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I've just recently applied for a WiMi/PhD student position in Germany and was interviewed for it. I had to present my proposal and there were many questions related to teaching. The panel was a 4-person panel with 2 individuals from my specialism and 2 individuals from HR (one for disability and another for diversity/inclusion). Is this typical? They said the results would take weeks. How much time do they usually need to decide?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

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    To add to the time they usually need to decide: As Sursula said, this is different for each institution / research group. If this is important to you, I would write a friendly e-mail asking when you can expect a decision. If you have a deadline to make a decision (e.g., because of other offers) - it is totally fine to tell them (very friendly) and that you would thus, appreciate a decision until XY.
    – saper0
    Commented Jul 21, 2023 at 9:23
  • If they already said that the results would take weeks, there are probably specific reasons for that. For example, some candidates have a much later interview appointment, or the meeting in which they decide on the candidate to hire can only take place then due to vacancy.
    – lighthouse keeper
    Commented Jul 21, 2023 at 9:52
  • Sometimes things can go very quickly, if all interviews are over and there is a clearly preferred candidate. However, that candidate might still reject the offer, and then second- and third-rank candidates might be invited. From their perspective, the process might take several weeks.
    – lighthouse keeper
    Commented Jul 21, 2023 at 9:54
  • When I asked why it would take weeks, they said there are many people involved in decision-making. And I've never had a 4-person panel for an initial interview before, so I kinda believe them. Maybe more people or teams are involved in Germany.
    – Chippy
    Commented Jul 22, 2023 at 7:26

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Concerning the interview panel, this is normal - as there are laws in place to preferably hire people with disabilities and/or from certain underrepresented groups if they possess equal suitability and qualification. As this "equal qualification" is often not easy to evaluate (and sometimes the "able bodied white man" gets hired even though other suitable (more diverse) candidates would have been equally qualified), disability and inclusion representatives are included in university hiring processes to assess the qualifications of all candidates and then advocate for the person with disabilities or from an underrepresented group.

Concerning the time: this is pretty much depending on individual facors and does not necessaryly take that long, or might take even longer.

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  • Thank you. It's good to know these policies on disability are in place. They were very thorough and wanted to know what aids I needed if I were to work there.
    – Chippy
    Commented Jul 20, 2023 at 21:21

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