Career Development

Person sitting at a desk

Given the short duration of most fellowships, postdoctoral scholars need to quickly navigate their career options. In addition to talking with your supervisor, the following resources may be useful for you.


 
Job search options

Exploring the IDP Workshop

The postdoctoral Individual Development Planning tool and career planning sessions provide postdoctoral scholars with an opportunity to take action on their career progression.  In this session, you will have an opportunity to reflect on how careers evolve and what steps you can take to move along on your trajectory.
November 21, 2023
12:00 - 1:00 pm MST
Virtual Session Zoom Link
Register in campusBridge

To register in campusBridge,
please create an account as UofA Staff
 
 IDP Cover

Career Action Series

In partnership with the Career Centre this monthly virtual roundtable discussion is open to postdocs and graduate students to ask questions as they relate to the non-academic arena and the Canadian workplace.  Because postdocs and graduate students both face describing a graduate degree to employers outside of academia, may navigate similar life challenges of juggling family and work commitments, may have years of professional experience or none, and may be on a fast track of two years before their next career step, there are many commonalities in how to manage career activities.

Human Resources Learning and Development

Helps employees to meet these challenges through training programs, workshops, and on-demand learning that supports the development of the knowledge, skills, behaviours, and mindset that increases personal effectiveness, accountability, and growth.

  

Job Searching

Searching for an Academic Job

You will find there is no single source to find an academic job posting. Journals and societies often post available positions for specific disciplines. Conferences are an ideal place to find the "word of mouth" offers for postdocs and upcoming positions, usually for the following year. Major universities have career sites. Below are common Canadian web searching sites and you are encouraged to visit these sites frequently.

University Affairs
Academica Careers
Academic Careers Online
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Chronicle of Higher Education
Indeed

Closer to home:
University of Alberta
Athabasca University
MacEwan University
University of Calgary
University of Lethbridge

Beyond the Faculty Position

Finding jobs is difficult when you are not even sure what job titles people have and where you can look. The Government of Canada site has a Career Handbook that allows you to look up different job titles depending on your area of expertise/interest, the Skills and Knowledge section can give you an idea of jobs you may be suited to do, and also links you to current job postings.

With nearly 90% of recruiters using LinkedIn to seek out job candidates, you can open the jobs tab at the top of your home page to search out jobs. Most job search sites allow you to set up search agents to send you postings and this can save you time.

Best job searching sites include
Glassdoor
Indeed
LinkedIn