least let your supervisor know you exist. I did not have that habit when I first arrived. In China, the supervisor usually comes to find you; if they do not, you assume nothing needs doing. After our proposal stage, we generally communicated more proactively. Before meeting the supervisor, we usually email a request with an outline, explaining what we hope to discuss so that they can estimate the content and time needed. During the meeting, we should clearly explain the problem we face, what investigation we have done, which feasible approaches we are considering, and their respective advantages and disadvantages. We should also explain what resources or equipment each approach requires, where we need help, and what needs the supervisor's confirmation. In short, the more specific, clear, and detailed we make the problem, the easier it is to find the most effective solution—and the happier the supervisor will be.

07 Use a three-minute explanation

PhD 2: Our supervisor often requires us to explain the problem clearly within three minutes when we sit down for a meeting. Everyone in the group fears that three-minute talk. If you fail to explain it properly, he may chat about something else, and the meeting ends without solving anything. If you explain the issue within three minutes, he will explore it with you in depth. If you need resources, he will help arrange them. If you need people, he will look for them in industry. If you want to collaborate with a company, he will help coordinate it.

08 Move from a passive to an active role

PhD 2: My supervisor has a rule about how often meetings happen and why we have them. If a student asks, “Can I buy a network cable?” he says not to bother him with that sort of thing—just buy it yourself. Only if you have been unable to solve a problem after twenty hours can you come and discuss it with him. When I was going through that training, it felt quite painful and stressful. I often felt stuck, as though he was continually putting obstacles in my way. Looking back, however, it was quite good training.

PhD 1: Your supervisor is very good at training students. This “20-fold comparison” idea is actually quite effective in cultivating a student's ability to work independently, think independently, think independently, and solve problems.