What is the typical time between application and contact for a postdoc on Norway?

Question

I recently applied to a postdoc position in Norway, this was an advertised role in an engineering department rather than a fellowship application. I had a brief email exchange with the hiring professor in advance and they thought I would be a suitable candidate and encouraged me to apply.

The application was through the jobbnorge website which appears to be standard in Norway.

After 6 weeks since application deadline I have not had any contact and it still shows as submitted in the jobbnorge portal. I do not know of the portal would give an update if I wasn't successful.

My questions are

1. What is the typical time frame for hearing back on any decision in Norway for postdoc applications?

2. Is it typical to hear back if I am not invited for interview or can I assume no news is neither good nor bad?

There is a similar question here: Hiring Process in Norway for Postdocs Although it is not clear what time scales are involved in that question or if they were between application or interview, though it does imply the process is slow.

Thank you.

Answer 1

More than anything, the amount of time is determined by the number of applications. But in general, the hiring process in academia in Norway is much slower than what you're likely to experience elsewhere (at least outside of Scandinavia). To give you an example, I once applied for a postdoc in Norway. Only two people applied, but it still took six weeks before I heard back, and the interview was scheduled fifteen weeks after the application deadline. If you haven't heard anything by the end of June, your application was either unsuccessful, or they didn't manage to sift through the applications before the summer. By that time, I would e-mail the professor you've already been in touch with and ask.

For a postdoc position, I don't think you can count on being informed if your application was unsuccessful, but this might vary by university/department.

Answer 2

It is slow. I sent my postdoc application to NTNU 12.1. (day.month) and started work at about 1.9. or at most half a month before that. I suppose I was informed a month or two before I started working there; at most three. So it took about half a year, maybe more, before things were settled.

Jobbnorge does keep you informed to the extent that the employer sends information there. The public Norwegian universities are very diligent about the faculty recruiting process, but I have to admit forgetting the details of the postdoc process. But expect to forget about the application before you hear anything and apply elsewhere in the mean time, but don't give up hope.

Answer 3

The process is long and intricate, so I would not be worried after only six weeks. The faculty needs to appoint a committee, following a nomination from the PI. Then the administration must grant the committee access to the documentation. The committee has no incentives to work quickly, except for being kind to the PI. The committee eventually agrees on which candidates that appear to be suited for the position. Finally, the administration makes an evaluation to whether the candidates fulfill the formal requirements. After this, you may be called for an interview if you have not given up yet.