ScienceCareers.org Will Hold Career Fair Workshop for Young Scientists

ScienceCareers.org's Garth Fowler will lead a workshop on navigating career fairs for young scientists in conjunction with the Science/University of California-San Francisco Biotech Industry Career Fair in San Francisco, Calif.

Entitled "Making the Most of Your Career Fair," the workshop will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on 13 February in the Genentech Auditorium at the UCSF Mission Bay Campus, with a reception to follow.

Sponsored by Genentech, the workshop is free to attend, but preference will be given to those who are pre-registered for the ScienceCareers.org event.

The event will focus on developing essential techniques, including how to develop clear descriptions of career goals, answering commonly asked questions, marketing yourself, résumés/curricula vitae, and following up on contacts you make once the career fair is over.

"Career fairs can be intimidating for people who don't understand, in specific terms, what the objective is--it can seem like pointless schmoozing," said Jim Austin, editor of ScienceCareers.org. "But the ability to tell others what you are doing, and what you want to do, is absolutely essential."

In designing the workshop, Fowler, outreach program manager at ScienceCareers.org, interviewed industry recruiters around the country, identifying effective skills that make certain candidates stand out among the myriad potential applicants at a career fair.

"These courses help both the applicant and the recruiter," Fowler said. "They help applicants become more comfortable with the process, and in turn, make their conversation more informative for the potential employer."

Over the past several months, Fowler has conducted several workshops in coordination with career fairs at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania.

Fowler recently completed an article on successful career fair preparation for ScienceCareers.org.

The Science/UCSF Biotech Industry Career Fair, held from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. on 15 February at the UCSF Mission Bay Community Center, will bring together qualified biotechnology candidates with recruiting companies. Exhibitors to date include Bayer Healthcare, Novartis, Genentech, Kelly Scientific Resources, Entelos, among others.

Science and UCSF expect around 550 candidates from several San Francisco-area universities, including UCSF, University of California-Berkley, Stanford University, and Santa Clara University.

Both the "Making the Most of Your Career Fair" workshop and the Science/UCSF Biotech Industry Career Fair are being held in partnership with the AAAS Annual Meeting, which convenes from 15 to 19 February 2007 in San Francisco.

Benjamin Somers

8 February 2007