Career Events

GRADFair is the annual fall career fair exclusively for graduate students, postdocs, and recent graduate alumni. Attendees can find internships and full-time jobs, network with employers, and learn about future opportunities.

*If you are an EMPLOYER interested in participating, please visit the GRADFair for Employers page for more info.

Graduate students and postdocs that attend GRADFair have the opportunity to…

• Learn about companies that hire UChicago advanced degree recipients
• Grow your network with alumni and recruiters from diverse employers
• Strengthen your job applications by making personal connections
• Enhance your online profile with *FREE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS* 

GRADFair 2018 took place on October 18.

View Frequently Asked Questions (from GRADFair 2018)

GRADUCon is the university’s annual spring career conference for graduate students, postdocs, and recent graduate alumni. The event features a full day of distinguished guest speakers, workshops, panel discussions, and informal networking sessions. Please click here for more information regarding the schedule and panel descriptions.

GRADUCon 2018 included discussions on the following topics:

• Careers in Data Science
• Careers in Think Tanks
• Careers in Museums and Cultural Institutions
• Careers in Science Writing
• Careers in Intelligence
• Working at Liberal Arts Colleges
• Finding Jobs in the U.S. for International Students
• Careers in Foundations
• Careers in Quantitative Finance
• Careers in User Experience Research
• Industry Research Careers for Scientists
• Alternatives for Teachers
• Careers in Consulting
• First Year as Faculty (Humanities/Social Sciences)
• First Year as Faculty (STEM)
• Writing Careers for Humanists and Social Scientists

At GRADUCon 2018, more than 500 graduate students and postdocs were in attendance at UChicago’s largest ever career exploration conference for advanced degree trainees. 80 alumni and guest speakers discussed diverse careers in 16 different panel discussions on topics ranging from think tanks to data science, from liberal arts colleges to museums and more. 260 informational interviews were held on site, as alumni participants also volunteered to share advice directly with student and postdoc participants.

Graduate students, employers, and alumni interested in more information should visit the GRADUCon homepage. They should also feel free to contact Michael Tessel at UChicagoGRAD.

GradUCon has several central objectives:

• Empower graduate students in their career search by helping to identify the transferable skills that they are developing in the course of their academic work.
• Provide concrete takeaways from the event, giving graduate students specific next steps in their job search and a clearer vision of their career trajectory.
• Foster cross-disciplinary and cross-program conversations about various job markets and career skills.
• Connect graduate students with alumni of graduate programs.

Graduate students and postdocs with ideas about panel discussions or input about potential speakers should feel free to contact the conference planning committee directly.

The Science and Engineering Industry Expo is an annual, intimate recruitment and career exploration event, connecting UChicago PhD students and postdocs in chemistry, physics, chemical biology, biophysics, molecular engineering, computer science, and related disciplines to employers in industry and government.

Employers promote their organization and screen candidates in a variety of one-on-one interactions including: short presentations, a career panel, networking lunch, and speed interviews.

INDUSTRY EXPO 2018 RECAP – September 21, 2018

Employers in attendance: Argonne, BASF, Cabot Microelectronics, Citrine, Civis Analytics, D.E. Shaw Research*, Honeywell, IBM, Nalco/EcoLab, Shimadzu, Solvay*, and Tempus (*sponsor)

• Facilitated ~160 1-on-1 speed interviews between employers and PhD students/postdocs
• Employer survey highlights:
  • 100% agreed or strongly agreed that they are interested in participating again
  • 100% agreed or strongly agreed that attending was a good use of their time
  • 80% agreed or strongly agreed that the people they interviewed were appropriate and a good match
• Over 70 PhD students and postdocs attended the 2018 event. Trainee survey highlights:
  • 97% either agreed or strongly agreed that they felt satisfied with the event overall
  • 95% either agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend this event to a peer/friend

EMPLOYERS:

This event is free to attend, although we do offer various sponsorship levels which afford certain perks. Most companies send 1-2 people to attend, and while not all are actively recruiting for specific positions, they utilize the event to create more awareness for their company and to build connections within our trainee population.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Briana Konnick at bkonnick@uchicago.edu. Registration for the 2019 event will open next summer.

STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS:

Check back soon for the date for the 2019 event! And keep in mind that you do not need to be currently searching for a position to attend this event.

You must submit a two-page resume by the time registration closes either directly to Briana Konnick by email or through the GRAD Gargoyle system. A suggested template for this event is here, but you do not HAVE to use this version. Whatever you submit, please keep it to two pages. If you have this document ready, please upload it into your documents in GRAD Gargoyle before you RSVP. Then, when you RSVP (Events > Career Fairs), you will be able to select the resume from your document archive.

• Scientific Industry Resume Workshop on August 29, 2018 (RSVP through GRAD Gargoyle)
• Registration for this event will close on September 7, 2018 by midnight
• Sign-ups for 1-on-1 speed interviews will occur from September 11-13, 2018
• Mandatory prep session with lunch on September 14, 2018

Eligibility: The Industry Expo is open to PhD students and postdocs in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Engineering, Computer Science, JFI, KAVLI, Physics, and Geophysical Sciences

Speed Interviews: Not all attending employers are actively trying to fill a current open position, so these speed interviews can be more informational.

SPONSORS of 2018 Industry Expo:

The myCHOICE BSD Alumni Career Forum is an annual event sponsored by UChicagoGRAD, myCHOICE, and the BSD Alumni Association. It is a full-day event focused on career exploration for biological sciences PhD students and postdocs. Every year, we bring back 20+ alumni with a range of career paths to share their perspective and advice through panel discussions, one-on-one conversations, and lunch round-table chats.

STUDENTS: more details to come soon! Student registration opens January 28th, 2019 at 9am.

EMPLOYERS: Registration is now open! If you are interested in participating, please visit this page for more info.