Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Where online should a Canadian be looking for a chemistry job?

A davenport chesterfield, I understand.
A reader writes in to ask -- if you're a Canadian, what websites should you be using to search for jobs?

I don't really know. As the reader noted, the CIC's site didn't seem to be very helpful. Anyone know?
Posted by at

14 comments:

  1. ChemjobberJuly 23, 2013 at 11:28 AM

    A suggestion. For those wags who wish to post jokes *, I suggest that you have one helpful suggestion per joke.

    *Having read "The Treasury of Great Canadian Humour" (by Alan Walker) as a child, I know a few of the really old jokes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DrMelJuly 23, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    I have been in the Canadian academic system for a while and as far as I know beyond the employment ads in Canadian Chemical News (http://www.cheminst.ca/magazine) there isn't an an academic job site and ACCN will miss the positions at smaller universities and colleges. You can find them listed in places like University Affairs (http://www.universityaffairs.ca/default.aspx) and CAUT (http://www.caut.ca/) but in my opinion the lag time between ad and filling the position is often really tight (indication that the position advertised with an internal candidate but university regs require advertizement).
    The real answer to my eyes is to go to the national CIC conference as a post-doc (even if you are out of Canada get to the national CIC conference, it makes a difference) and present a really good oral (never a poster). Also get out of your comfort zone and work the national and divisional mixers (and if possible get yourself invited to some university mixers). In the Canadian system genius, pedigree and profile are the three legs to the employment stool.
    When it comes to industry appointments (and some academic appointments for that matter especially if you are thinking management) you can keep an eye on ads in the Globe and Mail (self described as "Canada's national newspaper" (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/)) and government jobs (yes, I know the Harper Government is perceived as anti-science but they do hire a lot of scientists) are listed here(http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/othsite-eng.aspx?CT=GV&CC=CPS&OpPage=50&Stdnt=No). It really is true that finding a job is a full time job. Also be very aware of local chemical industry, over and over again it has been my observation that my students who literally walk into local industry front offices with a resume every three months and ask around get local jobs that just pop up. Good luck, expect to move.

    ReplyDelete
  3. bbooooyaJuly 23, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    as one of God's frozen people, I always found C&E News the most useful site. I think most Canadian companies (at least used to) post there.

    How do you get 100 Canadians out of a pool?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 23, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    I agree with DrMel, University Affairs and CAUT are good places to look, however some jobs are missed. In my search I made a word document with links to each university or college's HR site in my search area (Western Canada) and checked weekly. This is ultimately how I found my current position at a smaller university.

    In my opinion the government was the worst place to apply for a PhD chemist... went to their websites, filled out the forms, submitted my CV, got on their 'list', never heard a thing from them in the past 2 years

    For industry: pound the pavement, build your network, and check the usual online job search engines

    ReplyDelete
  5. O+G ChemistJuly 23, 2013 at 1:09 PM

    I've found Indeed.ca to be the best aggregator search engine for Canadian gigs, but I'm not looking to the academic stream nor do I have a Ph.D., so I'm probably in the severe minority of the readership. That said, I do regularly see NSERC or research chair positions as well as MedChem-related positions.

    I've also heard Eluta is good, but a few cursory searches don't differentiate it from Indeed.

    (bbooooya - Tell them to skate off?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bbooooyaJuly 24, 2013 at 1:20 PM

      '(bbooooya - Tell them to skate off?)'

      Correct answer is just to say "please get out of the pool"

      CSC organic division sometimes has job ads, and does have a listserv that sometimes advertises positions.

      Delete
  6. uncle samJuly 23, 2013 at 1:48 PM

    For me, Canada ends somewhere east of Kelowna, and I wouldn't really go for a job there anyways. Everything beyond might as well be a different country that uses the same currency. The nearest city is 1000 kilometers away and I kind of consider Calgary unlivable due to it having no soul, so that means one of the most important places to look for is C&E News and you're going to be moving abroad. Possibly to Ontario if you did something wrong in your previous life, or Quebec or California if you're lucky. If you want a home job, then you've got to have good connections with profs at UBC/UVIC or SFU and they can put in a good word for you or steer you in the right direction.

    Canada used to have a lot less mobility than America until this generation, and my impression is that mobility is still a bit low except in south Ontario. And there is a good geographical reason for that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bbooooyaJuly 24, 2013 at 1:22 PM

      "Canada ends somewhere east of Kelowna"

      ????

      Weather in BC is too mild for people to understand the suffering of God's frozen people.

      Delete
    2. uncle samJuly 24, 2013 at 1:35 PM

      When I was going to undergrad, it would seriously only snow only once in two or three years. But ever since I got laid off from my job and decided to go to grad school and left the City, I hear that it's snowing every year now. Granted, only once or a couple of times, but still a little weird. Snow belongs in the mountains, not in cities. I did live for a while in Quebec, so I do understand how terrible the rest of what they call Canada can be. They have these things called 'snow tires', and that term doesn't mean good things in general.

      Delete
  7. Samuel71July 23, 2013 at 8:22 PM

    I subscribed as a Chemical Institute of Canada member in the hopes of seeing job postings (either online or in their monthly "Canadian Chemical News"), but there's absolutely nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CanChemJuly 24, 2013 at 9:05 AM

    After finishing grad school in Ontario in 2008, I took the carpet-bombing approach to job searching in the GTA; I found every listing of pharma companies I could and sent in my resume to all of them. Listings included http://www.canadapharma.org/en/home, http://www.canadiangenerics.ca/en/index.asp, government registries of pharma companies, and especially Google Maps - search for Pharmaceutical Company in the broad area of interest, and make a note of every company that shows up. There were a surprising number of jobs that didn't get put onto outside listings.

    I've also been impressed with LinkedIn's job board of late. And call up your old supervisor / fave prof and find out who they've heard of. There are lots of smaller companies that don't publicize their existence.

    ReplyDelete
  9. CanChemJuly 24, 2013 at 9:07 AM

    Also, CJ, I've never heard anyone in Canada call that a Davenport. We always called a three-person a chesterfield.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ChemjobberJuly 24, 2013 at 9:41 AM

      [Hangs head in shame.] You're right, of course.

      Delete
  10. DavidSeptember 27, 2013 at 1:39 PM

    We are looking for a chemist or analytical chemist . Email me for details. davidd@htkagroup.com

    ReplyDelete

looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20

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