There may be many people who would have gone thru a similar situation as mine. I gave my interview (thru phone) for a PhD position at a university in Belgium last friday..The PI said he wud contact me the following week. Well its friday of the 'following' week and I still haven't received a reply yet. I even sent a follow-up mail this morning and still no response. This situation is sheer torture. As for the interview it went great. He even asked me when I could start and ended the conversation saying "i hope to see you here soon"..Of course there are 5 other candidates for the interview. I have been constantly checking my mails for any update. Why is he taking such a long time to decide if he completed all the interviews last friday.
if any1 can share their experiences it will be really reassuring...

hi there! please don't worry or get yourself stressed up about this
go do something else while you are waiting
love
satchi

It may be that the HR department at the Uni have delayed things, they often do! Please don't stress too much, these things often overun as the Supervisors may be a bit over-enthusiastic about the amount of time all the paperwork will take.

Perhaps on Monday you can send a quick email thanking them for interviewing you and very nicely asking if the decision has been made yet?

Good luck and try to do something to take your mind off of it over the weekend.

i agree with these guys, mate! i wouldn't stress too much over this kind of thing. chances are that they have been delayed and will be in touch soon. hope you get the news u want!

There is nothing you can do I had four interviews before I got a place. Try and get as much as you can out of the whole interview process it can be fun. But there is nothing worse than waiting to hear from the supervisors once its over. Try and spend time away from your inbox!

======= Date Modified 17 Sep 2011 11:09:58 =======
Not getting stressed out is easier said than done! I've had a PI take over a month to get back to me with a rejection, and this week a PI told me the (good) news just two hours after the interview, but as I had *really* wanted the project those two hours were even more excruciating than the month of waiting I had before- I had spent them trying not to analyse the events of the day, and wondering what I could do to take my mind off the whole thing! There is also another PI I'm still waiting to hear from after almost two months- long enough for me to have found a place elsewhere!

Like BugBoi it was fifth time lucky for me- I had four interviews before, leading to three rejections and a reserve list place. I also submitted some writing tests to a PI based overseas, so maybe it was sixth time lucky, but in any case I got an offer just when I thought it would never happen- and just shy of my 30th birthday, which was a huge relief. Until this week I had been wondering why I kept tormenting myself by applying for things and getting my hopes up only to be let down. In the end I just found the right project, lab and supervisor (at least it seems that way, I hope it all works out!) and my perseverance paid off.

Often no amount of reassurance can do any good. Hearing people who aren't in the same boat (or are no longer in it) just telling you to persevere and avoid getting stressed out can just be really frustrating and have the opposite of the intended effect- just look around your local jobcentre to see this in action! I found the PhD search frustrating and demoralising but ultimately it was worth it.

I hope this has helped somehow, if not feel free to scream at your monitor! Good luck and I hope it works out for you, if it doesn't this time then it will eventually.