I applied for a job at the uni where I am doing my PhD, I acted on the feedback from the two previous jobs there which I was interviewed for (when apparently it was so close if they had two jobs I would have been hired), I contacted the chair of the panel in advance to ask if it would be worth my applying and got a favourable response.

AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET AN INTERVIEW

Feel really crap - totally demoralised and not at all motivated to do anything except watch crap tv and hug my kids (who are so great "at least you have a job mummy") (and it's that time of year when us part-timers who are in universities have the time to get on with PhD).

And I've got a headache so cant even hit the bottle

:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(:-(

Oh Jepson, I'm so sorry :( that really does suck!

I know it's of little comfort but there'll be some kind of banal reason (half the world applying in desperation due to the job market, internal candidate, etc etc) and it really doesn't dimish you in any way. It feels crap though I know and especially annoying if you feel you've been led a merry dance by those in charge.

Hug your lovely kids and just be good to yourself as stuff like this really does knock you. Then we'll all hope the candidate they did pick turns out to be a screwball and make their lives hell :p - they shall rue they day they passed over PGF's legendary Jepsonclough!

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Aw Jepson I'm really sorry to hear that. Your kids sound wonderful though! It was still right to apply. I think we need to build up a thick skin to see ourselves through this process. If it's any consolation I believe that the market is such at the minute that those of us who haven't finished yet are simply set aside at the very outset. Take heart, watch crap tv and hit the bottle a little if it helps. It won't seem so bad in a couple of days ;-)

Clearly it's not been a good day for job applicants on this forum. I'm sorry to hear the disappointing news, Jepsonclough. I was informed of a job at my uni that I should go for and then the post mysteriously vanished, subsumed by another academic department. I entertained the notion of making the person who really encouranged me to apply for it mysteriously vanish.

Thank you for the kind words.  Of course I know that I'm better off not getting an interview of it already has someone's name on it. But I am struggling with the encouragement - he didn't even say that it is slightly to the side of your experience but I'm not averse to you applying. He said he would welcome my application.

I suspect that part of the problem is I am going away in two weeks time for 5 weeks research / holiday in the Rockies and so I phoned up the HR person to see what the timescales were (after a couple of people told me I was better to tell them in advance rather than if I got offered an interview.  They said the chair was away in China but they would contact him. I suspect he decided I was too complicated and so just said tell her no.

Hi Jepson, how rubbish! Here, there's some cyber booze in this parcel. Enjoy. (gift)

That sucks big time - here, have a mince pie to soak up some of the booze (mince) Its never good when that happens, their loss (cliche I know) but its just gutting and I really feel for you xx