Hi guys,
I had a Skype PhD interview on 6th March for a position I applied for. The interview request came very quickly - around 2 days after I had applied.
The interview itself went reasonably well. There weren't many technical questions or anything, just a nice casual chat for about half an hour. I had sent in a proposal (which they had even printed out and showed me), and I basically explained how my ideas fit in with their department, and why and how I came up with it. Since it is in another continent, they even talked to me about the weather, and food and how many students their have from my background in their research group and how they work, etc. At the end, the prof and head of dept said that they will discuss and get back to me about their decision.

The problem is, I still haven't heard back from them - its been 10 days. I am wondering if I should contact them about it, or continue waiting. The interview took place on a Friday, and so I kind of forgot to send a thank you email after the weekend, and now it will look kind of weird. I do have another excuse to email them, as I recently became a full member of a professional society, and this can be a update for my CV, but I don't know if I should pester them.
Despite a very quickly arranged, pleasant interview, should I be worried that I haven't heard back from them yet? :-(

It could be some internal delay such as waiting for the HR department to do something before they can email. Perhaps leave it 2 weeks from the date of interview and then send an email asking for an update of the situation? As long as you word it well it shouldn't look weird. I hope you hear soon!

I agree with Caro. 2-4 weeks is a fairly standard timescale for hearing confirmation of a place on a PhD programme as the decision cannot be taken by your supervisor / interviewer alone, and must go through the bureaucracy (faculty, HR etc.). This is particularly so if the PhD has funding attached, or if the school will need to apply for work/study visas on your behalf.

As Caro suggested, give it a couple of weeks and then send a polite email to see how things are coming on. Ask for an expected timescale for hearing back.

Good luck!

Not necessarily, I heard back from my successful interview within hours. It depends on the university.

Thanks a lot for your feedback!
The university is in Finland. I had hoped that the supervisor could let me know - even if informally - which direction the selection was leaning from their side. But, I'm not sure what the procedures are there, and since I'm a foreign applicant, it could be that there is just some administrative delay (I'm really hoping that is the case!).

Often there is a lot of red tape that slows these things down, in the UK my supervisor told me before the HR department but he wasn't meant to have done that, and told me not to let anyone know before I got the official letters, which were weeks later! I wouldn't worry too much!

Its been more than a month now, and i still havent heard anything. They just seem to have vanished. I emailed the main supervisor a few days before the easter break and again about 4 or 5 days after. Havent heard anything back...no rejection either. The 2nd time I emailed, I cc-ed to the HoD who also sat in during the interview. I got an "out-of-office until 20th April" autoreply.

Should i just assume that it was unsuccessful?

Not necessarilly- the OOO reply won't have been set up just for your benefit you know!

Yes ofcourse.
But i am wondering what to do next. The main supervisor doesnt seem to be replying (or is away or sick or something). The HoD wont be in for another week. Should I email him after 20th? Or is it not his job because he is not the main supervisor? Should i email someone in HR?
Is this normal? The silence has been a bit disappointing

hi,
I'm in the same situation but with a different university, my interview was on the 8th March and I was given a time frame of 3-4 weeks but have not yet heard back. I'm not sure what to make of it or if I should email and ask, but I think it mite seem a bit intrusive. Surely, they'll let me know either way?

Thanks Eds. Hope you hear back soon Lude

Thanks ZA3. Unfortunately, i wasnt given a timeframe by when i would hear back. But as you said, either way both of us will hear back. Hopefully its positive for both of us.

I did have my interview on 20th March, they told me it would take 3-4 weeks. I let 4 weeks pass, and emailed them back (last week). They answered because they were so busy, they could not have any decisions yet. Then, they called my references (2 people), i got no luck when both of them did not come to the lab that time. Until now, i have not received any conclusions yet.
Should i write them an email again? i am tired of waiting like this.
fR