Hi All,

I am very new to this forum. I would appreciate if someone could advice me on my question. I have been applying for a postdoc posn in US (advertised as well as cold email)and Europe (advertised posns) for the past 10 months with three publications in hand. No good news :(. Ninety percent of US professors didn't even write me back. Although one shortlisted, but turned out no finally.

For my PhD in Europe, I worked in a big project with lot of collaborators (PIs). Now there is a position in one of those PIs lab whom I have a good contact and the topic fits within my research experience. I applied for that position around half of November but no news yet. I heard from my referees that he had contacted them and they have given a good recommendation. Now my question is " Is it a good idea to contact the PI to ask if he has any updates reg. my job application?". I am really tensed. I feel that he doesn't consider me as a good candidate and that is why he is late to reply.

BTW in one job site the last date of application is end of this month and in other sites there is no last date.

Please advice me

I would email them if I were you, especially if you already know the PI.

Yes, because my philosophy is 'if you don't ask, you don't get'.

Would it be okay to contact him before the deadline (which is by the end of this month)?

You should probably wait until the application deadline closes, otherwise you're not going to get a direct response, and may actually have this push you out of the running.However...You've also said that other websites do not list an application deadline, so it's actually a really tough call.

If the application hasn't officially yet closed, that means others can still apply to be considered, so while he's checked your references in advance to perhaps get a head start (as opposed to waiting until all applications are in) and that is a good sign, it doesn't mean you have the job. A superstar could apply on the last date.

I actually don't know to be honest! It might be safer to wait until the deadline if that is the actual deadline...