When is applying for a postdoc too early or too late? I am in some kind of conundrum. Currently I am a grad student in Germany. Things are reasonably fine, but because of some bad luck I am not 100% confident that I will finish my thesis at the end of this year (as planned). I might need some more months (maximum 3, I hope), which in the worst case I could finish my work even without a salary. Still, I want to try and get done as close to the end of this year as possible.

Some sources (the Internet generally) tell me I should soon start searching for a postdoc position, especially because I am for personal reasons bound to a fairly specific location in the UK (not where I currently live, but where my significant other lives).

So what do I do? Start looking and applying for postdocs now, wait three more months (to give me the same leeway but with the added three months) or wait until I am actually done. Waiting until I am done is probably the morally right thing to do, but if it is taking me until March 2018 to finish, sustaining myself for potentially some additional months of job search will be financially problematic. 

If I start searching now (or soon), what can/should I tell potential advisors? How common (if possible at all) is it to set the start day "somewhere between January and April next year"? I have a feeling this would hurt my application significantly, in favor of applicants that have a more well-defined timeline. What is the most common thing to do? I have seen others postpone their graduation, but most of them were planning to leave academia after that anyway, so had to prepare for a fairly different hiring process.

I am just worried that even if I find a position quickly after finishing, the start day might be months away and that would still leave me without any salary for a lengthy period of time. Any tips and experiences would be appreciated.
Actually, what you described seems very familiar and I'm sure it's the same for a large fraction of Ph.D. candidates. So relax a bit :-)

But - I have to say that, reading between the lines of your post, I'm uncertain that you should even be searching for a post-doc at all:


You express a desire to find employment that sounds at least as significant, if not more so, than your interest to continue your research.
You are not speaking in terms of what you want to do research-wise but where you need to be geographically.


1. First figure out / soul-search whether what you really want is to find a post-doctoral research position.

Are you absolutely sure that you want to pursue a career as an academic researcher, right now? Are you sure a stint in industry (or other non-academia employment) is not something you would find satisfying, interesting, relevant? 

(To Op, specifically:) Maybe you are and your motivation and orientation is perfectly sound, but I'm getting a 'vibe' that this might not be the case. 

If you're certain that a post-doc is indeed what's right for you to do next, then

2. When the conclusion of your Ph.D. duties is in sight, it is time to start searching for a post-doctoral position.

The research groups / departments with which you'll inquire about open positions are very well aware that prospective availability is sometimes up for change, particularly in your case. Do not hesitate to say "I expect to conclude my Ph.D. in between X and Y months". Now, it's possible that someone might tell you "I need an extra researcher who's willing to start yesterday to get ahead on some funded research project" - and won't accept you on that account. But, well, that's life - and they won't think less of you because you're not done yet; don't drive yourself mad in some impossible race.

3. Sometimes you don't find a suitable post-doc position even if you search diligently and on time. Think about contingencies.

Academia is never very well funded, positions are scarce, and in your particular case there are some tight constraints. I know this is not very encouraging advice, but it's better to recognize this possibility and learn to live with it than spending the last months of your Ph.D. in dread of it being realized. That's really not a good emotional state to be in - and it won't help your work, either.