Wenhuan Xu, a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, analyzed postdoctoral job listings while searching for his next position as his forestry postdoc ended in October.
Xu found a pattern in the advertisements. Job postings clearly specified what institutions wanted from candidates but remained vague about what they offered in return. Nearly half of postdoctoral-level job listings globally asked for collaboration experience, whereas less than one-third provided a salary range.
For Xu and others in his situation, these omissions carry weight beyond professional concern. He has four children. Salary, contract length, relocation costs, visa issues and childcare determine whether a move is feasible. Job listings that leave these details unsaid force candidates to make decisions without essential information about their own lives and families.