Hi,

I have attended 4 PhD interviews so far and none of them were successful!! I feel very much stressed and lost my hopes of giving a search again... Could any one please help me to overcome this?

Hi Preetisiri. Welcome to the forum.

We might be able to guide you a bit better if you tell us what subject area (broadly) you are applying in.

Have you asked any of the places that you applied to for feedback on your interviews? They might be able to give you some good advice.

Hi jane,

I have a mixed background of bioinformatics and biotechnology.. I did my b.tech in bioinfo and M.Sc in biotek.. so when ever I search for a PhD i look for something that has some prospects from both. I mostly get feedbacks telling that I miss some technical knowledge. I was very confident with my last interview, but it was really disappointing. His feedback was also the same, "we found a better candidate that suits this positions very well, other wise ur a very honest and a work friendly person":-(

Hi jane,

I did my M.Sc in Biotek and I have my bachelors in Bioinfo.. so Whenever I search for a Phd I make sure it is an interdisciplinary one. I always get feedbacks that "We found a better candidate that suits well for this position other wise u r a very honest and a work friendly person" the last interview was really disappointing..I had a very high hopes of getting into it as the interviewer was replying positively... :(

Hi, U would hv a better chance of being accepted for a Phd research if you try applying at your last univ, where u did ur MSc.
Go thru your last Supervisor. Happy researching, Cheers.

That was the first thing I did... My university doesnt have enough funding for me to do a PhD.. and I have a question.. is it really normal to get rejected these many times?

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Yes, it is, particularly now there is more competition for PhD places due to the economic situation. On the plus side, at least you have been invited to interview each time, which is a better experience than being rejected from your application alone.

On the one hand, applying for an interdisciplinary project can be a good thing as if you're a good match then you might be in possession of a fairly unique skill set. On the other hand, if you're not a perfect match then you might be more likely to be rejected than if you focussed your attentions on one area. If I were you, I would not rule out applying for a project that is focussed on one of your areas of expertise.

The other thing you might like to consider is how much research experience you have, and how well you 'sell' that in your interviews. Lab experience is probably more important than grades in persuading a potential supervisor that you are suitable to do a PhD, so you need to emphasise how much you understand the research process. If you don't have much practical lab experience, then consider trying to get some more before you start a PhD. If you've been told that you lack specific technical knowledge then try to address that also.

Talk to your last university's careers department to get advice on your applications and interview technique - they may be able to identify something that you could do better.

Good luck :)