When to apply for post docs?

[marmite92]

Hello,

I am about 3 and a half months away from submitting my PhD and I was wondering if anyone has any advice for when to start applying for jobs? I've seen a few that are relevant but someone said it was too early, but then at the same time I really can't afford to be out of work for longer than probably 2 months max. Any advice would be much appreciated!

I don’t think it’s too early. Be clear in your application about when you’re planning to submit. I got my post doc at around the stage you’re at now, on condition that I submitted my thesis before I could start the post doc. Really focussed my mind with the writing up Go for it!

Thank you! A lot of the posts I have looked at say near submission but some say awarded or submitted so I guess it varies.

Did you look for post docs in a certain geographic area or were you open to moving for it?

Apply now. If the job advert says they want a PhD 'awarded,' it might even be worth emailing the contact person to ask if it's worth applying if you're likely to have had it awarded by the time the contract starts. Obviously they might say no, but I got my first job on the basis that I would have graduated from my PhD before it started, though not before the job interview took place.

In my field you'd be looking everywhere for postdocs if you wanted to get one in short order (so UK and abroad, not just UK), but I did some casual teaching to keep some money coming in, and that let me rule out moving countries, which I really didn't want to do just then.

Definitely now. I applied in June, interviewed in July (was offered and accepted the position). I started in October (just after I submitted end of September, viva not til December). So I technically hadn’t finished yet when I started. It’s quite normal for contracting alone to take 2 months, so I think up to 6 months before is fine as long as you have time. Start dates are often quite flexible.

And to answer your question, I only looked for jobs in a specific (but wide) geographic area. Moving wasn’t an option for me as I had a dh and at the time 1 dc (who was about to start school). But I was happy to commute so I had (and still have, several years later, different position and university) a long commute (3 hours door to door).

I think if you have the flexibility to move and no ties to any area, it’s always good to consider relocating if you would be happy to do it. But a long commute is also doable and quite the norm among postdocs (and academics generally). Most people I know either had 2-3 hour commutes, with days negotiated to work from home (I do compressed ft hours in 4 days with 3 days in the office and 1 wfh), or they lived away part of the week and came home on a Thursday, back on Monday morning, etc.

Thank you! I guess il start properly looking then, I didn't really know you could negotiate a start date for post docs as I thought once they had the funding in place they want someone to start straight away. I have a preference for a certain area but could move if necessary, luckily in my field there are quite a lot of posts that fit my skills so fingers crossed I could get something before I finish or close after :)

No, in my field is would be very rare for any job to start immediately after interview.

To be honest, I would be looking at fall-back options for money too (can you teach?), as most people wouldn't get a job within a couple of months. This may be discipline specific, but check!

I applied for a few posts about 3-4 months before I planned to submit. Got 2 interviews, hired for one, and they postponed my starting date to enable me to finish my thesis before starting the postdoc.

This was also a post-doc where the advertisement simply said 'PhD essential'. I probably should have asked if near-completion was acceptable, but simply went ahead and applied. At least two of the other post docs in my research group also applied before they submitted, and were given time to submit before starting their postdoc.

And it also really depends on your field. In the humanities, there are few positions and many applicants, so you need to get practice.

Thanks everyone I'm in social sciences, so there are a lot of positions available but I imagine a lot of competition for them. I may as well get the ball rolling and start applying then!

I started my first post-doc 2 months before I submitted and 8 months before I defended (viva'd? It was in Europe). They put me on a research assistant contract then promoted me to post-doc when I graduated. In my field it's normal to do this, but they do normally check with your supervisor that you are definitely going to finish so it helps if they know and trust your supervisor.