Postdoctoral Career Development
Given the short duration of most fellowships, it's important for postdoctoral scholars (PDS) to swiftly explore career paths and training opportunities. Besides discussing opportunities with your supervisor, here are some resources that can help.
Upcoming PD Workshops for Postdoctoral Scholars
Job applications: Perspectives from hiring managers and talent professionals
Next session: Sept. 23, 2026 | 10 - 11:30 a.m. MT | 2-100 University Hall, Council Chamber, North Campus
What happens once you submit a job application? How can you strengthen your application to make it stand out to hiring managers? The University of Alberta Career Centre and GPS are bringing together a panel of hiring managers and talent professionals who have sifted through thousands of applications and can tell you what they are looking for when selecting candidates. This is your chance to get advice on how to approach crafting a job application and make it to the next step of the hiring process.
Facilitators: Ana Sabo, Career Advisor, Graduate Students and PDFs; Angela Johny, Career Advisor, Graduate Students and PDFs;
My first year as an Assistant Professor
Next session: Nov. 13, 2026 | 12 - 1 p.m. MT | Online
Many graduate students' and postdoctoral scholars' goal is to work in academia. What's it like when you finally get there? In this workshop you will hear the experiences of a panel of assistant professors about what their first year was like. How did they navigate the world of grant funding? What's it like supervising graduate students and postdoctoral scholars? What unexpected responsibilities and roles arose? What challenges did they encounter in terms of work/life balance? This session will give you a window into what your future could look like.
Register on CampusBRIDGE Zoom Link
Exploring Pedagogy and Course Design
Next session: Nov. 16 to Dec. 14 , 2026 (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) | 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT. | In person
If you're a postdoctoral scholar with some teaching experience, consider joining us for Graduate Teaching and Learning (Level 3), an intensive course offered this fall by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
GTL-3 provides a creative, collegial environment to discuss teaching and explore approaches to course design and classroom pedagogy.
The course is open to postdoctoral scholars, master’s students and PhD students. For more information, contact the instructor, Dr. Rob Desjardins, at robertd1@ualberta.ca.
Individual Development Plan
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a professional development tool that helps you to identify strengths, determine areas for growth and set attainable goals. It can help you guide your professional development activities and prepare you for work in academic and non-academic careers.
Download an IDP for Postdocs workbook
Career Action Series
In collaboration with the Career Centre, the Career Action Series offers a monthly virtual roundtable for both PDSs 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.
- Connecting with Employers: How to Build Your Professional Network | Sept. 16, 2026
- Reframing Career Beliefs and Debunking Career Myths | Oct. 14, 2026
- Beyond the Job Board: Proactive Career Search Strategies | Nov. 18, 2026
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 PDSs. Additionally, major universities host career sites.
For Canadian positions, explore these websites:
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: