Rigged postdoc advertisements (vent)
This is basically a vent post.
I started looking actively for postdoc opportunities after submitting my thesis in last December. To give a context, I have multiple publications in the top most journal(s) in my research area, published over the duration of my PhD. My research-topic (STEM) is decently thriving and I was hoping to get in some top-grade university and applied for several posts that aligned with my broad research area (not the specific topic but the domain). I was so confident that I started preparing for interviews and started preparing for moving. But oh boy, was I humbled !
Over the next few months, rejections started coming from left and right. My email inbox had three different mail types from every university that I applied to (account created, thanks for applying, after careful consideration...). I gradually realized that the postdoc market isn't that strong right now and there maybe a single post must have been getting many many applications. It is only fair that they must be shortlisting only people with the exact research background, or that could be a genuine filter.
But in March, I saw an advertisement. One of the top-most Institute, top-most group. But the PI was only an emerging researcher. The position was a 90% match with my research area. I had all the qualifications that the advertisement demanded. In fact the proposal sounded exactly like the continuation of my PhD thesis.
I mailed the PI just to make him know that I exist and avoid any HR intervention. However his response was very off-putting (red flag 1). I asked some deep technical doubts about the proposal which to he had no strong answers (red flag 2). Nevertheless, I applied for the post, hoping to showcase my expertise in the interview.
Fast forward 2 months, I got a reply mail from the PI that they found an even suitable candidate. This actually broke me. The fact that they didn't give me a chance at interview, despite being one of the most qualified person for the job, made me realize that the job posting itself may have been pre-fixed.
6 months now into the postdoc searching era, I have started to realize that most of the advertisements that I see (at least in my domain) are mostly pre-fixed or get filled through PI-contacts. The PIs put up advertisements for the sake of it and it is the time, effort and energy of hopeful candidates like me that gets wasted.
Disclaimer : English is not my native language. Kindly excuse mistakes.
Edit 1 : Looking at some of the comments, I feel that some you have misinterpreted my email to the PI. This may have also been due to my bad language. When I said I asked 'doubts', I didn't mean that I questioned their project or their approach. I asked curiously about the methodology they were planning to implement. I wanted to make sure how much it was connecting to my own thesis and how I could improve my application to fit the position.
Also my rant is not because I was not given the position. I was confident of landing the interview because of the position's perfect fit with my own research background. Not given that chance made me question the genuinety of the whole process and hence the post.
However I realize that my post may not have come out as intended and I respect the opinion of everyone who supported me, assured me and even questioned me.
Edit 2 : Where I am from, we use the word doubts and questions interchangeably. Asking a doubt is same as asking as a question. For instance, you ask doubts to your teacher about the topic when they are teaching, if something is not clear. In this case, I didnt 'doubt' the PI or their methodology, I asked them some 'questions'.
But unfortunately, miscommunication occured !!