Searching for academic jobs within a specific city I am currently in the job market and due to personal issues I am geographically limited and cannot relocate. I was wondering what would be a good strategy to go about the job search. There are only 3 institutions that I could potentially work on. Realistically I know that it might take a while for opening to come in my field but I was wondering if there is anything I can do in the mean time. I know this is not common in academia, and we go where the jobs are. I really want to continue in academia but I am unsure how to move forward.
If you intend to stay on the job market (whether for those 3 institutions or in general), the best thing you can do is stay competitive in terms of research productivity. That usually means taking a postdoc or other full-time research position where you can publish as much as possible.
However, there is a &quot;shelf life&quot; to postdocs. If you are a postdoc for too long, hiring committees start to wonder why you haven't been hired, and may reject you thinking there's something wrong. For instance, in my field it is common to have 0-2 years of postdoc, so someone who has been a postdoc for 5 years may find it more difficult to get interviews.