Postdoctoral Career Development

Given the short duration of most fellowships, it's important for postdoctoral fellows (PDF) to swiftly explore career paths. Besides discussing with your supervisor, here are some resources that can help.

Individual Development Plan

Booklet

Career Action Series

In collaboration with the Career Centre, the Career Action Series offers a monthly virtual roundtable for both PDFs and graduate students. This platform allows them to discuss non-academic careers and how to navigate the Canadian workplace. Given that both groups often share challenges — such as explaining their degrees to non-academic employers, balancing family and work, varying levels of professional experience and preparing for their next career move within a short timeframe — this series provides valuable insights into managing a career transition.

Career Action Series

Learning + Development

Our Learning and Development initiatives offer training programs, workshops and on-demand learning to help employees tackle any challenges that might arise for them as they enter the workforce.

Learning + Development Opportunities

Job Searching

Searching for an Academic Job

There isn't a one-stop destination for academic job postings and finding them often requires looking beyond a single source. Discipline-specific positions are listed in journals and societies, while conferences can provide word-of-mouth opportunities and future roles for PDFs. Additionally, major universities host career sites.

Beyond the Faculty Position

Navigating job searches can be tough without knowing specific job titles or where to start. The Government of Canada's Career Handbook helps by letting you explore job titles based on your expertise/interests, suggests suitable roles through the Skills and Knowledge section and directs you to current openings.

Nearly 90 per cent of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates. Use the “Jobs” tab on your LinkedIn homepage to search for opportunities. You can also save time by setting up job alerts on other job search sites. Some other popular job search websites include: