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I did not secure a postdoc position this year. When should I start to apply again?

R

I defended my PhD recently. I don't have a good CV to start with. In 5 years of my PhD, I managed to publish just 2 (first author) decent papers (I.F ~2.5 & 3.1). I applied for several postdoc positions this year, but did not get any positive response from the PIs.

Now, I am going to join my PhD advisor as a postdoc. She offered me a short-term postdoc position (~6 months) with a possibility of extending it to a year starting February next year.

I have couple of manuscripts ready to submit. I am hoping to submit them by mid-January.

**I was wondering, when should I start applying for postdoc positions again?** 6 months will go by in a flash. I just want to secure a position where I can expand my knowledge and publish more papers.

I will start to apply for tenure track positions after 1.5 years. I am 30 years old now, so, I would be still eligible for positions with 35 years old limit for assistant professor position.

E

Why do you think you do not have a good CV? Many PhD graduates have no publications at all. Once the papers are submitted, you can include them in CV. If I were you, I would start applying right away.
I never heard of this 35 years old criteria. I bet they exist only with narrow-minded universities in "developing" countries.

J

rcty, it's not such a bad start. At the very least you have a post-doc of sorts and employment. If you want a different post-doc, I'd start looking now, as they tend to be quite specific and also can be competitive. Given you have finished your PhD, I think if you can demonstrate to a prospective post-doc PI that your research, skills and knowledge from your PhD would further their research you shouldn't have any problem securing another post-doc.

You shouldn't worry, you have a 6 month post doc which is better than most. I know a surprising number of people who had no job after their PhD or were so desperate they got awful jobs. You have time to publish more papers and then attend conferences to network for a better posting. As the others have said you can start looking now and I would consider it your main priority, after papers of course.

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