jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • Advertise a Job
  • Recruiters
  • Your Account

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

career-advice.jobs.ac.uk

Secondary Sidebar

jobs.ac.uk Career Advice

  • CV and Cover Letter Advice
    • CV Tips
    • Free CV Templates
    • Cover Letters with Examples
    • Personal Profiles
    • CV Resources
  • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
    • Jobseeking Tips
    • Academic Interviews
    • Professional Interviews
    • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Interview Question Tool
  • Career Development
    • Academic Careers
    • Research Careers
    • Career Progression Stories
    • Professional Careers
    • Working in Industry
    • Career Development Resources
    • Global Careers
    • Working From Home
  • Women in Higher Education
  • FE Career Advice
    • FE CV & Interview Tips
    • Working in FE
    • Managing your Career in FE
    • FE Jobs Profiles
  • Resources
    • Academic Case Studies
    • Professional Case Studies
    • Job Profiles
      • Biological Science Jobs
      • Health and Medical Jobs
      • Engineering and Technology Jobs
      • Computer Science Jobs
      • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
      • Professional Service Jobs
        • Business Development Manager Jobs Profile
        • Chef Jobs Profile
        • Civil Service Jobs Profile
        • Compliance Officer
        • Email Marketing Jobs Profile
        • Office Admin Jobs
        • Programming Manager Jobs
        • SEO Jobs Profile
    • Vlogs
  • Webinars
  • Country Profiles
    • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Ghana
      • Kenya
      • Nigeria
      • South Africa
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • United States of America
    • Asia
      • Bahrain
      • Brunei
      • China
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Malaysia
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Dubai
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • Turkey
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Work in Vietnam – Country Profile
      • Work in Uzbekistan – Country Profile
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Russia
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
  • PhD and Studentship Advice
    • PhD Guides
    • PhD advice
    • Studentship Resources
    • PhD Vlogs
  • Need help advertising a job?
  • About jobs.ac.uk
  • Ask A Professional
  • Academic Spotlight Interviews
  • Menu
    • CV and Cover Letter Advice
      • CV Tips
      • Free CV Templates
      • Cover Letters with Examples
      • Personal Profiles
      • CV Resources
    • Jobseeking and Interview Tips
      • Jobseeking Tips
      • Academic Interviews
      • Professional Interviews
      • Jobseeking and Interview Resources
    • Career Development
      • Academic Careers
      • Career Progression Stories
      • Research Careers
      • Professional Careers
      • Working in Industry
      • Career Development Resources
      • Global Careers
      • Working From Home
    • Women in Higher Education
    • FE Career Advice
      • FE CV & Interview Tips
      • Working in FE
      • Managing your Career in FE
      • FE Jobs Profiles
    • Resources
      • Academic Case Studies
      • Professional Case Studies
      • Interview questions tool
      • Vlogs
      • Job Profiles
        • Biological Science Jobs
        • Health and Medical Jobs
        • Engineering and Technology Jobs
        • Computer Science Jobs
        • Physical and Environmental Science Jobs
        • Professional Service Jobs
        • Civil Service jobs
    • Webinars
    • Country Profiles
      • Africa
        • Work in Egypt – Country Profile
        • Work in Ghana – Country Profile
        • Work in Kenya – Country Profile
        • Work in Nigeria – Country Profile
        • Work in South Africa – Country Profile
      • Americas
        • Work in Canada – Country Profile
        • Work in the United States of America – Country Profile
      • Asia
        • Work in Bahrain – Country Profile
        • Work in Brunei – Country Profile
        • Work in China – Country Profile
        • Work in Hong Kong – Country Profile
        • Work in India – Country Profile
        • Work in Japan – Country Profile
        • Work in Kazakhstan – Country Profile
        • Work in Malaysia – Country Profile
        • Work in Qatar – Country Profile
        • Work in Saudi Arabia – Country Profile
        • Work in Singapore – Country Profile
        • Work in South Korea – Country Profile
        • Work in Turkey – Country Profile
        • Work in United Arab Emirates – Country Profile
      • Dubai
      • Europe
        • Belgium Country Profile
        • Work in Denmark – Country Profile
        • Work in Finland – Country Profile
        • France Country Profile
        • Work in Germany – Country Profile
        • Work in Ireland – Country Profile
        • Work in Italy – Country Profile
        • Work in the Netherlands – Country Profile
        • Work in Norway – Country Profile
        • Work in Russia – Country Profile
        • Work in Spain – Country Profile
        • Work in Sweden – Country Profile
        • Work in Switzerland – Country Profile
        • Work in the United Kingdom – Country Profile
      • Oceania
        • Work in Australia – Country profile
        • Work in New Zealand – Country Profile
    • Studentship Advice
      • PhD
      • Studentship Resources
      • Vlogs
    • Need help advertising a job?
    • About jobs.ac.uk

Post Academic Interview: 3 Things To Avoid

Post Academic Interview 3 Things To Avoid

There is a period of limbo between having an academic interview and being told whether you have been successful and thereby offered the position, or not. This can be a nerve-wracking, uncertain time, not least because there is no defined period in which this could go on; it could be anything from a few days to a couple of months. How, then, do you act during this nebulous interval?

Do not panic

The longer the wait goes on, the more difficult it is to think positively about your chances. Unpleasant thoughts can creep in, such as ‘If they haven’t contacted me by now then I haven’t got it?’ or ‘I must have been so bad they can’t even be bothered to tell me’, and these are caused by uncertainty and the assumption that the hiring decision is the number one priority for your interviewers.

It’s important to remember that, while hiring an academic is absolutely an important decision, your interviewers have other responsibilities which may demand their more immediate attention. It is difficult enough for academics to meet regularly at the best of times, as schedules often conflict or deadlines need to be met. If you are waiting for a long time, this may simply be because your interviewers have not yet found a suitable time to meet up and discuss the interviews since they happened – remember, this must be a unanimous decision from their side.

Do not be afraid to call

If you have had to wait as much as a week after your interview without a word, it is perfectly acceptable to phone the institution or department you interviewed in to follow-up about the current status of the hiring process. It may well be that one academic is on holiday – or it may be that the department needs a kick up the backside and get moving and stop people waiting for them. There is no way to tell, but there is absolutely no harm in checking to see what’s going on. It will not affect the hiring decision one way or the other, but it may serve to give you a bit more peace of mind.

Do not be idle

There is little point in waiting by the phone – it will ring when it rings. There are likely to be plenty of things to distract you from the anxiety of the hiring panel’s final decision, including:

  • Continuing your current work; whether you’re a post-doctoral researcher or a current lecturer, you’ll have plenty to be getting on with.
  • Researching and applying for other roles; there’s no need to put your eggs all in one basket. While there is similarly no need to apply for everything you see, it is worth your time investigating other roles to see if they match your career and life ambitions.
  • Personal projects; anything from working on your own website to cooking up some previously unattempted feasts in the kitchen is valid. Don’t let your mind go too idle otherwise those troublesome thoughts can creep in – but equally make sure you have time to relax, too.

Have you considered sending a thank you note after an academic interview? See how it can help.

What did you think of our article? - please rate

4 / 5. 1


Share this article

Reader Interactions

Written by Revised Edition

You may also like:

  • Two Businesswomen Having a Meeting in a Modern Office

    Mentoring beyond the PhD

  • Students Engaged in Group Discussion in University Classroom

    The Teaching Tightrope: Presence Versus Pressure

  • Audience at the conference hall.

    Writing Abstracts for Conferences

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

five + three =

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow us

Career Progression Stories - jobs.ac.uk

Latest Jobs

  • Bioinformatician/Postdoctoral Research Associate

    Faculty of Health and Life Sciences , University of Exeter

    Location: Exeter

    Salary: The starting salary will be from £ 34,132 on Grade E, depending on qualifications and experience.


  • Security Architect

    University Information Services, University of Cambridge

    Location: Cambridge

    Salary: £62,728 - £66,537 per annum


  • Research Fellow in Consumers in the Electricity System

    Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) / Bartlett School of Environment, Energy, and Resources , UCL

    Location: London, Hybrid

    Salary: £43,374 - £51,860


  • Inkfish Research Scientist in Machine Learning for Wearables

    Department of Population Health Sciences, King's College London

    Location: London

    Salary: £44,355 - £51,735 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance


  • Finance Business Partner

    Finance, Durham University

    Location: Durham

    Salary: £46,735 - £55,755


  • Post Doctoral Research Associate in Standard Model Phenomenology (Fixed Term)

    Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge

    Location: Cambridge

    Salary: £37,174 - £45,413 per annum


Footer

jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people
  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Career Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025

  • Find a Job
  • Find PhDs
  • Careers Advice
  • Jobs by Email
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility
jobs.ac.uk - Great jobs for bright people

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2025