On November 26th, 2020, the CIC Montreal Chapter hosted their first Online Job Fair. The event brought together close to a hundred people, including young graduates and industry representatives, all in the field of organic chemistry.
The event featured two speakers from local pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations who presented the state of the job market and the career opportunities offered in their field. After the talks, the participants, representing 15 Canadian universities, could freely navigate in between virtual booths staffed by employees of 6 Montreal-based companies: Ventus Therapeutics, Paraza Pharma, IntelliSyn RD, Repare Therapeutics, OmegaChem, and NuChem Therapeutics.
Over the last few months, the Local Section has used Zoom and its breakout rooms feature to host online networking events appreciated by the community.
Both job seekers and company representatives enjoyed the event despite the limitations of the virtual platform. “Not easy to interact with all the candidates. They were however very respectful so that each could take turn in asking their questions,” reports a company exec also lauding the quality of interactions and presentations.
Students appreciated being able to chat with people from industry. “The job fair not only provided me insight into the medicinal chemistry world but also the skills (technical and transferable) that employers are looking for. Plus, we got to have one on one conversation with the employers (including the heads), which is a bonus to this event! I highly recommend this job fair to anyone who is interested in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery!” says Annica, Masters student at McGill.
This first of a kind event organized by the local section left many asking for more with prompts to “organize this kind of event more often” and with a broader reach.