NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY VOLUME 34 NUMBER 7 JULY 2016 781 a supportive and protective environment where individuals are empowered to productively navigate through both their failures and their successes. Participation in a mentor circle exposes postdocs to different experiences and points of view, strengthens their ability to work on a team and collaborate with and support other people, and expands their network. The peer-to-peer component creates a closer and more approachable relationship between mentees and mentors who have encountered or are currently experiencing similar difficulties. Mentees can also identify with and be inspired by other mentees’ or mentors’ success stories, as seen in the following testimonials from those who participated in the program in its inaugural year: “My mentor was the first person to show me my potential career options. This is an excel- lent program where each member is respon- sible for its success, and to maximize your gain, you have to see it as an environment to better yourself in multiple areas, not just the one you have in mind.” —MCP 2013–2014 mentee 14 “I’d like to become a mentor—I think this program really makes a difference. I learned how to organize my time, to improve my net- working skills and to make effective presenta- tions.” —MCP 2013–2014 mentee “There were even times when I gained more than the mentees, specifically when trying to guide and advise a group of excep- tional scientists with different personalities is a learning experience on its own.” —MCP 2013–2014 mentor 14 “The MCP is the most gratifying experi- ence I have had in my career. Getting the perspective of leadership in an informal set- ting was extremely valuable to improve my knowledge, communication skills, and chal- lenge myself.” —MCP 2013–2014 mentor Boosting the career development of postdocs with a peer-to-peer mentor circles program Chantal Kuhn & Zafira Castaño Mentor circles combine the advantages of both mentoring networks and peer-to-peer mentoring. D ifferent metrics show that only 15–20% out of the more than 56,000 postdocs 1 in the United States will become tenure-track fac- ulty members 2 , even though this is the career aim of nearly 80% of postdocs. This disparity makes it essential that postdocs become aware of alternative scientific career opportunities out- side of academia and strategically develop skills that are necessary for their chosen career paths. Unfortunately, current postdoctoral training in the United States rarely includes consultations concerning career paths or the type of mentor- ing required for one to develop the necessary skills for future success. This clearly limits career options for many bright research fellows. Effective mentoring is critical for professional success at every career level, particularly at times of transition. During the past decade numerous US institutions have developed mentoring programs for high school students, PhD candidates and faculty staff at universities 3–7 . Results from these initiatives have clearly shown that effective mentorship is highly predictive of an individual’s success 5,8–10 . DeCastro et al. 11 nicely recapitulate the multiple requirements and responsibilities of a good mentor: teaching scientific knowledge and encouraging critical thinking; cultivating skills such as grant writing, research design, data analysis, manuscript writing and publishing; assisting mentees in choosing the proper career path and obtaining a job; providing opportunities for networking; and giving encouragement and personal advice. However, today’s scientific world is extremely dynamic and versatile, making it imperative to develop mentoring networks composed of individuals with different backgrounds, experience and scientific expertise to enable optimal career development 12,13 . It is difficult for a single mentor to fulfill these expectations. For this reason we developed the Mentoring Circles Program (MCP) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston. This program is designed to help postdocs find their best career fit by showing them scientific opportunities inside and outside of academia, as well as each career path’s requirements, advantages and disadvantages. Guided self- assessment helps postdocs to identify and develop the skills required to advance toward the profession that best matches their career aspirations. A major focus of the program is empowering our mentees to take responsibility for their own career development while guiding and supporting them during the academic year. Why a mentor circle program? Traditional academic mentoring consists of pairing a junior trainee, such as a postdoc, with an experienced senior investigator in the same academic discipline, often his or her primary investigator. Recently, this traditional mentoring approach has been moving toward mentoring networks and peer-to-peer mentoring 11 . The MCP combines the advantages of both mentoring networks and peer-to-peer mentoring. The professional development and networking resources offered by programs like the MCP not only provide the specific technical and logistical support to increase postdocs’ chances of success, but also nurture Chantal Kuhn is in the Department of Neurology, Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Zafira Castaño is at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and the International Mentoring Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. e-mail: zafiracastano@gmail.com CAREERS AND RECRUITMENT npg © 2016 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.