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.

• 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
• NEW: Enhance your online profile with *FREE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS* 

The date for GRADFair 2018 is October 18, 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 2017, more than 400 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 15 different panel discussions on topics ranging from think tanks to data science, from liberal arts colleges to museums and more. 270 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 transferrable 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, now in its 6th year, and features UChicago PhD students and postdocs in chemistry, physics, chemical biology, biophysics, molecular engineering, computer science, and related disciplines.

Employers from industrial and governmental settings will have the opportunity to promote their organization and to screen candidates in a variety of one-on-one interactions including: short presentations, a panel, networking lunch, and speed interviews.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

• 8:30-9:15am – Breakfast and Check-in
• 9:15-9:30am – Welcome
• 9:30-noon – Group 1 Employer Presentations and Panel
• 9:30-noon – Speed Interviews
• Noon-1:30pm – Networking Lunch
• 1:30-4pm – Group 2 Employer Presentations and Panel
• 1:30-4pm – Speed Interviews
• 4-5pm – Wrap up and thank you

STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS:

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 (September 7^th) 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.

Confirmed employers attending the 2018 event include: Argonne, BASF, Cabot Microelectronics, Citrine, Civis Analytics, D.E. Shaw Research*, Honeywell, IBM, Nalco/EcoLab, Shimadzu, Solvay*, Tempus, and Water Intelligence.

*Sponsor

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. If you would like to register for the event, please do so here. Registration deadline is August 31, 2018.

SPONSORS: