Careers in Science Series: The Post-Interview Waiting Game
After your interviews are complete, there will be another waiting period. Right after you get home from each interview, you should send follow-up thank you emails. I would recommend sending a short personalized thank you to your host, the department chair, and anyone else within the department with whom you had significant discussions or think you would like to collaborate in the future. Make sure that your thank you is sincere and that you convey your enthusiasm for the position.
As was the case when waiting to hear if you got invited for an interview, there is no general rule of thumb for how long you will have to wait to hear back from a school following your interview. If it has been about a month, and you haven’t heard anything, it’s probably OK to contact the department and ask for an update on your search. It’s also a good idea to keep individual search committees updated on your job search. For example, if you get a great offer from a place but it’s not your top choice, you should contact your top choice to let them know about the other offer. If your top choice is indeed interested in making you an offer, this will often speed things up.
If you had several interviews but did not get any offers, and you are sure that the academic route is the path for you, try not to get discouraged and then try again the following year. I know many people who were unsuccessful their first time on the job market but got phenomenal offers the following year.
Check out my other related blog posts in the Careers in Science Series:
- Preparing for Academia
- Finding Academic Research Positions
- Academic Job Application Tips
- The Post-Application Submission Waiting Game
- Preparing for Academic Job Interviews
- Going on an Academic Job Interview
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This page was last updated on Thursday, May 5, 2022