Ah OK, it is probably something that isn't common in all disciplines. Thanks for the advice anyway and good luck getting yours done :-)

Have you thought of contacting them to find out for certain and also to ask for some feedback? Could be handy for the next interview if there is some good (critical or otherwise) feedback. Just an idea to help you keep momentum in the job hunt.

And it's not just me - look at how many times this thread has been viewed!!!

Lol! Just replying to this old thread to demonstrate why a lighthearted rant can be a good thing! Not only can they help you feel better at the time, but 6 years later when someone comes along googles "sulky supervisor" thinking they're the only person who has ever had to deal with one, they find this and realise they are not alone. :D

Thank you IntoTheSpiral. And if that is during the Summer before teaching has even started... boy! No doubt this task switching stuff comes naturally to some. For me, it is a skill I am going to have to develop.

OK, good. Are either of you doing the alternative format submission, i.e., 3-4 papers (published or unpublished) together with an introduction and discussion?

It's the waiting game! No news yet?

Sounds positive. Good luck!

Thanks Chickpea - that makes sense about it differing from conference to conference. I was slightly confused as I had assumed they all worked in the way you described.

But judging by the application form, it appears that to submit an abstract for this conference, you must be part of a group and nominate a convener, whose name goes on the application form and is the sole contact person for all the speakers in that group.

My supervisor has said that no one (at our institution or close research groups) is submitting anything on a similar topic to mine, so there isn't any chance of joining a group.

Thanks for your help.

Learn something new everyday!

Hi all

I want to submit a conference abstract, but I am a little confused by the instructions provided. It appears that each talk belongs to a symposium and has a convener (who is the sole contact person for all talks in that slot). Does this mean that I need to have established which symposium I will be part of (if accepted), and who the convener is? Or do I just make my submission and get allocated to a symposium and convener by the conference team? Does the process differ depending on the conference?

Thanks if anyone can shed more light on this!

Hi Chickpea, thanks for the advice. I will certainly try to apply it. It seems that this is all the sort of stuff that undergraduate and masters can't really prepare you for!

I agree with Zutterfly that writing it down (a concise bullet point list of exactly what you want to say) would probably help when you raise this with someone.

How did it go, Hugh?

Cheers Jay - I'll check out your vid.

So it's normal. I just need to get better at it I think. Yep, revisions on the Masters paper - so that is a priority as the journal will be expecting my reply. I will try dedicating whole days (or even a week) to a task and see how I get on. It just feels "bitty" but I'll have to get over it and get good at this!
Thanks both.