From Resident to Faculty Member: 5 Moves to Launch Your Career With Confidence
August marks an important chapter in Colleges of Pharmacy as pharmacy residents step into their first full-time academic positions. The transition from learner to leader—from trainee to assistant professor—can feel exciting, overwhelming, and uncertain all at once.
While you’ve built clinical expertise during residency, faculty life calls for new skills: managing time differently, building collaborative relationships, navigating department culture, and setting a foundation for long-term success. Whether you’re joining a research-intensive institution or a teaching-focused program, these five moves will help you transition with intention and grow into your new role with clarity and confidence.
1. Redefine Success in Your New Role
In residency, success was defined by completion: rotation evaluations, project deadlines, and credentialing. But in academia, success is more nuanced—and often less immediate. As a faculty member, you’re building a professional identity that spans teaching, scholarship, service, and mentorship. Success isn’t a checklist—it’s a trajectory.
💡 Try This: Ask your chair or mentor,
“What does success look like for someone in my role by the end of year one?”
Use their answer to help you set realistic expectations and avoid early burnout.
Examples:
A new faculty member at a teaching-oriented college prioritized developing her instructional skills and building positive student evaluations—key factors in her institution’s promotion process.
At a research-intensive school, a clinical faculty member focused on submitting one manuscript and initiating a collaborative research project to align with department expectations.
Another new hire learned her department valued leadership visibility, so she volunteered to co-lead a student interest group—a small step that made a big early impression.
2. Build Anchor Relationships Early
Your success and well-being in academia depend heavily on the relationships you build in the first few months. These relationships provide information, support, collaboration, and mentorship. Don’t wait for connections to happen organically—be intentional.
💡 Try This: Use your onboarding period to establish relationships in four categories:
Mentorship, Support, Cross-Discipline Perspective, and Peer Camaraderie.
Examples:
A new assistant professor made a standing monthly appointment with a senior mentor outside her department, gaining guidance and political context for navigating committees.
A faculty member met weekly with the department’s administrative assistant during the first semester—resulting in smoother scheduling, faster reimbursements, and fewer surprises.
At a satellite campus, a new faculty member felt isolated—until he reached out to faculty at the main campus to create a virtual “teaching circle” for sharing ideas and feedback.
3. Protect Time for Your Priorities
When you’re new, everything feels urgent—and the pressure to say yes can lead to fragmented days and mounting stress. But faculty who protect time for core priorities early on are more productive and less overwhelmed in the long term.
💡 Try This: Create a weekly time-blocking plan for the semester that aligns with your biggest goals—whether that’s scholarship, teaching preparation, or student engagement.
Examples:
One early-career faculty member created "Scholarship Fridays" and informed her team that she wouldn’t schedule meetings during that time—within six months, she had submitted two abstracts.
A teaching-focused faculty member blocked 90 minutes each Tuesday morning to redesign a key course module and align it with active learning strategies.
Another new professor used “focus blocks” after clinic days to debrief and build case studies for future teaching—combining practice with scholarship.
4. Get Clarity on Evaluation and Promotion
You may not be thinking about promotion yet—but understanding how you’re evaluated will help you avoid wasting time on work that won’t count and ensure you track the right kinds of contributions. You should also start a process for collecting examples of your work that can be used later for filling out evaluation forms or promotion packets. Set a date for yourself to regularly update those activities. It will pay off later.
💡 Try This: Read the official P&T (Promotion and Tenure) guidelines—and then ask colleagues to help interpret the “real story” about what’s valued, what’s counted, and what’s not.
Examples:
A new faculty member learned that community outreach didn’t count directly toward tenure—but when connected to teaching or scholarship, it could be leveraged in their dossier.
Another realized that poster presentations weren’t weighed as heavily as peer-reviewed manuscripts, prompting her to shift her energy toward writing and co-authoring.
At a hybrid teaching-research institution, a new professor was advised to document mentoring and advising activities—something he hadn’t considered but that carried significant institutional value.
5. Own Your Professional Identity from Day One
It’s easy to see yourself as “just getting started”—but your students, peers, and leaders already see you as a faculty member. The earlier you define and project your identity as an educator, scholar, and leader, the faster others will align with that vision.
💡 Try This: Craft a short professional positioning statement:
“I’m a faculty member who focuses on...” Use it in bios, introductions, and conversations to project clarity and purpose.
Examples:
A new assistant professor used a clear, values-driven introduction in her email signature and presentations: “Advancing pharmacy education through patient-centered learning and inclusive mentorship.”
Another created a simple faculty website with a teaching philosophy and scholarship goals, helping external collaborators understand her focus areas.
One faculty member created a yearly theme (“Building My Voice”) and shared it with her mentor group to stay accountable to speaking up more in meetings and panels.
Final Thought: Start Strong, Grow Intentionally
The first year is full of learning—but you don’t have to figure it out alone or on the fly. By seeking guidance, investing in meaningful relationships, guarding your time, and shaping your professional identity, you’ll do more than survive—you’ll thrive.
You’re not just entering a job—you’re launching a career of influence and growth.
Next Steps for Early-Career Faculty
📋 Utilize Our New Faculty, 90-Day Jumpstart Checklist
Get a week-by-week guide to focus your time, build relationships, and avoid early missteps. Schedule a free strategy session to discuss how Edu-Lead can help you map your first-year strategy, avoid common pitfalls, and plan for long-term success.