Confessions of a researchaholic

[Note: most of my blog posts are answers to common questions, including this one. They do not reflect my personal situations.]

Do not use resignation as leverage for negotiation. If you have any grievance for you job, talk to your managers first. You might be surprised how much you can achieve by simply talking straight.

Quit only if you really mean it, and carry it through. Do not change your mind if people entice you to stay. If you do, they may think you are soft, and you may suffer as a consequence in the long run.

Always attribute your resignation to personal reasons. Do not say anything remotely negative about your employer, managers, colleagues, or underlings. (The only exception is when someone you know gets a job offer from one of your former employers and needs your opinion.) If they insist on getting your honest feedback for future improvements, ask them to contact you after a cool down period. I recommend at least 6 months, and one year if you go to a competitor.

Instead, always try to say something positive about your former employers. If you do this before you quit, you might actually change your mind.
The grass always seems greener on the other side.

Do not come back to the same employer within the next 3 to 5 years. If you do, they might think you are weak, and you might suffer as a consequence.

For those of you who think there is (or will be) nothing new under the sun in your fields:

At some point during the 19th century people thought Newtonian physics is basically done and only incremental works remain.

Then came stuff like relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.
🙂

Professors, at least those at top schools, tend to receive many applications, probably hundreds if not thousands every year.

The best way to get their attention is to find people with good reputation and existing relationships as your references.

The best way to get them ignore you is to send out blanket spam-like inquiries to everyone.

Look at the professors’ websites, which may already spell out whether and how to contact them, and other useful information like their research and style.
It is to your benefit to read these, as you want to find someone with matching style and interests, and the professors want to know why they should pick you.

The best time to contact the professors is around the time you are preparing your application materials, so that you can discuss potential research directions which you can incorporate into your research statement.
If you have a chance to meet them earlier, like in a conference, it cannot hurt to introduce yourself, but in general if you contact them too early, they might not remember you later when they review the applications.