Hi all,
I am a fourth year PhD student who is applying for Post-Docs, sadly my supervisors have been next to useless and neither are actually at my university anymore…
ANYWAY – my question is, at what point is it appropriate to ask for feedback on your applications?
I mean, if you don’t ask then you don’t get, but, I also don’t want to come across as a pest to potential employers.
I have not had any communication from any posts, aside from acknowledgement of my application, three of which closed 3rd -15th July.
I’m not sure if this is too short a time frame to expect any contact as I don’t have any point of reference and not really anyone to ask at the moment!
Your answers are appreciated!
Usually if you are invited to interview you hear within 2-3 weeks of the closing date but holidays make this a slow time of year. HR rules may forbid feedback so don't be surprised if people refuse. You can probably get a sense of how strong a candidate you are by comparing your cv with those of recent postdoc hires in your discipline. Alternatively if your supervisors won't look over a sample application, are there other academics you could ask to have a look? Or any specialist advisors in your university careers service?
I would suggest that the best way forward is to connect with other PIs from your university (or to approach staff members/career counselling professionals from your university) and ask them for specific feedback on your application. The other suggestion would be to get in touch with hiring managers at companies. Although they may not always be receptive, some would definitely share pointers with you and suggest ways to make your future applications more robust. There have been instances where rejected candidates have approached the interviewing panel for suggestions and successfully secured jobs after incorporating these constructive suggestions.
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