UC-Wide PhD & Postdoc Career Fair: October 19 and 20

Have you ever gone to a career fair and found yourself explaining what a dissertation is to puzzled recruiters? This career fair is different!

The 2026 Fall UC-Wide PhD & Postdoc Career Fair is a virtual fair built exclusively for doctoral students and postdocs across all ten University of California campuses. Employers register for this fair specifically to recruit people with advanced research training, which changes the character of the conversations you will have. You will spend less time explaining why a PhD belongs in the room and more time talking about the actual work and job fit.

Consolidating candidates from every UC campus into one virtual event also means broader reach for employers, and a wider slate of employers for you. Organizations that might not travel to a single campus will show up for a fair that reaches the whole system at once.

The virtual career fair runs across two days, and you can attend one or both:

Day 1: Monday, October 19, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT 

Day 2: Tuesday, October 20, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT

Registration is free and opens soon on Friday, September 25th. Each day is a separate sign-up, so if you want to attend both you will need to register for each one. 

The fair takes place on the Handshake platform, and employers can host a mix of formats: one-on-one chats in 10-, 15-, or 20-minute blocks, and group sessions running from 30 to 60 minutes. Every participating employer is asked to host at least one group session, so if you are early in your search and not ready for a one-on-one, this career fair offers a low-pressure way to learn about different sectors and get a sense of particular organizations before taking additional steps.

Keep in mind that participating in virtual fairs on Handshake is a two-step process. Registering for the fair is only the first step. You then need to sign up for individual sessions with the employers you want to meet; employers will post their schedules on a rolling basis rather than all at once, so the second step of the registration process needs attention.

Sessions will fill up quickly! Register early, follow employers of interest so you are notified when they add availability, and check back frequently in the days leading up to the fair.

Berkeley Career Engagement’s tips for career fair success has a full section on virtual fairs with excellent advice, some of which is summarized below:

• Start with your Handshake profile, since that is what employers see. Complete it, set its visibility to Community or Employer, and make sure your work authorization status is current. Update your resume and ask someone else to read it for typos and formatting. Then do the research: look at which employers are attending, prioritize the ones you actually care about, and write questions specific to those organizations and roles rather than generic ones. Practicing a 30-second introduction of yourself is worth the small amount of time it takes.
• On the day itself, the logistics matter more than they do in person. Test your technology in advance, including a network test, and use Chrome or Firefox for best results with the  fair’s virtual platform. Find a quiet spot and check what is behind you on camera. Show up on time, since sessions are scheduled and short. Dress business casual or smart casual. Be curious, and take notes as you go: names, contact information, and any interviewing timelines that come up.
• Afterward, follow up. Send a thank you email that mentions two or three specific takeaways from your conversation, connect with the people you met on LinkedIn, and apply for the roles you are interested in.

This event is open to PhD students and postdocs at University of California campuses only. Questions about the fair should be sent to Daniel Shaw, Associate Director of Specialized Communities at UC Berkeley Career Engagement, at [email protected].

If you would like to talk through your own approach before the fair, you can schedule an appointment with a BCE Career Educator. These appointments are a great opportunity to revise your resume, to plan your pitch, and to decide employers to prioritize.

You’ve got this! 

This article was written by Joni Landeros-Cisneros, a PhD Candidate in the Berkeley School of Education and a Professional Development Liaison with the Graduate Division.