You can normally opt not to have a potential employer seek references until after they have interviewed you or provisionally offered you a post. Any jobs I've applied for have this option.

Good luck with the job hunting and I think you're doing the right thing in trying to secure a job first before quitting your PhD.

I think it is very important to highlight a point made by Mac and touched upon by Bewildered, have you hard, concrete evidence in the form of emails or whatever? If so, keep them or start keeping them but don't do anything without getting good sound advice first from perhaps one of the agencies highlighted. I take a slightly different viewpoint to Bewildered in that you may have something to lose because of the power imbalance (you starting out him/her an established academic) but I'm saying this mindful that I don't know a lot to the background of the situation.

Hoping you're OK.

I read about the first 5 chapters of one "How to Get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors" but didn't find it helpful.

A LOT of people recommend a book by Joan Bolker, "Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day". I have it but have never read it.

To be honest, I sought and took advice from people on here as I went along and just devised systems that worked for me.

No problem. Send me a PM any time you feel like it and I'm glad if we've all helped in some way. I sincerely feel for you because I know just how terrible and isolating bullying can make you feel. Happy to help if I can.

Please look after yourself.

I had a question about the corrections and sent an email to the internal who would be approving the changes. What I did was apologise for contacting her but asked would she mind clarifying a point for me, which she did. Could you do this? However, if you do make sure you put everything in one email as he/she may not be receptive to emails going back and forwards and try to keep things brief, professional and to the point.

Heidi, try to focus on the positives at this time as the negatives will weigh you down and distract you from your PhD. I know it's easy for me to say...

Delighted to read about the two offers - that's fantastic. Keep going!!!

Be guided by your supervisors as it's unlikely they'd have let you submit unless they believed you would pass. Many more pass their viva than fail it and so try to remember that.

'Original contribution' = what makes your research that bit different to other research in the field. It doesn't have to be very big, just something that makes your research slightly distinctive. Just think, what is original or that bit different about your research? Did you use a different methodology, a novel questionnaire, put forward or answered any novel research questions?

Try to calm down as this will help you focus.

Good luck!

Make sure to read some of the supervisors work and papers before contacting them and perhaps try to identify where they are taking their research. From that you could put forward some suggestions but I think it's important to stress and demonstrate how much you like their work. Basically play to their ego.

Good luck!

Heidi, very much hope you are doing well and getting through the work. The more you get done the easier things become and so keep working!!! You can do it!

I admire your attitude Skig, personally I'd be climbing the walls in frustration.

I'm fine, still getting a lot of job rejections but am happy enough as I've broadened my job search and know there are many, many people in a much worse position.

It would be helpful to know if you are experiencing this as a student or employee as that could make a difference to where you need to go to get help / advice.

If it helps, please feel free to PM me, even if only to give off steam.

======= Date Modified 18 Apr 2012 07:27:26 =======
Hi Beth12,

I really sorry to read this as bullying is completely terrible and I do understand how it affects health and career as it happened to me around 7 years ago (not in an academic setting) and I'm still in quite a fragile way as a result of it. I ended up having to quit my job, to be honest, and still suffer psychologically as a result.

This is the very difficult part because I was bullied by people of a more senior position (they were friends as well as colleagues in my opinion) it was me against them and I knew I was never going to win and so I got help and secured an exit deal (I was in an extremely bad way by the end). I agree there should be something we can do to ensure we are treated fairly but I'm not sure there is.

Can you go to the SU and get advice and go to the counselling service at your university and talk to them in confidence? I can understand why you can't say a lot here but you might be able to tell a counselling service more.

Why not browse these sites and see if you get access any useful information?

http://www.bullyonline.org

http://nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Bullying/Pages/Antibullyinghelp.aspx

Beth12, I am so sorry you are going through this and I hope it all works out.

Please take care,

D

Hi Skig,

I wondered what happened to you. Congratulations on your pregnancy - that's exciting news. I'm completely horrified you haven't a viva date, I would be very angry and frustrated had I been put in that position. Not sure what to say or recommend really but I do hope you're OK.

Good to hear from you!

D