Hi TreeofLife,
I'm not in the nat sciences but I know a few of my mates who managed to continue at the uni post-PhD and applied for limited funding (i.e. funding covers research related issues but no stipend for personal expenditure etc…). I will try to get some details as I'm vague on the specifics.

Welcome The Real; as patseya says some of us (like me) have finished the PhD but we do visit the forum and contribute as much as we can!

Neither is common, but that does not mean it doesn't happen. As for collusion, that seems highly unlikely- you and your supervisor would have agreed on the examiners (one internal one external I'm assuming), and so unless they meet beforehand with the sole intention of failing a student (which at least in my uni is impossible because each examiner writes an independent assessment of the thesis/outcome and submits it to the department prior to the viva), that is unlikely to happen.

Hi chickpea,
It seemed from the phone call yesterday that it would be a temporary post, but when I asked if there is a possibility of an extension he said that we'll review this a few months after you start working. I need to get the written contract tbh to confirm this- yesterday was just a verbal offer to let me know that I won the competition (as they refer to it). I think if after 6 months of employment I get the impression that there will be no extension I'll start applying for something else or go back to teaching. He kept saying it's not a reflection on my qualities as I had the qualities for the job- but I have been in academia for the past 3-4 years. Details will be clearer once I receive the written offer/contract next week.

Hey Socialpolitik/ TreeofLife,
Thanks so much for your kind words! I will receive the official contract next week by post according to the director. Should I discuss the contract with a legal advisor or something to avoid any catches, or is that a bit too dramatic?
@TreeofLife: In your point of view, if there's nothing in the contract about a possible "extension" or "making it permanent" should I suggest it or what do you recommend I should do? I will definitely post again on this forum once I get the written offer.

Hello guys,
So it's been a few days- I got offered the job! But here's the catch: I had to go through 2 interviews which I aced, and they contacted my referees in the UK and they gave good references, but they only want to offer me the job for 9 months instead of permanently because I just finished a PhD and am now moving back into the "job environment" (even though I worked for four years before beginning my full-time PhD). The job is amazing in every sense of the word and I was so excited about getting it but now I have mixed feelings and am feeling down. Is this common nowadays? They said they will send me the contract next week and I told them I will seriously consider taking up the job nevertheless (I didn't want to just dismiss it). What advice/words of consolation do you have for me? Nothing ever seems good enough in my case: the director said I had everything (qualifications, etc…) and they selected me out of 250 applicants but the aforementioned issue is the only reason why they don't want to give me the job full-time so I'm really down at the moment :(.

Hey guys
No updates yet but I was chatting to a guy who applied for a similar job last year (it's a public sector job) and he told me that it takes up to two weeks for them to decide who to hire. He didn't get it but he was contacted 3 weeks after the interview and told that he was unsuccessful- he's more hopeful than I am that I did well in the interview after I went through the details. Thanks all and will keep you posted fingers crossed.

Starting to feel pessimistic :(:( didn't realise that the refs are only contacted afterwards…. perhaps I shouldn't have been hopeful in the first place

Thanks guys- I forgot to mention that as part of the interview I had to provide the names and addresses of 3 references. Could the delay be related to having to contact the referees? I will check with my supervisor as well to see if they have contacted him.

Dear all,
Had a 2.5 hour job interview last Wednesday (1 hour written test 1 hour interview). To be honest, I feel hopeful. The test was relatively hard but I managed to answer the questions the best I could.
My strength is communication and presentation so the panel interview went extremely well and in fact it lasted 30 minutes longer (1.5 hours instead of the planned 1 hour).

Few concerns:
1) At the end of the interview I wasn't told when they'll get in touch. I knew already they had interviews for Thursday as I was given the choice and chose Wednesday. Should I read too much into the fact that they didn't say when they'll respond?
2) They asked me the dreaded "weakness" question: I craftily mentioned that I don't have computer programming skills since it's not part of the job requirement but the panelist asked for "soft skill" weakness so I said I'm such a perfectionist that I always finish work ahead of schedule lol (pathetic I know but what else was I supposed to say). Do you think that'll count against me?
3) They were very interested in my PhD and my previous job experience so is that a good sign?
4) They talked a lot about what to expect from someone who'll take the job but nothing specific about salary etc...

They are interviewing only 3 people (including myself) and hundreds applied so don't want to jinx it or ruin it by getting in touch with them what should I do? Should I feel hopeful?

Thanks Rubygem and Fled.
Fled I will check out your video and many thanks for posting them!

Hello all,
So I have finally been invited to an interview for a position this upcoming Wednesday. It will be my first job interview in years (since I left my job to do the PhD). Any advice/tips?!?! I'm hopeful about this job and am doing my research on the organisation etc….but never hurts to check in case I forgot to do something else. Thanks.

Hey guys,

Many thanks! I'm just ranting because I feel that even though I got my PhD there are many things that I don't like about my life so far such as being unemployed, single, etc… I think I need to take a few days off sometime this month. Dr Jeckyll did you just end up applying to as many jobs/postdocs before landing a job?